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Do canned fish and shellfish improve after their best before date?

2023-04-15T11:02:54.051Z


Results of a tasting of cans with more than 10 years of rest in cava, with all the details of the tasting of clams, white tuna and sardines of different sizes and brands


Six canned geeks had just met at La Taberna Los Asturianos in Madrid, with the sole purpose of tasting thousands of cans (with a known packaging date), which had matured in cava for several years.

At the tasting table were, among others, Luis Gutiérrez, critical wine taster from the Robert Parker Wine Advocate team;

the Galician canner José Peña, the champagne expert Omar Bravo, and the host and owner of the premises, Alberto Fernández.

When José Peña began to open a can of packaged reserve clams in 2010, I had the feeling that our heartbeats were racing.

In what state were we going to find those mollusks that had remained 13 years inside the container?

The wait stretched out to the limit of our impatience without the rudimentary mini campaign can opener El Explorador, with which we handled ourselves, speeding up the opening of the container.

After two endless minutes, Peña folded the tin lid and discovered its contents.

“Look how white they are, they look freshly made, 24 pieces in amazing condition after 13 years!” he exclaimed.

We sniffed the clams like someone enjoying a perfume, and we tasted them with the ceremony that required one of those moments that cannot be repeated.

Thick, intensely iodized, juicy, with a smooth texture and a delicate seabed.

Exceptional.

The maturation time had concentrated its natural nuances.

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Our experience continued with a second can of clams from the same vintage.

Splendid, although without the finesse of the first.

"It contains thicker pieces, between 16 and 18 units, with more muscle than the previous ones, which could still improve in the can, just like the reserve wines," added Peña.

The impromptu tasting continued in a way that was as messy as it was exciting.

What campaign does the can you open now correspond to? I asked Peña again.

"It contains pieces of bonito from the coast from the summer of 2008, manufacturing cuts that after 15 years in olive oil should have been candied."

The appearance was fantastic and the taste promised the best sensations.

Even so, in the mouth, those impeccable chunks turned out to be somewhat drier than expected.

Meanwhile, in silence, Omar Bravo uncorked the bottles that he had provided, four thousandth-class Bollinger RD champagnes corresponding to the 2002, 2004, 2007 and 2008 vintages, oenological treasures that we alternated with the contents of the cans in short sips.

José Peña opening a can of preserves. José Carlos Capel Rivas

And it was time for sardines, a cornerstone for fans of mature preserves, as is my case.

In one paragraph I stammered to my colleagues something they already knew.

“They will tell us that the rest of canned sardines is a rite of snobs and new

foodies

.

Nothing further.

Do you remember the anecdote of Vivyan Holland, Oscar Wilde's second son, who back in the 1940s organized sardine tasting sessions with friends for over 10 years?

He was a pioneer in the maturation rite.

This without alluding to the cult that French gourmets continue to pay to the thousands of sardines for which they pay inordinate prices.

Those who have doubts should visit the gourmet plant of Les Galeries Lafayette in Paris where sardines from La Quiberonaise, La belle-illoise and Rödel are offered at 15-20 euros each can”.

In Spain, in addition to those of José Peña, the hundred-year-old canner Paco Lafuente also has thousands of small sardines.

In silence, Peña had begun to uncork the first of the four cans of sardines that we had planned.

And again our adrenaline shot up.

It was a container of Conservas Siglo XXI corresponding to the year 2013, contributed by Luis Gutiérrez.

Sardines with 10 years of rest.

If the appearance of its whitish and golden loins was fantastic, its aroma and flavor were even better.

Excellent.

A second, smaller container followed, corresponding to the 2014 campaign, with a specific singularity.

"These are fried sardines, an ancient method that was applied in France at the beginning of the 19th century when the manufacture of canned food invented by the pastry chef Nicolas Appert began, instead of toasted, that is, steamed before putting them in the cans. and pass to the autoclave as is done now.

Look at its silver color after 9 years.

In the pure mouth of mellowness, with its thorns turned into butter.

They look like marine marrows! we exclaimed.

Small sardines by José Peña from 2021. José Carlos Capel Rivas

And it was the turn of Conservas Güeyu Mar, a 2016 can that broke with the previous ones.

Grilled sardine tails (neither toasted nor fried) with a marked taste of smoke and somewhat drier and saltier than expected.

Even so, the final surprise awaited us, some 2021 sardines from José Peña that left us stunned.

"Xoubiñas" as they are called in Galicia, barely a year and a half from the date of packaging.

Finest, with an intense taste and a silky texture.

How is it possible that they are so good being so small and with such a short maturation time in the can?, we asked Peña.

“Sardines spawn twice a year.

The ones you are trying were caught on the coast from June to July, they contained enormous fat, hence that deep taste”.

What do you answer when they ask you when canned fish and shellfish expire?

I questioned Peña again.

“The best before date is an indicative data only to comply with the legislation.

In reality, their refining process continues for years with the only requirement that they be kept in proper conditions.

Canned sardines improve from the first year and after, as they become more mellow as a result of their maturation ”, he answered me in a row.

And the sanitary conditions? I asked him again.

“All cans after being sealed are subjected to an autoclave sterilization process that destroys spores and bacteria.

If the can is well stored, it remains unchanged for years."

And it was time to say goodbye.

In my case, I did it with many sensations stored in my memory: the fruity, citrus, spicy and mineral notes of the great Bollinger RD 2008 champagne;

the fineness of the first clams of 2010;

the textures and flavors of the cans of sardines with an average age of 10 years, and the surprising nuances of the sardines of 2021. More than enough reasons to repeat our meeting in the near future.


Source: elparis

All news articles on 2023-04-15

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