Sardine

Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae.^[1] Sardines were named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where they once lived in abundance.^[2]

The terms sardine and pilchard are not precise, and the usual meanings vary by region. Britain's Sea Fish Industry Authority for example classifies sardines as young pilchards.^[3] One criterion suggests that fish shorter in length than 6 inches (15 cm) are sardines, and larger ones pilchards.^[4] The FAO/WHO Codex standard for canned sardines cites 21 species that may be classed as sardines;^[5] FishBase, a comprehensive database of information about fish, calls at least six species pilchard, over a dozen just sardine, and many more with the two basic names qualified by various adjectives.

Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Sardines as food 2.1 Nutrition 2.2 Canned sardines 3 Sardines in popular culture 3.1 Balkans 3.2 France 3.3 Norway 3.4 Portugal 3.5 Spain 3.6 Turkey 3.7 United Kingdom 3.8 India 3.8.1 Commercial use of sardines 3.8.2 Fishing of sardines 3.8.3 Canning of sardines 3.9 United States 3.10 Morocco 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References

Taxonomy

• Genus Dussumeria
  • Rainbow sardine - Dussumieria acuta
  • Slender rainbow sardine - Dussumieria elopsoides
• Genus Escualosa
  • Slender white sardine - Escualosa elongata
  • White sardine - Escualosa thoracata
• Genus Sardina
  • European pilchard (true sardine) Sardina pilchardus
• Genus Sardinella
  • Round sardinella (gilt sardine, Spanish sardine) Sardinella aurita Sardinella longiceps, Sardinella gibbosa (Indian sardines)
• Genus Sardinops
  • South American pilchard (Pacific sardine, California sardine, Chilean sardine, South African sardine) Sardinops sagax (Jenyns, 1842)

Sardines as food

Sardines are rich in nutrients. They are commonly sold canned, but fresh sardines are often grilled, pickled or smoked.

Nutrition

Sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular disease.^[6] Recent studies suggest that regular consumption of omega-3 fatty acids reduces the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease.^[7] These fatty acids may also help lower blood sugar levels a small amount.^[8] They are also a good source of vitamin D, calcium, B12, and protein.^[9]

Sardines are extremely low in contaminants such as mercury.^[10]

However, canned sardines, particularly those that are canned in oil, are very high in cholesterol, which is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease.^{[11] [12]}

Canned sardines

Canned sardines in supermarkets may actually be "sprat" (such as the “brisling sardine”) or round herrings. Fish sizes vary by species. Good quality sardines should have the head and gills removed before packing.^[5] They may also be eviscerated before packing (typically the larger varieties). If not they should be purged of undigested or partially digested food or feces by holding the live fish in a tank long enough for them to empty their digestive systems.^[5] They may be packed in oil, water, or different kinds of prepared sauce.

Sardines in popular culture

Sardines are typically tightly packed in a small can which is scored for easy opening either with a pull tab (similar to how a can is opened), or a key, attached to the side of the can. Thus, it has the virtues of being an easily portable, non-perishable, self-contained food. The close packing of sardines in the can has led to their metaphorical use for any situation where people or objects are crowded together; for instance, in a bus or subway car. It has also been used as the name of a children's game where one child hides and each successive child who finds the hidden one packs into the space until there is only one left out, who becomes the next one to hide ^[13]

Sardines are a prominent prop in Michael Frayn's farce Noises Off.

Balkans

Fishing for sardela or sardina (Sardina pilchardus) on the coasts of Dalmatia and Istria began thousands of years ago. The region was part of the Roman Empire, then largely a Venetian dominion, and has always been sustained through fishing mainly sardines. All along the coast there are many towns that promote the age-old practice of fishing by lateen sail boats for tourism and on festival occasions. Today industrial producers continue this tradition. Currently, there are four factories of canned sardines: in Rovinj, Zadar, Postira and in Sali, on the island Dugi otok ("Mardesic" factory, founded in 1905).

Although currently a landlocked country, Serbia has a tradition of consuming sardines, and used to have access to the Adriatic coast as part of Yugoslavia. The first factory producing canned sardines opened in 2007 in the village of Belotinac (near the southern city of Niš), mostly using fish from Croatia.

France

Sardine fishing and canning is a traditional industry in Brittany, where most French canneries remain. The area is known as the place where sardine canning was invented. Douarnenez was the world's leading sardine exporter in the 19th century. The sardines are fried, dried, and then canned (this traditional process is labelled "préparées à l'ancienne"), whereas in most other countries processing consists of steam cooking after canning.

Norway

Until the discovery of oil fields in the fishing areas, sardine canning was the main activity of the city of Stavanger. Sardine and oil (of a different sort) have always made a good partnership, but now only a sardine museum remains among the refineries in Stavanger.

Portugal

Sardines play an important role in Portuguese culture. Historically a people who depend heavily on the sea for food and commerce, the Portuguese have a predilection for fish in their popular festivities. The most important is Saint Anthony's day, June 13, when Portugal's biggest popular festival takes place in Lisbon, where grilled sardines are the snack of choice. Almost every place in Portugal, from Figueira da Foz to Portalegre, from Póvoa de Varzim to Olhão, has the summertime tradition of eating grilled sardines (sardinhas assadas).

Spain

In the Timanfaya Volcanic National Park on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, a popular tourist snack is freshly caught sardines grilled over the heat from a volcanic vent. On the Atlantic coast, fried sardines are commonly served as tapas with drinks or as the first course of a meal. On the Mediterranean coast, grilling is more common.

Turkey

Sardines (Sardalya in Turkish) is a vastly found fish on fish markets throughout coastal Western regions of Turkey. Sardines is regarded as a delicacy in Turkish cuisine. Thanks to its oily meat, it is generally grilled on coal-assisted BBQs, or steamed on oven. However it is, perhaps, best known for consumption in dinner tables as a main course, not to mention along with the grog, most notably rakı - the archetypal Turkish liqueur. Particularly in the Gallipoli peninsula (Turkish: Gelibolu Yarımadası) and in Aegean region of Turkey, Sardines are oven-cooked by rolling with grape leaves.

United Kingdom

See also Fishing in Cornwall

Pilchard fishing and processing was a thriving industry in Cornwall from around 1750 to around 1880, after which it went into an almost terminal decline. However, as of 2007, stocks are improving ^[14]. Since 1997 sardines from Cornwall have been sold as Cornish sardines.

The industry has featured in numerous works of art, particularly by Stanhope Forbes and other Newlyn School artists. A traditional Cornish pilchard dish is stargazy pie or starry gazy pie.

India

The sardine is a favorite food of the Keralites and the people of Tamil Nadu and coastal Karnataka. The fish is typically eaten fresh, and canned sardines are not popular. Fried sardines are a much sought-after delicacy. They are called mathi or chalai in Tamil Nadu, near Sri Lanka, and Kerala. People from coastal Karnataka call them pedvo or bhootai. Sardines are cheaper in India than larger fish like the seer or pomfret, making them a low cost delicacy. The sardine is a pelagic fish, caught in fairly large quantities using a purse seine or a ring seine. They are consumed in various forms, including deep fried and pan fried, or made into curries of various types.

Commercial use of sardines

Sardines are commercially fished for a variety of uses: for bait; for immediate consumption; for drying, salting, or smoking; and for reduction into fish meal or oil. The chief use of sardines is for human consumption, but fish meal is used as animal feed, while sardine oil has many uses, including the manufacture of paint, varnish and linoleum.

Fishing of sardines

The most important gear is an encircling net, particularly the purse seine. Many modifications of encircling nets are used, including traps or weirs. The latter are stationary enclosures composed of stakes into which schools of sardines are diverted as they swim along the coast. The fish are caught mainly at night, when they approach the surface to feed on plankton. After harvesting, the fish are submerged in brine while they are transported to shore.

Canning of sardines

Sardines are canned in many different ways. At the cannery the fish are washed, their heads are removed, and the fish are cooked, either by deep-frying or by steam-cooking, after which they are dried. They are then packed in either olive or soybean oil, water, or in a tomato or mustard sauce.

United States

In the United States, the sardine canning industry peaked in the 1950s. Since then, the industry has been on the decline. The last large sardine cannery in the United States, the Stinson Seafood plant in Prospect Harbor, Maine, closed its doors on April 15, 2010 after 135 years in operation.^[15]

Morocco

Morocco is the sardine capital of the world. Sardines represent more than 62% of the Moroccan fish catch and account for 91% of raw material usage in the domestic canning industry. Some 600,000 tonnes of fresh sardines are processed each year by the industry. Morocco is the largest canned sardine exporter in the world and the leading supplier of sardines to the European market.

Famous Moroccan recipes include Moroccan Fried Stuffed Sardines and Moroccan Sardine Balls in Spicy Tomato Sauce.

Gallery

Sardines

Grilled sardines

Canned sardines in can

Canned sardines out of can

See also

• Sardine run
• Anchovy
• Fish as food
• Niboshi

References

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