What Andrew Zimmern Really Thinks About Tinned Fish

If canned tuna fish is one of those ingredients that you have to mask with other flavors to make the fish palatable, we have good news for you. The world of tinned seafood offers a much larger expanse to explore besides dry, tasteless fish. While the canned tuna you have sampled in the United States may have been cooked several times, other brands offer flavorful, tender pieces of seafood that will have you adding tinned fish to your grocery lists on the regular. In many European markets, you'll find fish packaged in jars filled with olive oil or seasoned in tins of flavorful sauce. These kinds of preserved items are ideal to mix into salads or spread on top of crackers.

Chef Andrew Zimmern not only agrees but enthusiastically expressed his approval of using tinned fish in dishes and menus. "Anyway, I am a big fan of conservas," he writes on his Substack. Zimmern is quick to point out that conservas aren't necessarily the predictable stacks of tuna cans you've noticed at your local grocery store and can refer to any kind of preserved food that is placed in a jar or tin to preserve its shelf life. In Zimmern's case, when he craves a taste of Lisbon, he reaches for these canned products filled with fish.  

We have the Portuguese to thank for coming up with the idea of storing delicious fish in cans. Using preserved seafood — salmon, tuna, sardines, trout, mussels, octopus, to name a few — can help home chefs put delicious meals onto the dining room table without breaking the bank, as canned proteins can often be purchased more cheaply than fresh products. All conservas are not created equal, Zimmern advises, as brands can deliver different tastes and quality of products. "They can be insanely delicious if you purchase the right types and brands," he writes.

Once you have quality canned fish stocked in your pantry, you have options when it comes to using the ingredients in your kitchen. Zimmern makes sauces out of canned fish by blending the ingredient with capers, lemon, and mayo. He adds tuna to casserole dishes and makes morning bagel sandwiches with canned fish. With so many culinary options, visiting the canned section the next time you visit the store is a worthy endeavor. Should you not find quality products stocked on the shelves, shop online for the tinned fish you'd like to try.