Pantry Worthy Tinned Food
The Roland Foods Tinned Seafood Guide
The New Tinned Fish
Need more convincing? Here are all the reasons why you should give tinned fish a go.
Nothing in the fridge? Sardines have you covered.
Tinned foods have a wonderfully long shelf life, meaning that you can stockpile a bunch of your favorites without worrying that they’ll go bad before you have a chance to use them. On nights when you’re not in the mood to run to the grocery store, sardines are here to save the day: Just toast a few slices of bread, slather them with good mayo or butter, and top them off with a few sardine fillets. A sprinkle of whatever tender herbs you have around—cilantro, parsley, dill, what have you—and you’ve got yourself a surprisingly sophisticated supper.
Need a flavor punch? Add some ’chovies
There are many, many amazing things about anchovies—their depth of flavor, their wonderful brininess, their soft texture, and so on—but these tiny fish’s most appealing attribute might be their versatility. Anchovies add a deeper level of complexity to any dish, without turning the overall flavor fishy. (We know you were wondering.) If you don’t believe us, mash some anchovies together with garlic, rosemary, and sea salt, then slather the whole mixture over a marbled roast of beef. The resulting dish will boast the exact right balance of salt, fat, and savoriness that, we assure you, will win over even the most noted anchovy-haters.
You won’t want to throw away this packaging.
There’s something to be said about food that doesn’t just taste good, but looks good, too. Such is the case for plenty of quality tinned food packaging these days. It makes sense: As these foods have become more hip, so, too, has their packaging. For proof, just scope out the two-toned packaging of Roland’s sardines. Finally, tinned food packaging you won’t be embarrassed to show your dinner guests!
Unsure about how to use tinned fish? Look to the restaurant world.
On-trend chefs all over the country are using tinned food in their restaurants. Just look at Hayden in Los Angeles. Here, open tins of “conservas”—that’s Spanish for “preserves”—are served alongside a platter of house-made pickles, which depending on the time of year, might include briny watermelon radishes, lemon cucumbers, or even watermelon rinds. A fat hunk of salted butter, slices of crusty baguette, and a mustardy gribiche sauce finish off the platter. Meanwhile, at Achilles Heel in Brooklyn, anchovies are a key ingredient in the anchovy-almond vinaigrette, which anoints the escarole and roasted beet dish. And on offer at Boston’s Saltie Girl are more than 60 different kinds of tinned seafood, from Costa Rican tuna fillets swimming in spring water to cod liver from Iceland. They’re served with artisanal bread, house-churned sea salt butter, and a bright Spanish piquillo jam.
Of course, the best way to be convinced that tinned fish are the real deal is to actually try them. Go ahead, you’ll be glad you did.
10 Tinned Roland™ Products You Should Have in Your Pantry
Let’s be real: There are days when you arrive home after a long day at work, the refrigerator is empty, and your stomach is grumbling. That’s when an expertly stocked pantry is most essential, enabling you to whip up satisfying and delicious on the fly. Of course, knowing what you actually need is the first step. With these 10 products, you’re on your way to a properly stocked pantry.
- Sardines in Olive Oil
These hearty fillets are the perfect dinnertime fix when the idea of ordering in pizza for the upteenth time seems downright unappealing. Pile olive oil-slicked sardines atop a crusty piece of toast accented with thin strips of pickled carrot and onion. Alternatively, chop up a few sardines and toss them into a pot of al dente linguine and drape the whole thing in a garlicky tomato sauce. - Flat Fillets of Anchovies in Olive Oil
There is very little these umami-rich fillets won’t improve. Blitz a few of them into a tangy salad dressing for a hit of salt, or mash them into a paste and stir into a rich tomato sauce to deepen its flavor. Other options: Rub a mash of anchovies onto a standing roast, eat them on buttered-slathered toasts, or, if you’re really craving a salt bomb, enjoy them straight from the tin. (No judgement.) - Smoked Anchovies in Oil
Everything you can do with regular anchovies, you can do with smoked anchovies. But the flavor is subtly—but importantly!—different. Unlike regular anchovies, smoked varieties are brined rather than salted, then cold smoked to lend the fillets a smoky flavor. Use the smoked version when you’re jonesing for BBQ flavors. - Artichoke Hearts Quartered
Not all tinned food is seafood. These tinned artichokes are perfect for when you’re craving a creamy homemade artichoke dip out of season. You can also toss them with olive oil and lemon for a quick salad, or use them to enliven your weeknight shrimp scampi. - Smoked Baby Clams in Oil
Add these little guys, oil and all, to a plate of steaming hot spaghetti dressed with lemon juice and sauteed garlic. They’re also great on, you guessed it, toast. - Smoked Herring Fillets in Oil
Herring are very similar to sardines, and you can enjoy them all the ways you might prepare sardines: On toast, in pasta, straight from the can, sauteed over a bed of rice, and so forth. They tend to be overlooked, however, because many people hear the word “herring” and think of pickled herring, which can have a strong flavor that some find off putting. Rest assured, though: Smoked herring is much milder, with a light and flaky texture. - Smoked Sprats in Oil
These tiny fish are a popular snack in Russia and the Baltic states, often layered on dense black rye bread slathered with butter or mayonnaise and topped with thinly sliced raw onions. When prepared this way, sprats are best (or most authentic, at least) when chased with a shot of vodka! Alternatively, throw them on top of your regular avocado toast—trust us, it works. - Skinless & Boneless Mackerel Fillets in Soybean Oil
Fresh mackerel can sometimes have an unpleasantly fishy flavor, but this canned variety is mild. Chop up a few fillets and sub them in for tuna in an elevated salad nicoise, or whip up some elegant hors d’oeuvres with crackers topped with mackerel, cubed cucumber, and creamy horseradish sauce. - Whole Sicilian Castelvetrano Olives
Greek olives are lovely, and black olives have their time and place. But for an elegant olive befitting of dinner parties and cocktail hours, the meaty green Castelvetrano olive is hard to beat. Eat them straight from the tin, or roast them with olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, chili flakes and garlic and serve as a warm salad with cubed feta. - Smoked Rainbow Trout Fillets in Olive Oil
These pale pink fillets have their skins intact, which bumps up their flavor considerably. The silvery skin is also an attractive sight, making them great add-ons for elegant cocktail party fare like crostini drizzled with green goddess dressing and shot glasses of chilled green gazpacho.
5 Elegant Ways to Serve Tinned Food This Holiday Season
Throwing a holiday party can sap your time and resources, which is why canned foods—anchovies, sardines, and more—deserve a place on your party table. Prepared thoughtfully, these preserved goodies will more than satisfy your guests. They just might steal the show. Need ideas? Here are five ways to make tinned food shine at this year’s festivities.
- Throw Them On Tiny Toasts
Never underestimate the power of a neat row of petite toasts. Start with good quality bread cut into squares, smeared with olive and toasted a golden brown. Then, carefully add a layer of salsa verde, a roughly chopped mix of fresh tarragon, chives, parsley, hard-boiled egg, Dijon mustard, capers, and olive oil. Top the whole thing with a tidy slice of sardine, garnished with thin slices of fennel tossed with lemon. - Make Them the Star of a Festive Pasta
Few things please quite like a hearty bowl of noodles. For some extra holiday pizzazz, opt for a real scene stealer: Robust bucatini tossed with anchovies and garlic, topped with a healthy sprinkling of homemade sourdough breadcrumbs. Believe us, it sounds simple, but it’ll knock your guests’ stilettos off. - Go for a Bagna Cauda
This traditional Italian sauce checks all the boxes: It’s sophisticated, it’s easy to prepare, and its component ingredients are cheap and found at your local supermarket. Just blitz a tin of anchovies with a bunch of garlic cloves, olive oil, creme fraiche or Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest and serve with a selection of carefully trimmed raw vegetables like zucchini, carrots, cucumbers, and cauliflower. - Dip It Good
Smoked mackerel is the perfect base for a creamy dip enriched with sour cream, scallions, and horseradish. Need a little extra drama? Garnish with a healthy pat of caviar and serve with cracked pepper crackers. - Dig In, Straight From the Tin
It may sound counterintuitive, but doing less work can sometimes make canned food seem more glamorous. Tinned food is tres chic these days (haven’t you heard?) and your guests will be perfectly happy with a beautifully set table, open tins, and a couple of toothpicks.