Tinned Fish In Spain Is No Typical Store-Bought Experience According To Anthony Bourdain
When you think of tinned fish in the United States, what comes to mind? It's most likely those salty, mushy tinned anchovies or sardines you find within your local grocery store's aisles, or possibly those canned clams and oysters that have the same unappealing reputation. Despite the fact that these Omega-3-packed staples are low-effort snacks, they're not always shown love. However, if you travel across the Atlantic, you'll come across some of the highest-quality seafood in a can.
During a 2008 episode of "No Reservations," Anthony Bourdain sampled the tinned fish in Spain. "This stuff bears no relationship to the can of smoked oysters you ate stoned and desperate at two in the morning back at college," Bourdain remarked. He referred to the canned products as "the world's very best seafood," adding that the flavor only improves as it sits in the juices within the packaging. Bourdain proceeded to eat oysters straight from the can, so it's clear that he hadn't enjoyed anything like it back home.
Tinned seafood in Spain can be very expensive
When you think of the right time to use canned oysters instead of fresh, you probably think of an inexpensive way to get some extra protein or a quick seafood addition for your soup. In Spain, this doesn't seem to be the case. If you take a look at Spain's geography, nearly the entire country borders the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea (not to mention countless freshwater rivers). Spain has access to high-quality seafood, and it often shows up in the price.
When Anthony Bourdain visited Spain in his "No Reservations" series, he found that canned seafood was quite expensive. One person he spoke with revealed that one six-ounce can of oysters cost €156, which was close to $250 at the time. Keep in mind that this was back in 2008.
"When you put something in a can, you're losing something," Bourdain said, suggesting that tinned seafood didn't always have the most positive reputation. He validated that Spain's canned seafood wasn't subject to the same effect. In this case, the longer the seafood marinated, the better it tasted. Clams, which tend to have a little more fat, improve with age because that fat blends into the juice as they sit in the tin. Bourdain praised the canned seafood concept, and based on his review, it could be worth a flight to check it out.