What is the Carmelo manifesto?
Carmelo tinned fish must be:
From marine ecosystems where fish and shellfish thrive and reach their absolute peak. Anchovies from the turbulent Cantabrian Sea. Oysters, mussels and scallops from the sheltered calm of the Galician estuaries. Skipjack tuna from the Azores’ crystalline waters.
Caught and harvested seasonally. The time of year fish are caught decides their quality. Fishing Cantabrian anchovies in spring when they’re fattier means they’re better able to weather a long curing process where their flavour can develop. Portuguese sardines caught May to October are fattier because the waters are warmer and richer with plankton for them to feed on. This makes the fish more flavoursome. And better suited to canning.
Fished sustainably. As well as being seasonally caught, the canneries behind the Carmelo range work with smaller batches of fish and use fishing methods like purse seine that targets only the intended species and avoids by-catch and doesn’t damage the seabed. The oysters and mussels are rope-grown, carbon-neutral, and actually enhance the ecosystem.
Canned by hand. When fish is canned by hand rather than machine, quality control is more rigorous - the eagle-eyed conserverie workers can check and double check that the best fish go in the tins and the best examples of the quality ingredients accompany them.
