These Portuguese fish cans are some of the world’s best

Seven brands appear in the annual ranking released by the World’s 101 Best Canned Fish, which puts the best canned fish in the world into competition.

We’ve become accustomed to seeing Portugal represented in every ranking, especially when it comes to gastronomy. And in the world of canned fish, the panorama is no different.

Portugal came out on top in the list of the best canned fish of the year, “The World’s 101 Best Canned Fish”.

The ranking, released on December 15, featured Portuguese canned fish and showed that Portugal is a powerhouse, at least when it comes to canned mackerel. There was a silver medal, a third place, a fourth, three sixth places, and two more representatives in seventh and tenth place.

The competition is divided into different categories, depending on the species of fish: sardines, anchovies, tuna, mackerel, shellfish, as well as specials and The Best of The Best. In sardines, Portuguese producer NURI won sixth place with its Sardinha Reserva 2000 (€12) – which can be ordered on the brand’s website.

NURI is a brand of Pinhais & Cª Lda, an artisanal sardine cannery from Matosinhos, which was founded in 1920 and which to this day is the only company that remains faithful to the traditional method throughout its production.

In the tuna category, the tuna fillet in Organic Olive Oil, with the Santa Catarina emblem, from the Azores, is the latest to reinforce the Portuguese presence in tenth place. Heir to the old canning tradition on the island of São Jorge, the store prepares the tuna using manual methods, from cooking the fish to filling the jars and labeling. The product is on sale online (€3.38) and in large supermarkets.

Finally, in mackerel, NURI scored again, this time with the silver medal. Third and fourth place also belong to Portuguese companies: Cocagne and Minerva, respectively. Sixth place was so close that an exception had to be made for two Portuguese brands – Briosa Gourmet and the award-winning Nuri.

The seventh place in the table went to José Gourmet and the tenth to Pinhais – the NURI factory – both from Portugal.

The big winner was neighboring Spain, which occupied the podium in every category. The evaluation was carried out by a jury made up of foodies, restaurant owners and critics, as well as Michelin Guide award-winning chefs. More than 420 preserves were tasted and evaluated using four criteria: taste, presentation, the quality of the liquids in the can and the design of the item.

The competition took place for the first time in 2020, originating from the same creators of the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants, where a Lisbon steakhouse was highlighted.