HOOKED ON CANNED FISH
Chef gives the pantry staple the respect it deserves
Like dried beans or a bag of flour, the mere presence of canned fish in our pantries can be encouraging.
From the extremes of Antarctic expeditions to surprise power outages and today’s physical distancing, a can of fish signifies a reliable and affordable source of sustenance.
While some have a fresh-is-best attitude — especially when it comes to seafood — and view canned anything as a fallback option, its virtues couldn’t be more obvious.
Chef Bart van Olphen, a firm believer that canned fish deserves the spotlight — not just when dictated by external circumstances or finances, but all the time — couldn’t have known just how appropriate his latest book would be.
In The Tinned Fish Cookbook (The Experiment, 2020), his goal was to inspire a change in mindset toward what some deem a secondary product. As it happens, turning to canned goods perhaps more than ever, we’re primed for a re-education.
A longtime advocate of sustainable seafood, van Olphen has visited fishing communities around the world and is co-founder of the company Fish Tales. (His 2011 book of the same name won the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for best sustainable cookbook.)
He fell for canned fish 15 years ago, after experiencing how much it’s revered in countries like Portugal, Spain and France.
Struck by the wide array of species and treatments — some of which are so highly prized they were held under lock and key at department stores — van Olphen can pinpoint the moment he knew he would pursue a career in preserved fish. When visiting a conserverie in northern Brittany, proprietor Marie Bevillon gave him a can of sardines as a parting gift. But Bevillon’s offering came with conditions: He wasn’t to crack into it for at least a year and had to promise to invert the can every six months. Just like wine, she told him, sardines only get better with age.
“Within the tin, it actually creates all these umami flavours, especially when you talk about these oily fish like sardines or anchovies,” says van Olphen. “It’s amazing what’s happening in the can.” The act of preserving fish changes its taste and texture. But as evidenced by how much it can improve with time, by no means does this difference equate with inferiority. The canning process involves heating fish to a high temperature, which means it’s cooked and ready to eat.
Recognizing how this preservation technique changes the product is key to preparing it well. Canned fish stands on its own merits — it just takes the right approach and some basic knowledge to highlight its attributes.
“The fish is cooked for you. So for many, the difficult job is already done. When that fish is cooked in the tin, it’s soft in texture. If you open it, it’s pale — it’s not colourful,” says van Olphen.
“With that as a base — if you can add crunchiness and colours and flavours, some acidity, some freshness — you can create some amazing dishes within 10, 15 minutes.”
In The Tinned Fish Cookbook, he offers an overview of cooking with canned seafood (in water or in oil? tinned or jarred?) and how to make sustainable choices while shopping. The 45 recipes are arranged by species — tuna, salmon, anchovies, sardines, mackerel, herring — and a catchall final chapter showcasing other products such as cod liver, crab and mussels.
As with frozen fish, canned seafood is often packed at the height of the season — preserved at peak quality for future enjoyment.
With fresh fish, you would likely cook it briefly according to your preferred method and add a garnish of some sort.
With canned fish, van Olphen sees it as an entirely different proposition. Considering colour, use of herbs and spices and sources of acidity and texture is central to turning that pantry staple into something tasty.
“You become much more creative because you need to add flavours to a base. You need to add textures. It’s like a puzzle and it’s fun to do.”
Recipes from The Tinned Fish Cookbook: Easy-to-Make Meals from Ocean to Plate — Sustainably Canned, 100% Delicious, Bart van Olphen 2019, 2020. Reprinted by permission of The Experiment.