Posted on 12/27/2023 12:25:55 PM PST by Red Badger
What was once considered one of the most unappetizing snacks has now become one of the most popular foods in the United States. Canned sardines are now many Americans’ go-to quick snack when they want a healthy option that will keep them satisfied from hunger throughout the day.
However, sardines provide so much more than just nutritional benefits for your body internally. Many women claim that eating the slimy fish slivers will clear acne and blemishes, and credit the food for providing them with glowing, smooth skin.
Tinned sardines have become so popular that anyone can now partake by visiting a new Times Square store in New York City — and they're in for a treat. A new store opened on August 18 called the Fantastic World of the Portuguese Sardine, and features around 30 varities of canned fish, including not just sardines, but branzino, octopus, salmon, sole, mussels, and more.
Visitors can treat themselves to skinless or boneless sardines (or stick with bone-in) packaged in olive oil, and try an assortment of flavors in colorful tins from a humongous wall with thousands of options, with tins dating all the way back to 1916 and up to present day. How's that for a slice of heaven in the Big Apple?
But if you can't make it to Portuguese Sardine's flagship store just yet, you can eat sardines at home, creating your own “hot girl dinner.”
The tinned sardine craze began with one woman sharing her unique date nights with her husband. Ali Hooke, a San Francisco chef, spread the popularity of sardines after sharing her TikTok videos documenting a typical Friday night date night she has with her husband, which she dubs "tinned-fish date night."
The at-home date set-ups consist of a board with a variety of canned fish that Hooke and her husband pick out from their pantry, along with a bowl of bread and olives to accompany the meal.
As the views on Hooke's "tinned-fish date night" increased, so did the amount of people on the platform who began incorporating canned sardines into their diet. Like Hooke, many of them documented the different types of tinned sardines that now became a part of their daily routine.
So, why were they overlooked for so long, even at one point being branded as a “low-end food” that was only eaten in poverty-stricken areas? To fully understand, we must delve into the background of these tiny fish that took over many people’s dinner plates over the last few months.
Sardines were first introduced as a canned food in Portugal in the early 19th century.
Sardines are small, oily fish that can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean Seas. They do not represent a single fish species. Instead, the term “sardines” is used to describe a variety of small, oily fish.
In the early 19th century, the Portuguese began catching and canning sardines, and they became a significant part of their culture, often being sold on the streets during St. Anthony’s Day.
Soon, canned sardines made their way over to North America, with many commercial canneries appearing on the East Coast. And the Fantastic World of the Portuguese Sardine is just one of those locations.
For those who do end up visiting Portuguese Sardine's Manhattan flagship store, you'll receive your very own history lesson on the origins of the latest "hot girl dinner" — how could you not, given the large library of tinned fish displayed on two stories of shelving!
Plus, with a history lesson comes the reality many people faced for indulging in the complex, briney flavors.
Sardines were once given a bad rep because they were cheap and many perceived them as a ‘poor man’s food.’ Sardines were a common food among American workers during the Great Depression since they were affordable, and provided a cheap and easy way for those who could not afford meats and vegetables to obtain nutrition.
In fact, cans that packaged and sold sardines were labeled as “penny cans” since they were so cheap.
Other people were skeptical of the nutritional value of sardines, not only because of their affordability but also due to the fact that they were preserved in cans and distributed in bulk in supermarkets. They believed that freshly caught sardines were for sure a better alternative to the ones sold in tins.
However, medical and nutrition experts argue that this is not all true.
Canned sardines are loaded with beneficial nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, calcium, and minerals.
According to Healthline, the specific nutrients that are found in sardines can reduce the risk of blood clots, lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, and protect against heart disease and certain types of cancers. Additionally, sardines are safe to consume daily since they contain low levels of mercury as opposed to other fish.
“Just three ounces of sardines is two grams of omega-3,” says Dr. Mandell (@motivationaldoc) in a TikTok video. “Omega-3 will help your heart, prevent clogging in the arteries, it helps the bones get strong, it helps the brain, it helps your eyes, it decreases inflammation... “Eat your sardines... you will stay as healthy as you can ever imagine.”
As more and more people on TikTok began learning about the health benefits of sardines, the popularity of tinned fish quickly surged.
Many social media users now claim they eat sardines daily and have labeled it the new ‘hot girl dinner.’ “Hot girl dinner” is a term that gained popularity on TikTok, and can best be described as a quick and easy meal one (regardless of gender) could prepare for dinner that has various nutritional benefits.
“Tinned fish is the ultimate hot girl food,” Caroline Goldfarb, the co-founder of Fishwife, a tinned fish company that sells high-quality, sustainably sourced seafood, told Nylon in June 2021.
“There is no food that will make you hotter than tinned fish. Straight up. Do you know a hot girl who doesn’t exist on protein? I don’t,” adding that a single tin of sardines has more nutrients than a glass of milk.
Ever since sardines were coined as the newest “hot girl dinner,” many women have taken to TikTok to share their experiences eating the salty fish.
Some have shared that chowing down on sardines has even been beneficial for their skincare. This is because the healthy fats that are found in sardines reduce inflammation in the skin, promoting a radiant glow. Omega-3s also helps to increase healthy oil production on the skin and minimize acne breakouts.
Still, some people may be hesitant to incorporate sardines into their diets due to their fishy taste and smell. Others may feel repulsed by their snacks looking right back at them with eyes.
Thankfully, there is no rule stating that you must eat sardines plain to benefit from them. Many people opt to add different ingredients, including tomato sauce and olive oil to their sardines.
In a world where 42% of the global population cannot afford healthy foods, per the World Bank, sardines are a breath of fresh air (ironic, since they are slimy fish packed into a tiny can) and an option that most people could rely on — not just “hot girls.”
Because no matter how you enjoy your sardines, everyone is entitled to gain from their nutritional components. And that's exactly what the Fantastic World of the Portuguese Sardine hopes to accomplish by making this fish the newest American staple.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
I sub smoked sardines in a clams fettuccine recipe and add kalamata olives. Big hit with the family. Even my 5 yo begs me to make it.
I’ll blame this on a martini! Raised on ‘da Range. Wore my 1/4” wet suit smelting. Bad runs, just floated down the river to the bar. Good runs - filled the garbage cans with what we netted.
As a grad srtudent, had Japenese cardiologists as friends who wanted to eat them raw. Reminded them of Dibothriocephalus lutem (?) Those were the days,
I still eat inordinate amounts of squid, anchovies, and sardines. Smelt is unknown in Florida.
Warning! If you are prone to gout attacks be careful eating sardines, I love to add extra olive oil and half a bottle of Louisiana Brand Hot Sauce. Afterward, I go ahead and take a few Colchicine tablets, to try to prevent another gout attack, waiting to see which joint starts hurting.
Thankfully I do not have problems with gout, at least not yet.
Hard to beat a good smelt run at 0200 in the morning!
I’m in Florida, also. Now, it’s Pompano, shrimp, & lobsters, when I have time to find them.
Fresh sardines grilled with olive oil, lemon, oregano, and marjoram or thyme are great. Canned sardines are vile.
Still, after all these years, makes me grin!
I will say, I did find that Rachael Ray stuck out in a crowded field (cook shows) to me for this one single reason:
I suppose in the eyes of some that might make me a bad person, but, it is what it is...:)
So, imagine, having never watched her show, and not knowing much of anything about her other than she had a cooking show and was apparently not hesitant about using all of her assets to make it a success, but yet...having that picture associated with her.
Imagine my mild dismay when I actually did watch her show long after she peaked and saw her for the first time-simply because she didn't fit what I had in my head...:) But I watched that particular cooking with interest to see if she was more than a nice looking cook selling her show with her assets, and was satisfied that she seemed to be a pretty good cook.
When I was a teenager, I marched in a CYO band, and one of our band competitors came from a dominantly Italian city near Boston. We were from the sticks, regarded as hicks, but all the guys I knew were attracted to the striking girls in their unit, who had the Italian features and slighly darker complexions. To us, they were exotic. They all had some facial portion of those features that Rachael Ray shows in that picture above.
That is what your mention of Rachel Ray brought to mind for me. I did kind of like her description of the way she ate her lunch...the visualization of her wearing calimari rings and eating them off of her fingers kind of tickled me a bit.
There are times that I believe I might be living proof of the reason God didn't create us with thought bubbles...:)
I went fishing for smelt with my father on several dark April nights from a pier on Lake Michigan.
I hope anyone living near the coast with access to fresh sardines has a chance to try your method!
I watch Saturday cooking shows and learn, but she had a daytime show and I worked so I never watched anything but her commercials.
I do not live near a coast. I do eat sardines sometimes. Lose weight when I do eat them. My parents liked pickled herring, but I could never get into it. Frozen cod and salmon, but that's about it.
As a cat I enjoy canned fish...
I love shell fish, but the rest of the fish family, not too much.
Yes, she does kind of have that Valerie Bertinelli look in a way, doesn’t she?
The very reason for my ping!
I love pickled herring….a friend gets sardines on her pizza .
…l.
Explains a lot. Hopefully the fad will pass and a new one will be found. I have eaten sardines all my life two or three times a week. On the rig they beat the hell out of potted meat and Vienna sausages. At least it was consistent protein and combined with crackers and fruit not too unhealthy. I had time to drive from one location to the next and no time to go to town to eat.
The first class MS said that he would take the fall but I wouldn't let that happen. I think the XO and Porkchop were smart (and well fed) enough not to inquire too deeply.
It is a good officer who knows when NOT to ask. It was one of the many useful things I learned from the Chiefs.
Thank you Senior (later Master) Chief Murphy for keeping me alive long enough to make LT.
I kept an informal agreement with the Chiefs. You take care of the guys and don't let the command get dumped on and I'll act as a sh*t screen from above. It worked well for all concerned.
SpyNavy
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
“Fourty sardines and a loaf of bread makes a meal.”
Nix the bread. That stuff will kill you!...................
They were delicious!................
Consider the cost of the can. The can might be more costly than the contents
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