Claudia Romeo: Olá from Portugal! We are in Matosinhos, a town nearby Porto. We are at Conservas Pinhais, which is one of the oldest preserving
factories here in Portugal and one of the few that
still cans sardines the traditional, artisanal way. Today we're going to
learn how this small fish got such a big cult following. We're going to see how sardines are canned here at Pinhais and
taste a few to understand what sets this artisanal method apart. If you travel to Portugal, chances are you will come back home with an array of souvenirs
in the shape of sardines. And during the country's
festivities in June, 13 sardines are eaten every second. The country has a long
fish-canning tradition, to the point that the sardine has become a national icon. But why? Claudia: Canning itself did
not originate in Portugal. It was a French
confectioner, Nicolas Appert, who first successfully
preserved foods with the method. He found his way to
fame in the early 1800s after presenting his inventions to French emperor Napoleon, who was looking for a new
food-preserving method to feed his army. After Appert's discovery was made public, canning quickly became popular. With Portugal's extensive coastline and an abundance of fish, it wasn't hard for the
country to jump on the trend, and by 1925 it counted
about 400 canneries. Claudia: An important
fishing port already, Matosinhos became a hub
for the canning industry. Claudia: After the war, the
industry gradually declined. In 2013, Portugal counted only 20 fish-preserving factories. Many factors contributed to this decline. The replacement of
high-quality ingredients with cheaper raw material, climate change, fishing regulations due
to diminishing stock, and the automation of the canning process. Founded in 1920, Pinhais
is one of Portugal's last surviving preserving factories. Claudia: Pinhais makes four
types of canned sardines: sardines in olive oil,
sardines in tomato sauce, spiced sardines in olive oil, and sardines in spiced tomato sauce. We followed the making of
sardines in tomato sauce and the spiced sardines in olive oil. These are the fresh sardines that have arrived this morning
from Matosinhos harbor, and the canning process
will take place in one day, so everything is gonna be finished by 5 p.m. this afternoon. All the sardines are gonna be tinned. Now it's time to go and see how sardines are actually
canned here at Pinhais. After the sardines arrive at the factory, they are placed on a marble table, and the head and bowel of
the fish are cut off by hand. Then they are brined
for about half an hour. The sardines are placed
on grids that are handmade by Senhor Albino in his
workshop at the factory. Then the sardines are rinsed
to remove salt and steamed. Claudia: All the ingredients
are cut during the day and added by hand, one by one. Each can of spiced sardines
has one pinch of black pepper, carrot, laurel, piri-piri,
clove, and cucumber. Senhora Emilia is in
charge of the tomato sauce, and she keeps her recipe secret. The fish are canned in tinplate tins, then washed and sterilized. These are the only two
machines at the factory. These two ladies are in
charge of quality control. They do that by listening carefully to the sound of each tin. This is the sound of a good tin. [tins clanking] And this is a bad one. [tins clanking] Tins are stored for at
least three to six months. Whenever a customer submits an order, the cans are wrapped by hand. Which, by the way, is not an easy job, as I had the chance to wrap a can myself. So, this one? Employee: You've got more than one there. First on the bottom. Claudia: Oh, it's very slippery. Employee: With this hand
and with this finger. [laughing] Claudia: Too much tape. A bit big, no? Yeah, it's hard. Obrigada. So, we have finished our
tour here at Pinhais, and now it's time for tasting. We have sardines in tomato sauce and sardines in spiced olive oil. This is actually my very,
very, very first time eating sardines out of a can. Now it's sardines-in-tomato-sauce time. I'm not good at opening cans. This particular can was made in 2015. It's four years ago. Well, let's have a sardine. Oh, it's so good. [laughing] Wow. Wow, this is so good. It's really amazing. It tastes as sweet as tomatoes, and the oil is incredible. Just by this one bite I can
tell that it's good oil. I have a bad memory of canned stuff because I'm really scared of, like, the strong taste of vinegar or, like, very, very bad vegetable oil. Whereas this is so fresh; it's so nice. It reminds me of just, like, my grandmother cooking tomato sauce. She could have just, you
know, done it this morning and this would be my lunch. Like, so good. [laughs] OK, well, let's try the spiced. I'm not big fan of spices. So. [laughs] Let's see if this is
going to change my mind. It's not the spice that I was expecting. This one is a very subtle spice, and also it tastes very, like, earthy. I can taste the laurel straight away, and that is interesting because that's, like,
very, very, very tiny part. Why haven't I been eating
sardines all this time? [laughs]
It's so good. Canning them, I think,
makes them even better. Pinhais exports 90% of its
products all over the globe, from Austria to the Caribbean.
Ri-me cada vez que disse "tomato sauce", o sotaque é engraçado.
Pelo que tenho apercebido, as nossas conservas são muito desvalorizadas, especialmente as gerações mais novas que consomem pouco mais do que conserva de atum regularmente.
Como ja disseram as conservas são um óptimo "desenrasque" para uma refeição rápida como para usar num prato mais elaborado. Existem receitas ou sugestões de pratos com base nas conservas. Existem conservas dos mais variados tipos de peixe e com sabores ótimos.
Aproveito este thread incentivar quem nunca explorou a experimentar que poderá ter uma agradável surpresa.
Edit: aproveitando uns comments que li, as conservas não são algo da moda (as lojas coloridas sim) é algo típico de algumas regiões e é outro produto exportado por nós. Eu também não tenho tradição familiar de comer conservas mas conheço quem tenha porque vivia perto de zonas com pesca e fábricas.
Excelente partilha OP, foi um prazer aprender mais sobre esta indústria e a ilustre fábrica.
comprar pães de mafra fatiados e sardinha com tomate enlatada - épicas na horas de almoço!
Não desgostando do vídeo (até porque é sempre interessante ver o processo produtivo) não posso deixar de salientar a propaganda patronal. Primeiro temos o patrão a falar que os trabalhadores são uma grande família e estão contentes, mas se fossem família não teriam uma parte da empresa? São filhos e enteados, os filhos ficam com a empresa ao herdarem os enteados trabalham por migalhas. Então porque são pagos mal e parcamente? Pesquisem e verão notícias de salários em atraso e baixos salários.
Um comentário ridículo no youtube:
Automatização é ótima! Só é mau num sistema ridículo como o nosso, onde alguém perde o trabalho e fica fodido. Aliás, até apostaria que o motivo de não automatizarem não seja por simpatia ou considerarem trabalhadores família (lol), mas pelo contrário que automatizar seria mais caro que manter trabalhadores mal pagos ou então resultaria numa diminuição de qualidade do produto, seja o que for não é escolha pessoal e de bondade mas económica.
Também não disseram o que faziam com a cauda e cabeças do peixe, coisa que gostava de saber.
Eu nunca comi sardinha de lata, nem conheço este "hype". Isto é algo que o português comum come ou é para loja de souvenirs?
Uma maravilha as enlatadas em molho de tomate! Só de ver o video fiquei com vontade de ir abrir uma lata!
"Em Portugal nós temos uma costa mediterrânica muito grande"
ESPANHA É NOSSA
Para além do patrão ser o típico industrial do norte com tudo o que de aí advém.
Para quem perguntou porque é que a empresa não tem automação a resposta é simples quando tens 120 anos de empresa tens pelo menos 3 possivelmente 4 gerações a mamar na empresa e não sobra dinheiro para mais que as despesas correntes e todos os anos trocar de Panamera. E porque as senhoras têm um trabalho rotativo de manhã arranjam o peixe e a seguir é que vão para o enlatamento.
Eu vi isto ontem no YouTube e esmagou me a alma as senhoras que estão a deitar as merdas para dentro das latas.