Small sardines (42 pieces) from the Galician coast. Handmade in olive oil.
There is no product quite like Rosa Lafuente sardines on the market: an ultra exclusive spin-off of the historic Conservera Gallega tinned fish producers. The historic company was founded in 1904, and has remained in the same family for four generation. The spanish coast has a long tradition of canning sardines, and the quality of these salty little parcels of joy can vary hugely. These exclusive tins from Rosa Lafunte contain 42 hand-filleted sardines preserved in olive oil and aged for 9 months. This allows the taste to develop with age, like a fine wine, as they have time to absorb the flavour of the olive oil. Following a method that has been in the family for a century, the concept remains exactly the same.
Broadly speaking the size of the sardine is irrelevant, it’s just a matter of taste. A good sardine has just the right level of softness, so they hold their shape but melt in the mouth. We select them one by one manually, we clean them by hand, and we put them in the can by hand. We cook the sardines before canning, which removes bad flavors from them.
From Francisco Lafuente, who is the fourth generation of the family to run the artisanal business, and is closely attached to all parts of the company in northwest Spain.
There are many elements which go into creating a really first class tinned sardine. For Rosa Lafuente, one of the most important stages is letting them sit in the can for 9 months before selling them. Unlike shellfish, sardines improve with age, and they sell some from 2016. The time spent in the oil changes the texture of the sardine, similar to a confit, and after a while you can’t taste the spine, even though it’s there. This is especially important for big sardines, but it’s the same process regardless.
The small sardines are all caught in the Mediterranean, and also from further afield in order to maintain the quality and follow the same processes. Preserved in olive oil, they are considered one of the most healthy and complete oily fish out there, rich in Omega-3 and protein.
