Do sardines exist?

I was quite amused this morning to read that, according to Kate at Accidental Hedonist, "there's no such animal as a sardine."

With her proclamation that "[the fish] aren't called sardines until they are in the can," I realized that the highly esteemed Kate had most likely extrapolated her information from an article by the even more highly esteemed Charles Reichblum (aka "Dr. Knowledge™") that appeared in the Boston Globe and online last month. I lay all the blame for Kate's oversimplified notions squarely on the shoulders of Dr. Knowledge™, who boldly stated: "There are no sardines. It's all a big lie!" Like most things in life, the answer is far more complex than a few sound bites.

Here is my short answer: Kate and Dr. K are incorrect. Fresh sardines do indeed exist.

Just as soon as I finish eating my sardinas en escabeche, which I made from fresh sardines (pictured above) that I bought at the farmers market on Saturday, I will explain in painstakingly tedious detail why they are wrong. While I am eating, take a look at the "Sardines!" photo set that I just added to the right hand column of this page. There's plenty of visual evidence to refute Kate's and Dr. K's claims.

{MmmMmmm, that was tasty! I am curiously full for someone who has apparently eaten a figment of his imagination.}

I do not disagree with Kate's assertion that "the word sardine is a generic name for a number of different small fish." That is quite true. The fresh sardine cooked a la plancha in Sevilla that I rhapsodized about in my first post was most likely a member of the species Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum). According to my fishmonger, the fresh sardines I ate for lunch today were Pacific sardines, Sardinops sagax. Both are members of the complex herring family (Clupeidae), which includes more than 300 different species, including anchovies, shad, and herring. Both, I might add, were delicious and tasted and looked rather similar.*

The statement of Kate's that most puzzles me is that sardines don't become sardines until they are canned. That is of course absurd. I just finished eating exhibit A (and have previously eaten exhibits B-Z).

What's in a name? That which we call a sardine by any other name would smell as sweet. It really boils down to linguistics. I look to cultural norms and historical patterns to determine the meaning of the words I use. If the fisherman, fishmonger, cook and consumer all agree that the fish I so love is called a sardine, then who am I to argue? If it looks like a sardine, smells like a sardine, tastes like a sardine, then it is a sardine.

For Kate's assertion to have any grain of truth, she must have been looking to governmental organizations and legal documents for her definitions. Or simply believing the attention-grabbing statements made by the self-proclaimed Dr. Knowledge™.

In the article which I am assuming is Kate's source of information, Dr. K sites the Codex Alimentarius as the source for his definition of sardines. This document was produced jointly by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to establish international food standards. The part of the Codex Alimentarius that defines "sardines" is Codex Stan 94 (click here to download the .pdf version of the 7-page document). Codex Stan 94 only defines canned sardines, not fresh.

{Are you bored yet? I am. Couldn't I just roll my eyes and let this issue slide like a normal, well-adjusted adult? *sigh* I knew I should have named my blog after something simple like chocolate. But that Parisian girl beat me to it. Nobody claims that chocolate doesn't exist. But I digress...}

When defining canned sardines, Codex Stan 94 permits 21 species of fish to be labeled "sardines." However, only cans containing one particular European species, Sardina pilchardus (Walbaum), are permitted to bear the label "sardines" without any other qualifier. The other 20 species must also include their place of origin, such as "Pacific" or "California."

Nowhere does the Codex Alimentarius state or even imply that these species of fish cannot be called sardines until they are canned. The UN document only discusses frozen, canned, salted and otherwise processed fish. No variety of fresh fish, including fresh sardines, are covered. Does that mean that all fresh fish does not exist? You tell me.

Aside from this UN document, I really have no idea what the source was for the half truths spread by Dr. Knowledge™ and repeated by our usually thorough Accidental Hedonist. Doesn't Dr. K (or the Boston Globe) have a fact-checker?

As for me, I will continue to praise my sardines, blissfully ignorant of which of the 21 species they come from. I will happily devour them fried, grilled, baked, smoked, cured, pickled, a la plancha, and even canned. Everyone, including the fisherman, the fishmonger, the cook, and even the bureaucrats at the UN, will agree that each species is rightfully called a sardine. Only a handful of people will remain confused.

There are several morals to this story. First, don't let the government decide how you define what you eat - just look at what the U.S. government has done to the definition of the word "organic."

Second, don't believe everything you read on the internets. And, in particular, don't believe something just because the person proclaiming it dubiously calls himself "Dr. Knowledge™.

Third, don't try to tell me that fresh sardines don't exist. Next thing you know you'll be telling me there's no Santa Claus!

Signed,

Dr. Sardine (trademark pending)

________________________________
*At the risk of offending the local sardine fishing industry, I would be remiss if I did not confess that I prefer the variety of sardines I sampled in Spain to those I have had locally. While the local Sardinops sagax are excellent, the Sardina pilchardus that are available throughout the Iberian peninsula and France deserve special recognition as the "true sardine." All others are merely adequate substitutes.

Food|and Drink|Fish|Sardines

Comments

[Amy]

...and three, don't mess with the sardine man! Sorry, Brett couldn't help myself. Thanks for clearing that all up. Nice work.

[sam]

Yes thank you. I am always enviuous of the confidence Kate exudes as she educates her audience, knowing that I would be terribly nervouse were I to write such articles, because although I do quite some research online, I find myself faced with the question of which information is to be trusted annd which is not.

However, I have eaten exceedingly good fresh sardines in Europe and am now happy to have you tell me it wasn't a figment of my imagination (especially as i don't care for the ones in the cans nearly as much, if at all)

[Kalyn]

I saw that post on AH and wondered what you would think. I must admit I have never eaten fresh sardines, but I am much reassured to find that I might have that opportunity in the future. Well done.

[tankeduptaco]

If your second line had of been,"does anything exist?" I would have closed my browser and had a good lie down. You took us to the edge of an existential abyss, but artfully changed tack. Phew!

[shuna fish lydon]

I love when smart cooks whip us into shape! Go Sardines! You tell 'em!

[David]

Thanks for the info, Brett. Unfortunately it came too late. I just spent last week telling all the fish merchants here to pull down their signs for sardines, pointing out the silly error of their ways.
Now I'll have to print out, and translate, your article then make the rounds again.

[Alberto]

Make way for the Sardine man!

Great post Brett, informative, funny and , best of all, it made me crave for sardines (I'm in a state of constant sardine cold turkey here in inland Germany).

Now to your next task: demonstrate that anchovies exist ;-).

[Ilva]

Thanks, I can continue to eat sardines here without feeling as if I'm living a lie! I love it when people have the guts to contest something that isn't true!

[Nopisto]

OMG, Who can even doubt of the existence of sardines? of course that they do exist!!!

I don't know much about the latin name of the varieties, but I can differ at least five different varieties in Spain. From the galician Xouva to the asturian Parrocha and the big mediterranean sardine.

Those on the picture look terriffic.

[Shakthi]

Great post. I love the elegance and lightness of your response. It denotes good "human" and "word" skills as well as common sense. Sadly, some people tend to believe everything they read on the Internet and some bloggers (no intention of generalizing) just state things, without any concerns or even bothering to do some research first, just for the sake of checking things out before delivering gibberish (sorry for my choice of words). Some will get very upset when the "blasphemy" or nonsense is questioned or pointed out, reason why, with the exception of yours, I no longer waste my time reading blogs. Sort of like your resolution to quit watching TV.

This whole thing brings to mind the episode of a former blogger that caused uproar in the so called blogosphere after saying that she no longer read other fellow bloggers writings because some lose the initial appeal and charisma, becoming very snobish while inadequately impersonating the food experts or qualified food authorities.

[yoony]

go brett! throw down that sardine info! i feel so enlightened. thanks for all the knowledge. now only if i can find a restaurant serving yummy sardines in LA. :)

[MM]

Actually, when I read that post I started cracking up but I refrained from making a comment. And I, too, wondered what your response would be since it impacts on your blog name. Have always believed "the more you know, the less you know" ...

[cookiecrumb]

Let us sing in praise of In Praise of Sardines!

[Brett]

Amy, I almost wrote something along the lines of what you wrote, only a little earthier. But I refrained.

Kalyn, yes, I figured it was my duty to share my opinion on the post on AH.

Sam, I love AH and was surprised to read something less than impeccably researched. Every so often, one will slip through the cracks. Kate also quickly ammended her post, which is commendable, and sent me a nice email. I lay all the blame on this Dr. Knowledge character.

tankeduptaco, but really, does anything exist the way we imagine it does?

Shuna, thank you. Go Eggbeater, too!

David, alas! The labor of an American in Paris is truly a heavy burden, yet one which I will happily help you to bear.

Alberto, anchovies! Yum. Now you're making me hungry!

Ilva, I'd hate to have people think they were living a lie.

Nopisto, I've read that there are several varieties of sardine in Spain - I didn't realize that there were 5! You are so lucky. Spain has the most amazing selection of fresh fish!

Shakthi, fact checking is very time consuming. I admit to having spent a few hours researching arcane UN documents to write my response. It's a good thing I don't watch TV any more! Who has the time?

yoony, I have good news for you. I am almost positive that AOC serves fresh sardines on occasion. Call ahead to check!

MM, yes, I couldn't just let that post slide.

Cookie, thanks. Deep down, you're a sweetie (even when you claim to be mad).

[B'gina]

I didn't see the AH post but would have, lazily, ignored it most likely.

Can you tell me if what are often sold in the markets here as "surf fish" or "bait fish" are actually our California version of sardines?

Also, how do sardines compare in taste, texture and size to herring, since they're related? I've made pickled herring, but I had to go to SF Chinatown to get the raw herring. If I could sub the other fish, they'd be smaller, but much easier to come by.

[ed fairbanks sr]

Can you explain to me why we can no longer enjoy the small sardines we used to be able to purchase.
thanks ed

[david tiley]

Maybe she is defining the term according to popular culture. The thing most people call a sardine is canned, and develops a particular taste. That can be good in itself, but ain't nuttin like the real thing. Hence the "sardine" is not a sardine.

I am about to eat some real sardines right now, here in southern Australia. I think they are probably the Sardinops sagax, aka the Pacific Sardine.

[Frank]

How do i catch sardines? What do they eat so i may use it for bait?

[Francisco J Serrano]

Here in the US (Louisiana) Walmart removed the Great Value sardines out of the shelves. It's a shame those were very good and flavorful, besides being in a good price. Those were packed in Morocco, and one of the best kind of the Atlantic sardines.

Anyone has a contact with Wal-mart purchase department to find out whats wrong with that kind of sardines...

Sardine Lover

[José Matos]

Just come to Portugal in summer (between June and September) and eat those "inexistent" Sardines... you will never forget it!

[Joseph Lipka]

Thank God for the Sardine! I love the canned ones in oil, tomato sauce, or mustard! For further information and a great history lesson read "Salt: A World History". Great and interesting book with a huge section on Sardines and Spain. This is one book that I will keep forever.

[Colin Tat]

This is ridiculous, she needs a fat checker for her tinned fish.