From the sea to your home
An inimitable flavor coming from a unique place: the Galician coasts.
The value of tradition
It all begins in the hands and work of Galician fishermen.
Sharing excellence
We want to highlight the value of our products all over the world. Because quality should prevail over borders.
Canned food in Galicia: the value of tradition
The lush wealth of the Galician sea is unique: it combines abundance and quality. It is natural that the canning industry settled in Galicia almost two hundred years ago. Preserving the delicious product from Galician waters was a necessity, rather than just a business. But in order to talk about the authentic origin of this preservation system, we have to travel in space and time... and talk about Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon, yes, the famous French emperor. Indeed, Napoleon the famous French emperor.
Napoleon undertook endless military campaigns between the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. His troops were numerous and they moved through all kinds of territories, being exposed to the most diverse weather conditions. Of course, they needed to eat well in order to stay strong, so Bonaparte decided to stimulate scientific talent. He announced that he would give a reward of 12,000 francs to whoever devised the best way to preserve food in perfect condition.
A witty cook named Nicolas Appert came up with the idea of sterilizing a glass jar sealed with cork in boiling water. The results were excellent. His proposal not only got the reward, but opened a new path. Following in his footsteps, an Englishman, Peter Durand, patented in 1810 a preservation system in welded tin boxes. The route towards modern procedures was outlined, and evolution was unstoppable. During the second half of the 19th century, the canned fish industry consolidated a solid position in the European continent.
In Spain there is a key figure in this process: that of the fomentadores. These were Catalonian businessmen who had settled in the Galician coast to take advantage of the sardine, fleeing the shortage in the Mediterranean Sea during the mid-18th century. In their workshops, they worked primarily with salting techniques. However, around 1880 a magnificent market opportunity arose: the sardine disappeared from the French seas. The neighboring country ensured a powerful demand for the product, in addition to providing both capital and technical knowledge. Hermetic canning systems burst into Galicia through trade agreements signed with France.
The sector experienced a spectacular peak that intensified the interest of local businessmen. Many Galician families founded their own companies to compete with the Catalonian and the French. Some of them are still working, with brands which offer high quality products supported by the prestige of a centenarian tradition. Nowadays, the Galician canning industry is an undisputed leader in the national and international markets. Times have changed: there are no longer technical secrets as there used to be in the past. The natural flavor is what really makes the difference, and the Galician one is unique in the world.
The preservation process: the value of the natural product
No preservatives. No chemicals. Nothing is added that can take away the 100% natural taste of fish and shellfish. The methods used in the Galician canning industry are a solid guarantee of quality and reliability.
Our canned products are able to please the most demanding consumers. Unlike in other packaged foods, no tricks or artifice are used in canned foods to deceive the palate. They are unnecessary. The only necessary thing is the protection of the extraordinary qualities of the product extracted from Galician waters.
The process is rigorous from beginning to end, under strict hygiene and safety criteria. Fresh fish arrives refrigerated at the canning plants, where it is stored in refrigeration chambers. A team of experts assess in depth the conditions of the product received, ensuring that it is optimal for consumption.
Only the highest quality fish and shellfish remain in the process. Sterilizing food at temperatures above 100\'baC guarantees that the products remain unaltered in the can for long periods of time. Any potentially harmful germ is destroyed in this process without affecting the nutritional quality or the original flavor of the product that reaches your table.
The monitoring does not end once the container is closed, after the canning process quality controls are carried out by both the company itself and by external certifying companies. It is difficult to find in the market a product that undergoes so many tests without this set of guarantees entailing the renunciation to natural properties.
Memories of flavors: in Galicia and in the world
If we could peek into the pantries of a hundred Spanish families, canned food would be found in more than ninety. How could it be any other way? A delicious natural product easy to store, competitively priced and with expiration dates that allow ample room for consumption. These are enough guarantees to become an essential product.
If I close my eyes to remember, a lot of flavors come back to my mouth. The recipes of both my mother and my grandmother, who with a couple of cans and ten minutes were able to prepare wonders worthy of renowned chefs. Those sneak raids onto the kitchen cupboard, looking for some mussels to deaden mid-afternoon hunger. And of course, those dinners as a student, taking the edge off my hunger with some delicious canned foods after having drinks with my friends.
It is said that the most important thing is what we only miss when it disappears completely. Like air, like water, like great friendships. As an adult, I have found myself looking for canned food in stores and supermarkets in many countries, in those destinations where life has taken me. And I was surprised to find out that, despite the deserved reputation of Spanish cuisine in the world, canned food remains inexplicably unknown in many places on the map.
Because I know this excellent product, I know the suppliers that ensure its quality; and I am convinced that those who discover it have no choice but to get used to living with it.
Why?
- Because of the taste. Our canned fish and shellfish offer a wide variety of ideas and flavors for your pantry and your cuisine.
- Because of your health. Our canned foods provide all the nutritional qualities of the best sea products.
- Because they are natural. Our products do not contain preservatives.
- Because of the minimal ecological impact. Canned foods do not need cold storage, so they do not require energy to be preserved in optimal conditions. Besides, our containers are 100% recyclable.