WHY SHOULD I EAT SARDINES?
Sardines are a small schooling fish that roam the open waters from Japan to California to Chile, eating plankton and small crustaceans. In turn, sardines get eaten by just about everything, including people. These bad boys were originally named after the Italian island Sardinia, where they were once found in huge numbers.
Not only are sardines delicious, these small fish are actually packed with nutrients that can be beneficial to health. As sardines are found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean seas, they only eat plankton, which means they don’t contain high levels of mercury like some other fish do (here’s looking at you, tuna).
Sardines are a good source of calcium and vitamin D, both of which are important for bone health. Calcium helps build strong bones, while vitamin D is necessary for the absorption of calcium. Did you know other than fortified products (think: breakfast cereals, milks, juices), there are few other food sources of Vitamin D?
Sardines are an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which help prevent heart disease due to their anti-inflammatory properties. They also reduce the risk of blood clots and lower blood pressure, may help protect those who’ve had a heart attack in the past and are important for brain health, helping improve cognitive function and reducing the risk of dementia.
.Finally, the antioxidants in sardines can help protect the eyes from age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness. Yes, you would be right in calling them a bit of a “nutritional powerhouse”.
But, dear reader, there’s even more than meets the eye with the humble sardine.
Much like the subcultures that exist around other artisanal products, such as wine or cheese, there is a global community and connoisseurship around sardines. Indeed, the humble sardine was the spark between friends that launched TINNED Magazine.
There are hundreds of different brands and varieties of sardines to try. While bigger brands do exist, mostly found on supermarket shelves, many of these brands are small, hand caught and tinned, with a boutique-quality product. Look at TINNED’s Top 5s to learn more about our favorite picks from across the sardine world and be sure to check out the intricate designs found on many of the tins
Like wine, canned sardines can be aged to further develop their taste. Longer aging further softens the texture of the sardines and gives them a stronger flavor - a practice that is particularly popular in France. If you want to try aging your own, choose sardines packed in olive oil and leave them for at least a year to be able to really taste the difference.
We hope we have given you enough to reconsider the humble sardine as a crucial ingredient in your day-to-day life, a nutritional powerhouse that is inexpensive and delicious, a little fish that truly is a giant in its class.