Sardines are a nutrient-rich, small, oily fish widely consumed by humans and as forage fish by larger fish species, seabirds and marine mammals. The term sardine was first used in English during the early 15th century, and may come from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Sardines are commercially fished for a variety of uses: bait, immediate consumption, canning, drying, salting, smoking, and reduction into fish meal or fish oil.
About Sardines as food in brief
Sardines are a nutrient-rich, small, oily fish widely consumed by humans and as forage fish by larger fish species, seabirds and marine mammals. The term sardine was first used in English during the early 15th century, and may come from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Sardines are commercially fished for a variety of uses: bait, immediate consumption, canning, drying, salting, smoking, and reduction into fish meal or fish oil. The chief use of sardines is for human consumption, fish meal is used as animal feed, while sardin oil has many uses, including the manufacture of paint, varnish, and linoleum. Sardine oil has also been used in the manufacture of paint, varnish and linoleum in the U.S. The last remaining plant in North America is in New Brunswick, New Brunswick. Brunswick claims to be the largest producer in the world, but as of 2007, stocks are improving as improving stocks of the fish are improving. The FAOWHO Codex standard for canned sardiner cites 21 species that may be classed as’sardine’ or ‘pilchard’ Sardines in supermarkets may actually be sprat or round herrings.
Fish sizes vary by species. Good-quality sardiners should have the head and gills removed before packing. They may also be eviscerated before packing. If not, they should be purged of undigested or partially digested food or feces by holding the live fish in a tank long enough for them to empty their digestive systems. Sardiners are typically tightly packed in a small can which is scored for easy opening. They are then packed in either olive, sunflower, or soybean oil, water, or in a tomato, chili, or mustard sauce. The close packing has led to their metaphorical use in the term, ‘packed like sardinea’. It is also used as the name of a situation where one person hides and each successive person who finds the hidden packs into the same space becomes the only one to hide out, until only one is left out. It has been used to describe any situation where people or objects are crowded tightly together such as in a bus or nightclub. A small serving can provide up to 13% of the RDA value of vitamin B2, roughly one-quarter of the RDA of niacin, and about 150% of vitamin B12.
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This page is based on the article Sardines as food published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
