Sardines: Not so much on this side of the pond

My friend Kerrin just sent me this photo.  It was taken in a hypermarche, a super-big supermarket, outside of Paris and my guess is that, had Kerrin had a wide-angle lens, she could have shown us an equally long wall of canned tuna too.  Even in the not-so-big Monoprix grocery near my apartment in Paris, the selection of canned fish is generous enough to keep you in that aisle for a while, reading labels and deciding among sardines with hot peppers, mustard, lemon or basil, smoked or not, whole or filleted.  I always keep a stack of sardine cans in the pantry, they’re my rainy-day emergency munch, perfect for when I’m on deadline and glued to my computer.  A squeeze of lemon, a couple of slices of tomato, a little salad and some bread and butter and all is right with the world.

The last time I was in Paris, I brought a few cans of sardines back with me

because, while I can get pretty much anything in New York, including these really good Portuguese sardines

the selection at my local Stop&Shop in Connecticut is not great.  And, last night I discovered that it’s about to become even less not-great.  See these cans of Bumble Bee sardines? 

I picked them up last night for 50 cents a can because the store is discontinuing them. 

I guess we’re not a sardine-savoring society in these parts, but it made me sad.  Here’s a food, a real food, that’s inexpensive (even when it’s not on sale), high in protein, iron, calcium and precious omega-3 fatty acids (the stuff we’re all supposed to have a couple of times a week), and it’s going off the shelves. 

I didn’t notice any discontinued signs in the chips department. 

Comments

[Mick Grantham]

I've been "taking sardines" as a "medicine" for several years and attribute reduction in joint pain to this!! Try this recipe. Take a common or garden can of sardines in tomato sauce. Mash up with fork in a bowl. Add chopped tomato, onion, garlic, chilli, vinegar to taste, olive oil, anchovy to taste.
Toast a couple slices wholemeal bread. Spread the mixture on the bread right to the edges so that the surface is completely covered (to avoid burning the bread). Put under grill until the mixture has a crisp surface. Very tasty!

[Dorie]

Julie, I've been to La Merenda, I LOVED it and I even dream about sometimes. It's such a wonderful place, made even more wonderful by it's being at the edge of the terrific market.

I'd never thought about it, but I think you're right: It's a good bet that sardine lovers love anchovies as well.

[Julie]

Dorie:

Since you mention both Nice and sardines... do you know the restaurant LA MERENDA in Vieux Nice: a tiny establishment with a no reservations policy - you must get there before 7PM, the earlier the better, as once the tables fill up that is it for the night. The menu is what the chef (ex chef of the Negresco) has chosen for the evening... last time I went we had fresh anchois (I assume that all sardine lovers romance with anchois as well?)

La Merenda
4. r. de la Terrasse (pas de téléphone !)

Bon App!

[Julie LEBLANC]

Dorie:

THANK YOU - I found and bought those portuguese sardines and we had them as part of a spontaneous apero the other night!

Merci mille fois!

Julie

[Dorie]

Once again, I'm struck by how many memories and thoughts we have about the simplest foods!

Rosa, when I come to Nice, I'd love to have those sardines stuffed with chard. They seem like such a nice exchange for crumbles and cakes.

Ruth, the description of your "staged" sardines is hilarious -- but unlikely to make sardine lovers out of anyone "on the other side".

Helen, I love the image I have in my mind of the security guards at the airport opening your suitcase for that last-minute check! Funny, but I've never had canned mackerel -- bet I'd like it, I certainly like it fresh.

Paris Breakfasts, do you think us work-at-homers have the most serious sardine habits?

Christianne, I hope you'll try your sardines and write to tell us that you survived. Yes, by all means, put them on toast and give them a squirt of lemon. I think the lemon juice -- or another kind of acid -- is important and a good match for the fish's fat. Also good with sardines are onions, tomatoes and, I don't know why, basil. Bon appetit!

[Christianne]

I'm so glad you posted about sardines! I have never had a sardine (canned or otherwise) in my life, but accidentally bought those Portuguese sardines pictured when I thought I was buying anchovies. They have been sitting in my pantry. It sounds like I should try them on toast with lemon? Is that the best way for a beginner?

[ParisBreakfasts]

Not a week goes by without a can of Portuguese sardines on toast with a squeeze of lemon..
But I never thought to research Monoprix's aisles!
merci

[Helen]

If only you knew how I miss fresh sardines, marinated herring and all the "fritures" that my mom used to fry up on the weekend. Everytime I go home I pack my suitcase with 2 things to bring back: tablets of chocolate, and tins of sardines and mackerel!
The photo is too much fun!

[RuthWells]

Ah, sardines! I cannot think of sardines without flashing back to several years ago, when I directed Michael Frayn's incredible farce, "Noises Off." The recurring gag throughout the play is the misplacement (misplacing?) of a prop plate of sardines, which needless to say gets pretty rank as the evening wears on. Our prop people made three attempts before fashioning the perfect prop sardines -- cut-out scraps of low-plush carpet, spray-painted a billious color, and glued to the prop plate. Ah, memories!

[Rosa]

How did you guess that I ate the sardines with chard in Nice? They were another gift from our 75-year-old neighbor, who loves nothing better than to make huge batches of local specialties and share them with all her friends! (In return I've been introducing her to crumble and carrot cake.)

[Dorie]

Rob, I think you're absolutely right: we want to eat "fresh" more often and, I'd say, thankfully, there's more "fresh" around for us to eat. But, as you pointed out, when it comes to sardines and anchovies, fresh and canned are two different beasts and they aren't, nor should they be, interchangeable. Thanks again for another very thoughtful comment.

[rob]

Sad, isn't it? My sense is that the biggest culprit is several generations of North Americans whose only experience of salted fish is anchovies on pizza. Not to mention the fact that it is, in all fairness, a rather overpowering flavour, especially for children. And let's face it, most people view adulthood not as a chance to revisit and conquer old food phobias, but as a way to ensure they will never have to confront them again. I've only come to appreciate sardines and anchovies over the past few years thanks to a wife who absolutely loves them. Also, the irony of the whole situation is that the demise of tinned sardines likely has to do with the explosion in the sophistication of the North American palate and the demise of products that don't conform to our obsession with freshness. A canned sardine, like a canned anchovy, is an equally valuable but entirely different animal in terms of taste and utility (though equally valuable) when compared to fresh versions of the product. My point is that there is a legitimate place for both, and most people are too blinded by the dogma of "fresh" to recognize that. (I just had a horrible vision of Caesar salad dressing made with fresh anchovy!) I'd bet that the drop in tinned sardine sales is more than exceeded by an increase in sales of the fresh product at fishmongers.

[Dorie]

Breadchick, what a sweet memory. I smiled when I read the expression "put hair on your chest". I heard it when my mother would say it about coffee that was too strong. Like you, it made me giggle as a kid.

[breadchick]

Wow, I wasn't the only one last night in a Connecticut S&S picking up 50 cent cans of sardines! The one in Westport had them on clearance as well. I grew up eating sardines with my grandfather. They were "our" snack. We'd eat them on saltines with a dash of Worcestershire sauce on them or warmed over a candle when we were ice fishing. Now, whenever I crack a can, I can't help but smile and hear my grandfather's voice tell me that if I ate too many they would "put hair on my chest", which as little girl made me giggle and as young woman made me blush. My kingdom to have the selection of even your Monoprix.

[Dorie]

Mercedes, your comment is fascinating. I can barely imagine how hard it is to provide healthful food in dire situations, but to have to take taste preferences, prejudices and religious restrictions into account too ... Thank you for sharing this with us.

Kerrin, did you see -- your dad says he'll buy you a wide-angle lens for your upcoming wedding? I hope you'll keep me on your picture list.

Rosa, fresh sardines with chard sound like the perfect lunch. It also sounds like lunch in Nice. Is that where you had them?

Kelly-Jane, three cheers for overcoming your cucumber and radish phobias. I don't think you have to worry that you'll come up against sardines, liver or kidneys at outings all that much, but cucumbers and radishes are the kinds of things it's often not easy to avoid. Good thing you "mastered" them.

[Mercedes]

Wow, I had no idea.
I work in humanitarian/hunger relief and we often use sardines when we can because they are one of the cheapest and healthiest protein sources. However, we face a lot of issues with acceptability. When I'm working in the Middle East they much prefer canned meat (ie Spam) to canned fish. I'm always trying to push the canned fish because it's healthier but all my Arab colleagues say people won't accept it.
I keep sardines in the pantry of our vacation house along with spaghetti and canned tomatoes- the best dinner when you've just arrived and need to stir up something quick.

[Lani]

I just adore sardines. When I am in Paris I will just buy a few can and stuff my suitcase with them.
My favorite is sardines with arugula and tomatoes. Love it on a hot summer night...

[Rosa]

Dorie, it was fun to read your post as I had sardines farcies (fresh sardines stuffed with chard) for lunch today, one of my favorite dishes! I hardly know any Americans who will eat sardines though, fresh or not.

[Steve Feldman (Kerrin's dad)]

Ok, ok, i'll buy Kerrin a wide-angle lens as a wedding gift. Avec plasir.

[Kelly-Jane]

I don't think I like sardines, didn't like them when I was little and can't get over the smell now!

I'm not so keen on kidneys either (or liver) it could be the smell, maybe the texture, shudder!

I've managed to over come my childhood dislike of cucumber and radishes though!

[Kerrin]

wow, that photographer has some eye for sardines! :) it is amazing the fun one can have in a french supermarket, or any foreign supermarket for that matter. the overwhelming variety of unfamiliar brands and attractive packaging (not always attractive though), the sea of colors and designs - it's a whole experience in itself. one not to be missed. and then there is the tasting experience once home from the store...! ah oui!

[Dorie]

Kova, I think you're right that sardines, anchovies and herring, the little fish, are an aquired taste. I think the things that make the small fish good for us -- the fat, particularly - are probably the things that make them hard to love right off the bat.

Sam, you hereby have my permission to call England a part of Europe. I'm with you on the virtues of fresh sardines, not that it's easy to find fresh sardines; even in New York City they're not for sale on every street corner. And, in some way, I think it's probably unfair to think about fresh and canned sardines as being the same fish. But with a little help, I think the canned fish make a fine lunch and I'm always glad to have them on hand.

But isn't it funny how hard it is to get rid of childhood dislikes? There are very few foods I won't eat, but there are things that I didn't like as a child and now, as an adult, even though I know I should give them a fair shake, I can't. Please don't try to serve me kidneys -- even with mustard.

[sam]

Growing up in Europe (if I'm allowed to call England that), my mother tried to bring me up on tinned sardines but I couldn't abide them and didn't think I liked them at all until I tried a fresh sardine. Now I am in love with fresh sardines.only.

[Kova]

My European husband has gotten me in the habit of eating sardines, anchovies and herring. It is somewhat of an acquired taste... but very good once given an actual chance! I am sad as well... I just can't go into Stop and Shop or Shaws anymore - I don't even use 90% of the store!

Great post... My husband is going to LOVE the sardine isle photo!