Every vacation is, in a sense, observing other people working while you are not working. Staying at the hotel is a witness to the maid or host. Dinner has a chef, a bus boy and a waiter. If you’re lucky, you’ll need a tour guide, driver, and boat mechanic. But while you escape from your job, it’s unique to see the locals doing their hard-earned work and go to the factories where they work to stand on the elevated platform.
Porto, Portugal’s second largest city, is the capital of canned fish, one of Portugal’s major industries. Canned sardines are spending a moment in the food world. Exquisitely decorated cans, Recognized when sustainability is questionable And with the decadence of soaking in oil, they have earned enthusiastic support among young people who truly love them.and Matosinhos Conservas Pinhaiset CiaAt a canned fish factory just a few miles from the center of Porto, visitors are invited to make sure their new favorite treat is actually a very old business.
Founded in 1920 by two brothers and two external partners, Pinhais is considered one of the best canned fish companies on the saturated Portuguese market. The company’s factory is one of the few that has made a major shift in sardine production to West Africa, and now more than half of all sardines are canned. Squid is popular with people who dine in fish-centric cities and is popular throughout Europe, but U.S. customers are the company’s international label, available in specialty stores and luxury grocery stores in bright yellow. You may be familiar with Nuri. Fish are known for their high quality and perfect seasonings. And now, on a tour of the workshop, squid fans can see exactly how it’s done.
The workforce is almost entirely female, a tradition set by the fact that men went out into the sea while women stayed behind and dealt with catches. It is not uncommon for women of generations to work in factories, and mothers, daughters and aunts find canned stable jobs. Indeed, the tour of the sardine factory begins with a video of her father waiting for her Portuguese daughter to survive the storm. (He does.)
“The film is dedicated to all our fishermen’s families because of the stress they endure,” said guide Olga Santos at the start of a recent tour. In this way, the entry into the wonderful and devout world of canned eagle begins.
Introduced by Pinhais in November 2021, the 90-minute tour begins in an office originally built in 1926 with a rotating telephone and pulley system. Orders are attached to ropes, sent to the factory floor, and the office from the canned fish itself.
After a video of the fisherman’s family and a video on how to procure fish seasonings, the screen will pop up and display the workshop window. Leave the perfectly decorated exhibition area. The original founder shaped the stairwell, so when you look up at the factory lobby, you can see the outline of the squid.
After wearing the protective cover, enter along the walkway that runs along the edge of the almost open floor, separated only by arched windows. Except for some offices where workers are typing on their laptops. The first thing you’ll see is a women’s table that cuts peppers, bay leaves, and pickles to fill a spicy version of the company’s four sardines offered in tomato sauce or olive oil.
In the next area, soak the fish in salt water and then cut off the head and tail with a fish knife. This leaves some of the worker’s apron dirty with blood and intestines. All the extra parts will be sent to the animal food manufacturer, Santos tells us.
After tapping, the rest of the body is placed in a vertical container in each slot, as if dozens of headless eagle were attending a lecture in a small hall. The auditorium is sent in the shower before entering the large oven, where the fish are cooked for 15 minutes. Then, before filling the can with olive oil using a machine introduced a few years ago, the fish are delicately packed into the can by hand. In a promotional book available at the gift shop, several factory workers lament the new oil machine, remembering that it is “really covered” with olive oil from the nearby Douro Valley.
The cans are mechanically sealed and make up part of the loud noise on the floor. Also, if the sardines are washed several times before they are cooked, water will flow constantly throughout the factory. Other noises are difficult to track. Oil sprays, station-to-station pulley wheels, and steam ovens all seem to create enough noise to give guests enough headphones to listen to their guide when they’re on the floor.
Finally, everything is packaged at super-fast speed, the equivalent of wrapping paper. After finishing the tour and unpacking yourself from PPE, you will be given the opportunity to try this yourself in a closed room, but comparable to the dexterity of a factory floor wrapper wielding yellow, green and blue paper. It’s impossible to do, surprisingly easy.
Santos said that “on a good day” canned women often sing. And when we entered the factory floor, the canning factory was really completely chorusing, even though we couldn’t hear the Portuguese. I don’t know if the song is really spontaneous, but talking to a local who is familiar with the factory reveals the myth that women sing. Anyway, singing, whether it’s a good day or not, seems likely to be the best way to communicate via a large can of squid ham.
The tour ends with a tasting of freshly canned sardines, bread from a local bakery and optional wine. Needless to say, sardines are delicious. (And the smell of the factory is the smell of freshly caught sardines in and out of salt water.)
“I love sardines,” said Sandra van Diesen, 57, from the Netherlands, enthusiastically after discussing the benefits of watering free samples. (Mr. Santos doesn’t think so, but the three of us laughed at what we had to do anyway.) After opening last fall, about 70 tours a week are offered in English, Spanish and Portuguese. So far, we have accepted 2,821 Iwashi fans in French and French. (The tour costs 14 euros per adult, 3 euros for wine and 8 euros for children.)
The city of Porto seemed to be proud of its global industry. Throughout the small town, everyone I talked about the Pinhais factory repeated the same feelings. These are good jobs, they are important employees, and the existence of a factory is a credit to the community itself.
“They are valuable to us,” said Malta Azebed, Communications Director of ANCIP, the largest canning union for Pinhais in Portugal. “It’s the best canned fish we have, it’s the best place to work.”
But what about payments? She admits it is “not very good,” and estimates that women earn about 800 euros a month, or about $ 832.
“But in Portugal, salaries are very low,” she continued. “They are highly paid for Portugal.”
Canned sardines are a common dish served throughout Portugal, and there are also pristine specialty stores in the city. Loja das Conservas Located on the slope of Luademo Uzinho da Silveira, just a few blocks from the Douro River, it is dedicated to celebrating Pinhais products with other local brands like Minerva. In partnership with ANCIP, Roha hasn’t resumed tasting since the pandemic, but it’s nearby. Mercearia das FloresThe quiet Luadas Flores offers a complete tasting. Like the factories, both stores are run by women and can combine toasted sardines with local wines and fine chocolates.
Sandwich shop for a more decadent take of classic bread and fish dishes Sandeira Combining canned delicacies with perfect red pepper spreads, it’s served in a mismatched vintage China at a nearby hardware store.Nearby bar Aduela, Located in Rua das Oliveiras, it offers the most classic takes: fresh tomatoes and toast with sardines. Especially suitable for those who rarely want to spend time in a trendy place, it is a great place to start a squid tour.
According to the owner of Loja das Conservas, there is probably a small feud between those who serve fresh sardines and those who serve canned sardines. The town’s famous canned offering.Visitors who want to try fresh fish have many options, including excellent ones Meia-Nau, Where they are perfectly baked. The modern restaurant at the chic Travelssade Cedofeita requires dinner reservations, but lunch is open to visitors without any plans. If you happen to ask a question about fresh and canned food, be sure to mention Loja. The owner of Meia-Nau was found to be the son of the founder of the shop. In Porto, after all, sardines are family-owned.
