Phare d'Eckmühl Canned Fish

Sommeliers talk about terroir, tannins and finish. Sardine connoisseurs do too, but their cellars aren't stacked with bottles - they're filled with tins. Because a good sardine in olive oil matures like wine: the oil penetrates the flesh slowly and evenly, the flavour becomes rounder, more complex, almost nutty, the texture silkier. In France and Portugal, sardine enthusiasts even lay down vintages. The tins are stored with the utmost care and regularly turned so the oil distributes evenly. They are opened after two, three or even five years. Some épiceries, fine French delicatessens, list sardine vintages like a wine cellar: with year, origin and recommendation for optimal maturity.
Sardines are eaten in a hundred ways: freshly grilled, the skin crispy and lightly charred, marinated with lemon and parsley, in pasta dishes or on toasted bread with butter. In the tin, however, well matured, they reach a quality of their own, quiet and concentrated: complex and with a depth that hardly any other preserved product knows.

The sardines actually owe their name to the island of Sardinia. The small fish were already caught and traded there by the Romans around 2,000 years ago. The European sardine bears the scientific name Sardina pilchardus and is a distinct fish species. In fisheries, however, a distinction is often made between sardines and pilchards. Smaller specimens are usually called sardines, larger ones pilchards. If these fish continue to grow, they can reach up to 25 centimetres in length and live for over ten years. However, because they are usually caught before then, few people are aware of this. Sardines play an important role in the marine ecosystem. As so-called "forage fish", they are often at the beginning of the food chain. They feed on plankton and in turn serve as food for tuna, dolphins and seabirds. Many larger fish species depend directly on them. Large sardine schools therefore often attract an entire community of other marine inhabitants. Traditional coastal fishermen knew this long before marine biology scientists. Historical accounts from the Mediterranean and North Atlantic tell of fishermen steering their boats to where gulls screeched and the water shimmered silver: reliable signs of a sardine school in the depths.

One region that has shaped the history of sardine fishing like no other is Brittany in northwestern France. Rugged coasts, strong tides and changeable Atlantic weather shape both landscape and people. Within France, the proud Bretons are regarded as culturally distinctive. They maintain their own language, Breton, a vibrant music and festival tradition, and a cuisine deeply rooted in the maritime. Nowhere is this more evident than in Douarnenez. The small port town on the Pointe du Finistère was considered the sardine capital of the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The men of Douarnenez took their single-masted boats out to sea to catch sardines. Their wives then filled the catch into tins in one of the more than 40 canning factories. To this day, the small tins from Douarnenez make the hearts of sardine lovers beat faster.

Since 1828, Douarnenez has also been home to Conserverie Chancerelle. The family business, now in its sixth generation, is considered the oldest still-active sardine cannery in the world. From this house, the organic brand Phare d'Eckmühl was born in 1999, named after the distinctive lighthouse on the Breton coast. Phare d'Eckmühl was among the first brands in France to offer organic fish preserves exclusively in the natural food trade. The core concept: wild-caught sardines, mackerel and tuna from responsible fisheries, combined with certified organic ingredients such as oils, lemons, tomato sauces and herbs. The tins carry the "Sustainable Fishing" seal, awarded by the independent certification body Bureau Veritas. For salmon, the focus is on organic aquaculture with significantly lower stocking densities than in conventional farming. All fish in the Phare d'Eckmühl range are placed in the tin by hand only after production and processing. For anyone wondering why some gourmets enthuse about preserved sardines as they do about wine, Phare d'Eckmühl provides a convincing answer. Whether traditionally in olive oil, with lemon, with tomatoes or with a touch of piment d'Espelette: experience the maritime pleasure, the Breton character and the uncompromising quality of Phare d'Eckmühl fish preserves.