Atum em Conserva

Description: It is a traditional preserve, consisting of tuna and the sauce of the variety, presented in aluminum or tinplate cans of 125 g, 250 g or 1 kg in weight, rectangular, cylindrical or oval. Tuna is presented in slices, fillets, pieces, pieces or crumbs. Depending on the colour, it is declared as light, half light or dark. Canned sangacho is made up of the muscle tissue that accompanies the lateral line of the tuna and has a lower commercial value.

Region: Algarve, Lisbon and Valley of the Tejo ‒ Coastline, Center ‒ Coastline e North ‒ Coastline.

Special characteristics: Tuna (Thunnidae family) of the species commonly found on the Portuguese coast, packed in cans, covered by various sauces and preserved by sterilization. Roasted tuna can-ning has the particularity that the tuna is previously grilled.

Product history: Tuna fishing was a tourist attraction in the Algarve, as the technique used was very different. The tuna boats surrounded the tuna with a circular net that was tightening. When the enclosure was already too small, the fish were harpooned into the boats. Canned tuna is due to the passage of tuna along the Algarve coasts, which has endowed this region with an unusual wealth that has always been explored. Initially, conservation was done only by salt. With the technological developments of the early twentieth century, tuna conservation reached other levels. It was Appert who initiated the sterilization process and Peter Durand who invented the first metal box. In Portugal, the first tuna canning factory opened in Vila Real de Santo António, in 1865. The Luso-Brazilian Encyclopedia of Culture states that: «... King Carlos of Bragança dedicated the oceanographic campaign of 1898 to the study of tuna. It should be noted that the first technical reference to the presence of tuna is due to him'.

Use: It has several culinary uses, from eaten just like meals with boiled potatoes and onions, through the appetizer and ending in much more elaborate dishes (rissoles, pies, etc.). It is a widespread habit of the Portuguese population to consume tuna, not only fresh (cooked or grilled) but also its preserves.

Know-how: Tuna fishing is still largely carried out in the Algarve in the traditional way. Their fishing depends on the time when the shoals pass in the Algarve coastal area. Its processing, whether the tuna is caught in the traditional way or by more modern methods, implies the use of very fresh fish. Very fresh tuna is headed, gutted and washed. It is then cut into slices and cooked at 100 °C for 1 hour. Once cold, it goes to the countertops where the skin and bones are manually removed and the white and red muscles are separated. It is then packaged and soaked in the various sauces. The boxes are hermetically sealed by crimping and sterilized in an autoclave at 121 °C for a period of 45 to 90 min, depending on the capacity of the package. At the exit of the autoclave, the packages are washed and dried and properly labeled. It is common for them to be presented in pyrographed cans or in cans wrapped in cellophane or cardboard.

Product availability: All year round.

Source: Produtos Tradicionais Portugueses, Lisboa, DGDR, 2001