{"id":17023,"date":"2019-02-01T21:00:36","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T21:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/devourlisbonfoodtours.com\/?p=2093"},"modified":"2023-08-17T16:55:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-17T16:55:19","slug":"lisbon-conservas-canned-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devourtours.com\/blog\/lisbon-conservas-canned-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"A Love Letter to Conservas: How Lisbon\u2019s Canned Fish Captured My Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post is part of our Love Letter series<\/a>: first-person accounts of what we love about Lisbon.<\/em><\/p>\n

At first glance, the words \u201ccanned fish\u201d may not exactly make your mouth water.<\/p>\n

But one of Lisbon\u2019s most delectable secrets is its stinky, salty, shelf-stable seafood. This is the story of how conservas<\/em> captured my curiosity\u2014and my heart.<\/p>\n

\"If<\/p>\n

When traveling in groups, I\u2019m usually that<\/em> friend. The one with the long list of must-try foods for each city we visit. The one who apologetically (or not so much) pulls out her phone to take a picture of my meal\u2014and everyone else\u2019s\u2014before we eat. The one who insists on dragging us all to the secret spots and legendary eateries where I\u2019ve heard or read that we can get authentic local specialties.<\/p>\n

So imagine my surprise and delight when, on a recent trip to Lisbon, my equally food-obsessed friend led me to a place that I\u2019d never even heard of. And when that place turned out to be a mecca of one of Lisbon\u2019s most iconic, and arguably underrated, delicacies. It\u2019s called Conserveira de Lisboa<\/a>, and it\u2019s one of the Portuguese capital\u2019s most renowned retailers of conservas<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Experts in all things canned and fishy<\/h2>\n

When you read those last two words, what was your gut reaction? Did you start salivating at the mere thought of canned tuna, sardines, cod and clams? Did they inspire a mild sense of disgust? Or maybe just confusion; what could possibly be so special about fish in a can?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re either of the latter two types, I\u2019m guessing you\u2019ve never been to Conserveira de Lisboa, or the other shops that peddle preserved goods throughout the city. Maybe you\u2019re just not a big seafood fan in general. But again, if you\u2019re like me, give it one bite and you\u2019ll never look at those little tins in the same way again.<\/p>\n

\"Conserveira
One of the best places to buy canned fish in Lisbon\u2014check out all those options! Photo credit: Conserveira de Lisboa<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conserveira de Lisboa is a tiny space with little more than a counter and a shelf filling an entire wall, with different iterations of the same simple concept. They all contain some kind of seafood in oil, water or sauce, spiced or flavored with fresh ingredients, then sealed away to await the moment when you peel back the lid, release that distinctive aroma, and partake in one of Portuguese cuisine\u2019s simplest pleasures.<\/p>\n

Learning to love the stinky stuff<\/h2>\n

To be honest, I was never a huge fan of tuna, sardines<\/a> or anchovies before I moved to the Iberian peninsula. To me they were more of a second-string choice; something you eat when you don\u2019t have access to a fridge, or can\u2019t afford fresh seafood, or need an easy snack (all situations in which I often find myself, to be fair). I would never have thought to choose tuna, for example, over sliced deli meat or some other form of mainstream protein for lunch.<\/p>\n

\"Cans
Doesn’t look like much from the outside, right?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But oh, how all that changed when I discovered what tuna truly should be. It should be flavorful, and rich, and drenched in olive oil and garlic or salty tomato sauce. It should be savored, and enjoyed, and given a starring role. Good canned tuna, in fact, has become one of my favorite foods, thanks in no small part to Lisbon.<\/p>\n

Memories tinged with the taste of tuna<\/h2>\n

On that first visit to Conserveira de Lisboa, I bought a few cans of fish to add to my road-trip snack bag. I ate the first\u2014tuna mixed with sweet potatoes and spices\u2014as part of a hastily prepared hostel lunch. I ate the second\u2014tuna in tomato sauce\u2014straight from the can with a plastic fork, sitting on a postcard-worthy beach in the Algarve. I ate the third\u2014cod with giant chunks of garlic\u2014on a windy beach in Ericeira, shielding it from flying sand and watching surfers brave the choppy sea.<\/p>\n

I remember these three moments so clearly because each of them qualified as something special: one of those times when a food you eat is so good, so simple, so purely pleasing that it cements itself in your memory, along with whatever you were doing while eating it. Traveling, sunbathing, snacking on the beach\u2026 this is what canned fish represents for me, and probably always will.<\/p>\n

Not to mention the fact that it’s a direct reflection of the saltwater spirit<\/a>\u00a0flowing through Lisbon’s veins\u2014both literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n

Are you coming to Lisbon?<\/strong>
\nDon’t waste a single meal\u2014check out our ultimate foodie guide to
\nwhere to eat in Lisbon<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"Shelves
In Portugal, supermarket shelves offer a wide array of conservas<\/em> for all tastes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In case I haven’t convinced you yet…<\/h2>\n

Let me appeal to your practical side. Canned seafood doesn\u2019t require refrigeration. It\u2019s relatively inexpensive. It can be eaten with pretty much anything, or all by itself. It\u2019s packed with protein, healthy fats and minerals<\/a>. It even comes in its own little portable container\u2014and it’s the perfect Lisbon souvenir<\/a> to take home with you. Honestly, what more could you ask for in a snack?<\/p>\n

All of that said, there\u2019s really nothing I can do to make you understand the magic of conservas<\/em> until you experience it for yourself. And there\u2019s no way to fully experience it without going straight to the source. You need to wander Lisbon\u2019s streets, dodge tourists and cable cars, feel a salty breeze blowing in from the Tagus, and find your way to an old fashioned little shop tucked away in an ancient building.<\/p>\n

\"Point
It’s easy to point out your choices… but not so easy to choose. Photo credit: Conserveira de Lisboa<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You need to marvel at the infinite options for how to flavor and preserve fish, and then pick a few to sample, even if you have to point for lack of the proper vocabulary. You need to take that first salty bite when you\u2019re somewhere worth remembering: by the ocean, on a road trip, sitting on the curb\u2026 It really doesn\u2019t matter, because if there\u2019s one thing a good conserva<\/em> can do, it\u2019s make the mundane extraordinary.<\/p>\n

Ready to create your own food memories like these in Lisbon? Our Tastes & Traditions of Lisbon Food Tour<\/a> is calling your name! Join us for the perfect combination: bites of iconic Portuguese cuisine in settings you’ll never forget, prepared for you by the people who have been doing it best for generations.<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is part of our Love Letter series: first-person accounts of what we love about Lisbon. At first glance, the words \u201ccanned fish\u201d may not exactly make your mouth water. But one of Lisbon\u2019s most delectable secrets is its stinky, salty, shelf-stable seafood. This is the story of how conservas captured my curiosity\u2014and my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":17002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1722,1723],"tags":[1809,1813,1724,1778,281],"ppma_author":[2312],"class_list":["post-17023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-drink-in-lisbon","category-lisbon-blog","tag-canned-fish","tag-conservas","tag-lisbon-food","tag-lisbon-souvenirs","tag-love-letter"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDevour Tours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"You can't leave Lisbon without trying conservas, or canned seafood. 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