Eats
The Truth About Tinned Fish
The truth is tinned fish is indispensable and delicious. The world seems to be divided into two camps—lovers of tinned fish and those too squeamish to try. I’m firmly pro and I’ve seen conversions, which proves minds can always be opened.
As I child I hated a sweet breakfast. My dear mother fed me leftovers from dinner or let me skip breakfast altogether. Once she discovered the only British import store in Los Angeles (this was 1971), she added fish paste on hot buttered toast to the offerings. It was love at first bite for seven-year-old me.
Soon I was introduced to tinned anchovies and sardines, and loved them even more. We always had them on hand and I nibbled them out of the tin or mashed them on more toast. Lots of butter was and is essential.
In my own pantry I follow suit and keep a good stash at all times. And because tinned fish is having its moment, it’s easy to get octopus, squid, smoked oysters and mussels, trout, mackerel, and salmon, from around the world. The choices are irresistible if you’re a fan.
Tinned seafood is nutritious, exotic, and relatively inexpensive. Packed with calcium, iron, and Omega 3s, they are perfect for snacks, lunches, and dinners. They are made for solo diners, adventurous grazers, and weary workers. The king of all tinned fish, the sardine, has long been an essential food for soldiers and explorers.
Beyond a topping for toast, the tinned fishes and shellfishes are great for quick no-recipe recipes. Add a can of Italian tuna to a simmering, chunky tomato sauce for dressing pasta.
Tuna and white bean salad is a not-sad desk lunch.
Add a variety of shellfish in cans to lightly dressed poached fresh shrimp and call it seafood salad.
Serve them right out of the can with toothpicks at a picnic, hopefully by the sea.
Do you love tinned fish? Will you be converted?
Currently I have a “sleeve” (4 cans packaged together) of tuna on the second shelf of my refrigerator which stares at me each time I open the refrigerator door. I have been trying to lose some weight so I thought having cans on hand would be a good idea. That was five months ago. I love a tuna sandwich, but I’ve been trying to eat less bread. Tuna salad doesn’t seem very comforting in mid-winter. As a result, I have been looking for inspiration and your column is just the ticket! Thank you. Maybe I’ll take the plunge and try sardines, herring? Who knows? The world is my (canned) oyster. But, first, the tower of tuna.
Perhaps, make low fat tuna salad substituting Greek yogurt in lieu of mayo and avoid bread by using romaine lettuce as “boats” for a vessel.
Tuna lover here! I dress mine up with dill-lots and lots of dill, shredded carrots and red onions finely diced. I add Duke’s mayonnaise and gobble!
I am not as adventurous and will not be trying other tinned fish.
That sounds good! Always looking for different ingredients to add to the tuna sandwich. Thanks!
Toasted *sardine and tomato ketchup* sandwich. Tuna, little mayo with a few drops of peri peri sauce, mixed with chunks of cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes and shredded lettuce. Stir fried mackerel. Classic tinned salmon with vinegar in a sandwich with cucumber and sliced boiled beetroot.
Need I go on? Tinned fish is wonderful! It’s on the ‘foods to avoid’ list if you have gout, but I still indulge once a month
It’s ironic that this column appeared today! I am still recovering from a gout flare! Trying to stick to the diet, I’ve been bemoaning severely cutting back on tinned fish!
I’ll save these recipes.. and yours, thank you very much!…for my monthly splurge!!
I can handle tuna fish in cans for a tuna salad and can only manage anchovies if they are melted into a garlic-olive oil butter fondue. No to the others! LOL!
When I was growing up, Kippers (kippered herring) on crackers was one of my favorite after school snacks, sardines with mustard a close second.
In the third grade I made the mistake of taking a tin of Kippers to school in my lunch box. As you can imagine, my classmates did not approve and an uproar ensued about the smell. Needless to say, out of embarrassment and hurt feelings, the Kippers went into the trash that day and I went without lunch. But, when I got home from school I went straight for the Kippers and crackers! Love them to this day.
Favorite fast meal – bowl of rice (white or brown), can of sardines, big pinch or 2 of hot chili flakes. Mix together and enjoy.
I’m also a tuna fan, in water or oil, and mackerel is delicious. My grocery store sells a brand in oil with olives and spices, it’s great over pasta for another fast meal.
And now that I’m thinking of it, my father used to cook me fried tomato slices and kippers for breakfast on weekends. I haven’t had kippers for decades, maybe it is time to get them back in the rotation….
All the heroines in the WWII novels eat sardines on toast for their Sunday Night Supper. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me!
Next, I want to know: what is the difference between a kippered herring and a not-kippered herring.
Oyster Soup makes for a good, simple, quick, warm lunch on a Friday. Can of oysters, refill can with milk, toss in a pat of butter, heat through. Something crunchy on the side.
Haha I actually prefer tinned tuna to fresh, so long as it’s in olive oil and dolphin friendly. Sardines on hot buttered toast with lemon and pepper are yummy. And anchovies add the perfect umami to so many things. Won’t have pizza without them.
Yes! One of my favorite breakfasts has always been “kippers” on toast. Tinned fish rules.
I just topped up my tinned fish while I was at the store yesterday. I love looking at all the brands and varieties and trying new things. Yesterday I picked up sardine pate and tuna pate. I’m intrigued. I was firmly in the squeamish category until a couple of years ago. Now I find it all VERY DELICIOUS. Team Tinned Fish!
This made me laugh! In college, circa 1966, all my dorm mates got care packages of home baked cookies. MY mother sent tins of mandarin oranges for extra Vitamin C and tins of smoked oysters for a treat. I loved them! I soon found the only other girl on the floor who also loved them, and we had periodic feasts together while the rest of the floor cringed! I think I need to open a can today, although anchovy toast might be even better on this cold morning in New England…..
Thanks for the memory!
Yes, I do love tinned fish! Go-to pantry staple is chopped clams – always at the ready for pasta and the only hard choice is red or white clam sauce. Great reminder about sardines – why don’t I have those on hand, too? Adding to the weekend shopping list.
When my husband heard about this article he said “I want to read that”. He has been making appetizers like smoked fish in cream cheese with lemon and pickled onions, and on and on. There are so many varieties of tinned fish that taste so good. Thanks for these additional recipes.
Well, after all these years I finally know what kippers are. I grew up eating herring merely pickled, out of a jar. So Scandinavian. Also love sardines on toast with a big squeeze of lemon. We now eat tuna salad made with Dijon mustard instead of mayo. Yummy. Is it actually healthier? Less fat. More salt. Pick your poison. I can imagine tomato sauce with sardines but not tuna (ugh). Go figure:). Squeamish about a gifted can of mackerel still sitting in my pantry. Maybe this column will help:).
Ahhhh….we love some canned fish here at our house!
The cupboard currently houses: sardines in hot sauce for my husband, smoked oysters for me, lots of anchovies (for cooking umami), barbecue codfish, Portuguese mackerel, Portuguese sardines, smoked eel (just for me), and some lovely tuna.
Salad Nicoise is one of our summertime favorites, so we always have the ‘good tuna’ on hand for that. And, as noted above, canned fish/seafood combinations make a great start to a Sicilian pasta night here!
Yum!
Absolutely a fan of tinned fish…grilled sardines and tomatoes on toast was a favorite growing up…now happy just to eat directly from the tin. Love to shop in Asian and Central/South American grocery stores for different varieties, often less expensive that my local grocery chain.
Tinned sardines + yellow mustard + Wonder bread = core childhood memory! Usually prepared & served by my dad, on site, at a picnic table in a park. I didn’t really love them then, and that’s not how I eat them now, but I never crack open a can of sardines without thinking of those sandwiches!
I absolutely love tuna, and have eaten it all my life, but watching the documentary Seaspiracy by British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi has definitely given me pause before indulging.
I am a recent convert; an added bonus for me is that the tin designs are all so clever/interesting/enticing. They feel like a treat ! I am in my tinned fish /sliced radish on buttered bread era of life
Shared the love of canned sardines with my late father in law. Even though my husband thought (and still thinks) it’s disgusting, I can’t help but think of this gentle man who raised my life love and smile every time I pop a can open. Thanks for the memory!
Fish steaks with Louisiana hot sauce on Truscuit crackers is one of my sister and my guilty pleasures. But we can’t eat it when our husbands are home as they are so disgusted by it
When I was a child there were always sardine cans in the house, my dad loved them! I tried them many times and Not a fan!! Tuna is fine, but you can keep the sardines.
Started reading this post and first thought was the character Detective Cordelia Cupp from the Netflix series “The Residence “. She carried tinned fish in her bag in case she got hungry!
Oh, I forgot rollmops !
Perhaps ok if the fish has come from the wilds but farmed fish are riddled with parasites and disease, plus the chemicals used to treat these. There are also the conditions they’re reared in. I steer well clear of fish
Wow, who knew that so many people deeply enjoy canned fish?! I thought I was aberrant, given most of my family’s aversion. Do note that you shouldn’t eat more than one can of tuna a week now; unfortunately this unfortunate fish now accumulates mercury and it stays in them, all the way to your insides which will collect it too.
Tinned fish is my go-to solution for emergency dinners. As in, “uh oh, what’s for dinner” dinners.
I’ve recently discovered making salmon meatballs. With a can of salmon, an egg, some mayo, spices, and breadcrumbs (all pantry ingredients!) I can have dinner ready in about half an hour. Last time I made it, I put in a can of tuna too, and they were even better!
My family cannot eat them fast enough. I can’t open the cans quick enough they have to wait for the them.