Canning or bottling fish in olive oil or salt are the best ways of preserving some of the most delicious and nutritious seafoods, especially if you live far from the coast. The fish processed by all our suppliers is of the finest provenance and is produced under extremely exacting criteria. For a resource as precious and endangered as fish, it is worth paying the higher price that it commands and, at the same time, it is necessary to understand that stocks, unless well managed both locally and at national level, are limited and that this can disrupt supply or force a change of origin.

Tuna

Conservas Ortiz is a family-run business which was established over 100 years ago. The colourful lithography on the tins has been in use for over 50 years. Ortiz use only bonito and yellowfin which are the 2 top grades of tuna. Bonito is white in colour, lower in fat and very delicate in flavour. Yellowfin is slightly pinky in colour and a little stronger in flavour. “Ventresca” is the Spanish word for the belly of
the fish, where the fat is more concentrated, giving a very succulent, moist fillet. This is probably the most desirable part of the tuna fish.
All our bonito del norte from Ortiz is caught by traditional fishing boats, the bonito being actually caught using rods and live bait, (pole
and line), which is the most selective and ecological method, making it dolphin friendly and the one that brings in the highest quality fish.
Our bonito in jars was awarded a Silver in the Great Taste Awards 2006. We are now introducing bonito in organic olive oil and a low salt bonito in spring water.

Galician seafood

Ramón Peña seafood is caught in the Galician river estuaries (Las Rías Gallegas) where fresh and sea water meet, creating a unique and dynamic environment for the plankton on which the seafood thrive. The processing at Ramón Peña is skilled and has been passed down over three generations – these ”conservas” (preserved fish) are some of the finest you can hope to find and are used by many of Spain's most renowned chefs. The Pulpo has been awarded a Silver in the Great Taste Awards 2006

Cured and marinated fish

Apart from cured and salted anchovies, Spain prepares and marinades other fish for longer preservation: Icelandic salt cod as fillets or
pieces of loin, air dried tuna known as “mojama”, marinated anchovies called boquerones, and smoked fillets of anchovy and mackerel,
all have a valued place in our portfolio. NOTE: These must be stored chilled at all times. The Mackerel was awarded Bronze in the Great
Taste Awards 2005.
Anchovies

The Cantabrian sea is an open area with well oxygenated water, making it an ideal environment for the anchovy - this makes the Cantabrian anchovy the finest and most desirable across the world. However due to overfishing from several countries, there are currently no new stocks available and even over the next few years as stocks replenish, availability will be limited and prices high.
Therefore we are pleased to present Mediterranean anchovies for the first time. These are the same variety as the Cantabrian anchovy
(engraulis encrasicholus) but their life cycle is spent in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean has a greater variety of temperatures and environments and this, along with the techniques used for preparation will have an impact on the final product. However we will
continue to source our anchovies from the best suppliers, meaning that they will still be fished ethically and their provenance will be the
Mediterranean or the Cantabrian sea (depending on availability) and not any wider, unregulated oceans of the world, as is unfortunately
commonplace.

Ortiz anchovies These will continue to be selected and prepared to the highest standards, although the provenance of the anchovy used will now be more generally Mediterranean, rather than specifically Cantabrian. Ortiz continue to apply the same standards of production, which enables us to ensure that we are still supplying you the very highest quality Mediterranean anchovy available. Ortiz anchovies are fished using a cerco net. This method of fishing prevents the catch from being damaged by an overly weighty haul and is also a responsible method of fishing that allows regeneration of the fish stocks. Ortiz select only the best of the catch and use the highest grade of anchovies available. They are large and meaty and are trimmed and filleted by hand, avoiding any hairiness.

Nardín anchovy pieces From the same supplier of our smoked fillets of anchovies and mackerel, we can now supply anchovy pieces. Nardín is a family business that sources all its fish from the tiny Cantabrian port of Getaria. This wholesale fish business has been operating for 40 years and has excellent knowledge of which boats are best at handling and storing the caught fish. They therefore will only buy fish from approved boats.