Canned Sardines

Also known asTinned Sardines · Tinned Pilchards

Name: Canned sardines — small, oily fish (mainly the European pilchard, Sardina pilchardus, and related species) packed whole in oil, water, tomato sauce or mustard, bones and all. The name comes from the island of Sardinia.

Description

Sardines were among the first foods to be canned: a sardine cannery opened in Nantes, France, in the 1820s, soon after Nicolas Appert developed the technique of preserving food in sealed containers. Portugal, Spain, Morocco and France remain famous for their tinned sardines, which are often gourmet products sold in decorative tins and aged like wine.

Sardines are small, fast-growing and feed low on the food chain, so they are low in mercury and among the more sustainable fish, though stocks vary. The bones are soft and edible, which makes canned sardines a rich source of calcium.

Main nutrition value

Sardines are an excellent source of the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA, vitamin D, vitamin B12, selenium, calcium (from the soft bones), and protein, with very little mercury.

How best to be consumed

Canned sardines are eaten whole, bones and all.

1. Eat on toast or crackers with lemon, hot sauce, mustard or tomato.
2. Mash into pasta with garlic, chilli, lemon and breadcrumbs, as in Sicilian cooking.
3. Add to salads, sandwiches, pizza and rice dishes.
4. Choose sardines in olive oil or tomato sauce, and drain if watching fat, or choose those in water.
5. Keep unopened cans in a cool, dry place, and once opened transfer any leftovers to a covered container in the fridge and use within two days.

Overconsumption could cause…

Canned sardines are healthy in sensible portions.

1. High salt (sodium), which can raise blood pressure over time, so choose no-added-salt or low-sodium cans where you can and rinse before eating.
2. Scombroid (histamine) poisoning, causing flushing, headache, rash and stomach upset within minutes to hours, from fish that were stored too warm before canning or in the fridge once opened, so keep opened cans cold and use quickly.
3. Gout flare-ups in people with gout, since fish and shellfish are moderately high in purines.
4. Fish allergy, which can be severe and is usually lifelong, so anyone allergic must avoid fish and check labels, including fish in sauces and dressings.

GroupsCanned FishFinfishHigh proteinRich in calciumRich in omega-3Rich in seleniumRich in vitamin B12Rich in vitamin DCanned

Made fromSardines

Related foodsCanned AnchoviesCanned MackerelCanned SalmonCanned TunaCanned HerringCanned Trout

Wikipedia — Sardine, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardine