About the cannery
Real Conservera Española was founded in 2006 by the Peña family – a surname synonymous with the finest Galician conservas since 1920 when José Peña Oubiña founded Conservas Peña and brought the region’s tinned fish to world attention. The cannery name translates as the Royal Spanish Canning Company and was given to it by the Spanish Royal Family due to its ties with the cannery’s ancestors since the reign of Alfonso XIII when conservas would be transported to Madrid by horse and cart for the monarch.
Real Conservera sources the finest, sustainably-caught fish and shellfish for its cans - in other words almost all of it comes from the Galician Rías (estuaries) and the Atlantic Ocean, including the Cantabrian Sea. Cannery specialists source the best examples of Galician fish and shellfish from the fish markets in Cambados, Carril, Ribeira, O Freixo, Cangas, Burela, and Celeiro, choosing, for instance, mussels from the Ría de Arousa, razor clams from the Cies islands, and cockles from the Ría de Noia.
The Galician estuaries are an ideal environment for fish and shellfish. The currents are calmer and water temperatures milder than in the open sea, and there are less predators. Upwelling drives nutrient and oxygen-rich Atlantic waters into the estuaries, helping plankton and other things the fish feed on to thrive. The estuaries are transformed into a gourmet buffet for the fish.
Real Conservera Española hand-prepares and packs this fish using traditional methods. Some of these methods - lightly toasting the fish prior to canning for instance - have fallen out of use in some canneries because they are time consuming and reduce output. Real Conservera Española remains committed to quality.
Real Conservera’s workforce is predominantly female, from the cannery workers to management to the shellfish harvesters. The cannery follows a completely handmade process and uses fresh, locally sourced ingredients in its traditional family recipes. Many of its products have been judged to be amongst the best tasting conservas in the world.
Serving tips
•The cannery recommends its sardinillas on toasted bread with fresh tomato or salted butter, with thin slices of onion.
•Try the razor clams flash-fried in a splash of olive oil with garlic.
•Mussels with crisps. Scatter the spicy, pickled mussels and some green olives over a bowl of crisps for a traditional Spanish tapa.
