Delicious and nutritious tinned fish, a traditional food source, are now beneath the bright spotlight of this moment. These treats from the sea have become beloved by many, now opening a door for old and emerging brands alike to populate the shelves of many gourmet markets across North America. With such an abundance of options, navigating which of these packers is truly putting the very best into their tins is quite a challenge.

On a recent visit to Porto, Portugal, and the bays of Galicia, Spain, it became apparent that while there are many solid seafood producers, few are committed to purchasing fresh from the morning catch boats, and even fewer put the very best sea creatures into cans and ship them across the Atlantic to shops like ours. These are the qualities of packers that are a cut above the rest, and they are the ones that will arrive on our shelves. They honor the integrity of their ingredients, maintaining a standard that locals have expected for generations.

Many newcomers have entered the tinned fish arena with flashy names and colorful packaging, but haven’t been in the business long enough to know what the best seafood really looks like.
During this visit to the source, I visited four distinctly different seafood canneries, seeing for myself how each business navigates building its reputation while staying financially sustainable in a demanding market. Many of the family-owned processors have been absorbed by larger corporations, as the cost to maintain the newest innovations in equipment and safety has become immense.

My first stop was the Pinhais Cannery— home of the Nuri sardine factory— just outside Porto in the bustling seaport town of Matosinhos, Portugal. Here, the fresh morning catch is auctioned locally and processed shortly thereafter. Nuri sardines are considered among the best in Portugal, and while the founding family is no longer operating the business, the new owner is deeply committed to preserving their original traditions. My tour of the Nuri facility was lively, historic, and provided a thorough view of how they operate today and how they began back in 1920.

My journey continued further north to Galicia, where I visited three additional canneries and discovered a new favorite brand, La Curiosa. A company founded by a mother and son, the mother, originally a trained veterinarian, has been managing canneries for many years and has a deep understanding of the entire process. They collaborate with the region’s finest producers of each type of seafood to bring us the very best of Galicia.

The last brand I want to highlight is Regalis, another new addition to our conserva selection. Regalis was founded in 2012 in New York by Ian Purkayastha, also known as “The Truffle Kid”. Ian has built his reputation sourcing exceptional ingredients for so many of the country’s top chefs, and he’s brought that same commitment to quality to his seafood line. We have carried other Regalis products for years, and are so excited to bring in these new additions.

We are thrilled to bring new and better tinned fish and seafood to the shelves at Liberty Heights Fresh. We look forward to sharing these with you, as we do all our authentic good food discoveries.