The very idea of gourmet tinned fish seems ironic. The food, held in poor regard by many, is seen as a budget and convenient option in place of fresh seafood. The tinned fish found its origins as an incorruptible feast for French fighters as the need to feed the fighting forces flourished with larger armies. The napoleonic government offered a reward to whoever could devise a method of preserving large quantities of food. This early method however, was in a glass jars. It wasn’t until 1810, when an English merchant received the first patent for preseving in tins, that this delectable feast become recognisable. Thus, tinned fish was born.

Since the depression-era Cannery Row, tinned fish has swum upstream into gentrified pastures toeing into the realms of wines and cheeses: Priced, paired, and praised like a fine Peccarino or Pinot. It is my turn to enter the upper echelons of food society by way of sardines. Why? Call it an unforseen craving. What follows below is an unbiased ranking of all the tinned fish that have had the fortune of falling into my now oil (ideally olive oil) covered hands.