When shopping for fish, it is usually thought that the best fish is fresh from the fish market in the earlier hours of the morning. In order to get your hands on a highly prized fresh fish at such a place, you would need to be determined to get up early and beat the crowd as well as have a lot of money on you. Fortunately there are alternatives to this, and one of those is the canned gourmet seafood products available through companies like Frinsa, a Spanish seafood exporter. Hard to believe you can get gourmet food from a can? Read on as we discuss who Frinsa is, their principle and practice of farming seafood, what sustainability is, a breakdown of all Frinsa products and suggested recipes to go with each one.
Who Is Frinsa?
Frinsa is one of the largest European manufacturers of canned tuna fish and other seafood. The company was founded in Ribeira (Galicia, Spain) in 1961.
The company’s main mission is to produce top-quality gourmet canned food, focusing its efforts on meeting clients’ expectations in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way. Thanks to this, it holds the most important certificates in quality, food safety and the sustainability of fishing resources. Furthermore, it collaborates with the major organisations in the protection of marine resources.
Frinsa is the supplier of the major European food chains’ private brands and also manufactures its own brands FRINSA (gourmet) and RIBEIRA.
Quality And Environment
Frinsa’s main objective is to obtain the highest-quality products, focusing their efforts on meeting their clients’ expectations in a manner that is always sustainable and that respects the environment.
In order to achieve this essential principle, Frinsa is involved in a process of continuous improvement. Thanks to the strict traceability of all their raw materials, Frinsa can guarantee that only species and specimens whose sustainability is assured are used in their processes. These include having materials that are sourced from ideal areas and are obtained through fishing techniques that are respectful and sustainable.
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| Frinsa food lab testing and packaging |
Meanwhile, Frinsa has a sizeable quality-control team, both human and technological, which provides all means necessary in order to guarantee the utmost quality and safety of their canned products.
Thanks to all the resources Frinsa has committed to continuous improvement, they have been awarded over the years and retained some of the most important certifications concerning quality, food safety, and the sustainability of fishing stocks, such as ISO 9001:2008, British Retail Consortium, International Food Standard and environmental certifications ISO 14001:2004 and EMAS III.
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| Frinsa retail store in Spain |
Frinsa has no other mission beyond responding to the expectations of their clients, and this has allowed them to attain the highest level of quality, satisfaction, and response to their needs. However, Frinsa is aware that the cycle of continuous improvement must continue, and for this reason they shall carry on striving to satisfy the expectations of all the consumers who have entrusted their confidence in the Frinsa brand.
Sustainability
The definition of sustainability is keeping the biological system diverse, productive and preserving the population of organisms in the environment. One major area of concern is overfishing and the destructive methods that come with it.
Frinsa is aware of the importance underlying the ongoing sustainability of marine resources to which they are committed to. They have been taking action to ensure that their day to day activity is carried out in an ethical and responsible way, having as little negative impact as possible on the environment. The principles which they base their commitment is as follows:
The Elite Gourmet Seal
Elite Gourmet is a cultural association to promote the best Spanish products. Elite Gourmet's goal is to tell the world how good these products are and what makes them stand out above the rest. This program started in 2010 and has been in search of the best and most authentic foods made in Spain. Each product has to be approved by a tasting committee and is then placed in a category. Only one product is selected per category each year. Having this seal on a product shows that you have the best from Spain. 3 products from Frinsa won this seal of approval, and those products are the "Ventresca" Tuna Belly, the Cockles in brine, and the Mussels. You can find more Spanish products with this seal through the official website: http://elitegourmet.es/
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Ingredients:
1 tin of Frinsa Mussels in pickled sauce
1 can of thick asparagus
mayonnaise
1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
Olive oil
Preparation:
For the mussels:
Take out mussels and set aside. Keep the sauce in the tin for use later on.
For the asparagus:
Drain the asparagus from the can. Add asparagus to pan with a little olive oil at a high heat. Once sizzling, add whipping cream and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, bring it down to a low simmer to thicken.
For the mayo:
Mix the mayonnaise with the sauce leftover from the mussels in the tin.
Finishing and presentation :
Place a scoop of the mayo mix onto the plate, then place the mussel over it. Pour a small portion of the cream of asparagus over the mussels and finish by sprinkling some chopped chives. Lightly drizzle olive oil.
Ingredients:
1 tin of Frinsa Octopus in olive oil
1 medium potato
1 can of beets
Dough for dumplings
Dill weed
Preparation:
Bake the potato in the oven at 360°F until done. Check to see if the potato is soft enough by poking it with a utensil like a fork or toothpick. Allow the potato to cool down. Skin potato and mash it leaving a bit of a lumpy consistency.
Take beets out of can and dice it. Take out the octopus and mix a little bit of oil from the tin with the mashed potatoes and the diced beets. Fill the dough dumplings with the mixture including the octopus pieces. Place into hot oil for deep frying.
Add dill weed as a garnish on top after frying is complete.
Suggested Recipe Use: Sardines in Tartar
Ingredients:
1 tin Frinsa Sardines
1/2 tomato
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 an onion
bread (Baguette recommended)
Preparation:
For Sardines:
Remove sardines from tin. Keep oil in tin for later use. Finely chop sardines and onion. Mix in bowl. Place mixture into mold to form its shape.
Finely chop up the tomato and bell pepper. Add to a frying pan with a little salt and pepper. Put remaining oil from sardine tin with the vegetables and saute at low heat. Once sauteed, place it on top of the sardine mold as a garnish. Enjoy with bread.
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| Benito del Norte tuna fish |
Frinsa is aware of the importance underlying the ongoing sustainability of marine resources to which they are committed to. They have been taking action to ensure that their day to day activity is carried out in an ethical and responsible way, having as little negative impact as possible on the environment. The principles which they base their commitment is as follows:
- Protection of the marine environment, conservation of resources and maintenance of marine biodiversity; in short, the defense of ecological balance.
- Planning and rational use of marine resources, bringing to bear scientific knowledge, reliable data and exercising caution and sound judgement when making decisions.
- Development of responsible fishing and aquaculture, avoiding both overfishing and excess fishing capacity.
- Creation and conservation of Marine Reserves.
- Promotion of less aggressive fishing methods with the aim of respecting non-target species and reducing negative environmental impact.
- Fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
- Reduction and control of "by-catch".
- Fair purchase of raw materials from sustainable and responsible fisheries and farms.
- Traceability of product "from the sea to the plate".
- Transparency and fair practice in process, commitment and action.
Logically, Frinsa is one of the main interested parties in ensuring that healthy populations of tuna and other fisheries species grow to reach levels of optimum balance. Being both involved and co-responsible, it is in their interest that resources are used rationally and able to meet existing and future demand in an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. Frinsa has joined forces with organizations at the forefront of marine resource sustainability.
The Elite Gourmet Seal
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| Selected products approved for the seal |
Elite Gourmet is a cultural association to promote the best Spanish products. Elite Gourmet's goal is to tell the world how good these products are and what makes them stand out above the rest. This program started in 2010 and has been in search of the best and most authentic foods made in Spain. Each product has to be approved by a tasting committee and is then placed in a category. Only one product is selected per category each year. Having this seal on a product shows that you have the best from Spain. 3 products from Frinsa won this seal of approval, and those products are the "Ventresca" Tuna Belly, the Cockles in brine, and the Mussels. You can find more Spanish products with this seal through the official website: http://elitegourmet.es/
Frinsa Products
Cockles in brine
The cockle is a bivalve from the Cardiidae family that lives in salt waters, buried in soft fine sand in tidal areas, and in estuary beds which are rich in nutrients. It feeds off living organisms which it absorbs by constantly filtering the seawater. It reaches a commercial size after approximately one year. The cockle is caught by hand or using traditional fishing methods.
Frinsa cockles are caught only in the Noia Estuary, the origin of the best Galician cockles, which are famous for their flavor and size. The cockles are purchased in the fish market at the most appropriate moment of each season, and after being subjected to a cleaning process to remove the sand and preserve their characteristic marine flavor, they are selected and canned by hand in uniform layers.
Suggested Recipe Use: Cockles with Lime
Ingredients:
1 tin of Frinsa Cockles
1 lime
pepper
Gradassi Lemon Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Preparation:
Cut 1 lime into thin, wide pieces. Place about 5-6 cockles on top of each slice and sprinkle with pepper and a few drops of Gradassi Lemon Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. To be eaten by hand.
Mussels in pickled sauce
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| New product coming in soon! |
This mussel is a bivalve that lives in the Atlantic. In a wild state it is attached to rocks in shallow, tidal areas and feeds off phytoplankton which it retains by filtering the water. The mussels found in the Galician Estuaries (Mytilus galloprovincialis) are farmed on rafts or floating platforms from which ropes hang, submerged in the water, to which the mussels are attached. The largest mussel-farming region in the world is the Arousa Estuary.
Frinsa mussels come exclusively from Galicia. They are selected from the rafts at the estuary entrances, where the best nutrients are located. After being classified and cleaned, they are dehydrated and sauteed in olive oil, which prevents the sauce from spoiling, guarantees their texture and gives them a special bouquet. The canning and packing operations are done by hand, adding a mild, characteristic brine made in accordance with traditional recipes, to enhance the flavor of the mussels.”
Suggested Recipe Use: Mussels with Cream of Asparagus
Ingredients:
1 tin of Frinsa Mussels in pickled sauce
1 can of thick asparagus
mayonnaise
1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
Olive oil
Preparation:
For the mussels:
Take out mussels and set aside. Keep the sauce in the tin for use later on.
For the asparagus:
Drain the asparagus from the can. Add asparagus to pan with a little olive oil at a high heat. Once sizzling, add whipping cream and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, bring it down to a low simmer to thicken.
For the mayo:
Mix the mayonnaise with the sauce leftover from the mussels in the tin.
Finishing and presentation :
Place a scoop of the mayo mix onto the plate, then place the mussel over it. Pour a small portion of the cream of asparagus over the mussels and finish by sprinkling some chopped chives. Lightly drizzle olive oil.
Octopus in olive oil
The octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is a cephalopod, characterized by its eight tentacles which have two rows of suckers. It lives among the rocks along the coast, at depths of less than 200 m. Its diet includes mainly bivalves, fish and small crustaceans. It is caught using special traps.
Frinsa octopus comes exclusively from Galicia. It is prepared using the tentacles of the mollusk, which are cut by hand and canned, adding only olive oil to enhance its genuine and authentic flavor.
Suggested Recipe Use: Octopus dumpling with potato and beet
Ingredients:
1 tin of Frinsa Octopus in olive oil
1 medium potato
1 can of beets
Dough for dumplings
Dill weed
Preparation:
Bake the potato in the oven at 360°F until done. Check to see if the potato is soft enough by poking it with a utensil like a fork or toothpick. Allow the potato to cool down. Skin potato and mash it leaving a bit of a lumpy consistency.
Take beets out of can and dice it. Take out the octopus and mix a little bit of oil from the tin with the mashed potatoes and the diced beets. Fill the dough dumplings with the mixture including the octopus pieces. Place into hot oil for deep frying.
Add dill weed as a garnish on top after frying is complete.
Small Sardines in olive oil
Small sardines are very young sardines (Sardina pilchardus). They are oily fish from the Cupleidae family which are easy to spot due to their silver color, and are extremely nutritious.
Frinsa small sardines are freshly caught from Galicia, and small in size. The process of selecting, cleaning and removing the heads is done by hand and then they are subjected to a steam roasting process. Following this, they are covered in olive oil, which gives the fish an intense flavor and a pleasant texture.
Ingredients:
1 tin Frinsa Sardines
1/2 tomato
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 an onion
bread (Baguette recommended)
Preparation:
For Sardines:
Remove sardines from tin. Keep oil in tin for later use. Finely chop sardines and onion. Mix in bowl. Place mixture into mold to form its shape.
Finely chop up the tomato and bell pepper. Add to a frying pan with a little salt and pepper. Put remaining oil from sardine tin with the vegetables and saute at low heat. Once sauteed, place it on top of the sardine mold as a garnish. Enjoy with bread.
Albacore Tuna Belly Fillets
in olive oil
Albacore Tuna (Thunnus alalunga) is an oily fish belonging to the Tunidae family. It is highly appreciated, due to its intense flavor and the soft texture of its white flesh. The fishing season or “costera del bonito” is between May and October, when it can be found in large groups in the Cantabrian Sea. The fillets (“Ventresca”) come from the belly of the albacore tuna and are characterized by their larger proportion of fat, gelatinous, laminated flesh and intense flavor.
Frinsa albacore tuna fillets are canned in whole, unfilleted pieces, to preserve the fat and make their texture softer. Their presentation, in olive oil, gives them an extraordinary, unique taste that improves with time.
Suggested Recipe Use: Green Tallarin With Tuna Belly
1 tin of Frinsa "Ventresca" tuna belly in olive oil
*Basil
*Toasted nuts
*Garlic
*Olive oil
1 cucumber
salt
pepper
*Pesto sauce ingredients. Optionally, use the ready made Villa Reale Genovese Pesto Sauce
For the tuna belly:
Open and remove tuna belly from tin. Set aside the tin with the oil still kept inside.
For the pesto: (skip if using a ready made pesto sauce)
Grind and mix the basil, nuts and garlic with olive oil to create the pesto. Salt to taste and set aside.
For the cucumber:
With the help of a mandolin cutter, cut the cucumber into thin noodle-like slices. Blanch the cucumbers by putting them into hot water for a minute or two, take out of water, and quickly put them into iced water or cold running water. This is so the cucumber will soften a bit and give it noodle like properties.
Presentation:
Season the "cucumber noodles" with the oil from the tuna belly tin, a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle some warm pesto on the bottom of the plate, followed by the cucumber noodles on top of that, and lastly place the tuna belly above the cucumber noodles. Garnish the tuna with toasted nuts and basil.
Suggested Recipe Use: Green Tallarin With Tuna Belly
1 tin of Frinsa "Ventresca" tuna belly in olive oil*Basil
*Toasted nuts
*Garlic
*Olive oil
1 cucumber
salt
pepper
*Pesto sauce ingredients. Optionally, use the ready made Villa Reale Genovese Pesto Sauce
For the tuna belly:
Open and remove tuna belly from tin. Set aside the tin with the oil still kept inside.
For the pesto: (skip if using a ready made pesto sauce)
Grind and mix the basil, nuts and garlic with olive oil to create the pesto. Salt to taste and set aside.
For the cucumber:
With the help of a mandolin cutter, cut the cucumber into thin noodle-like slices. Blanch the cucumbers by putting them into hot water for a minute or two, take out of water, and quickly put them into iced water or cold running water. This is so the cucumber will soften a bit and give it noodle like properties.
Presentation:
Season the "cucumber noodles" with the oil from the tuna belly tin, a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle some warm pesto on the bottom of the plate, followed by the cucumber noodles on top of that, and lastly place the tuna belly above the cucumber noodles. Garnish the tuna with toasted nuts and basil.
Albacore Tuna
in olive oil
Albacore Tuna (Thunnus alalunga) is an oily fish belonging to the Tunidae family. It is highly appreciated, due to its intense flavor and the soft texture of its white flesh. The fishing season or “costera del bonito” is between May and October, when it can be found in large groups in the Cantabrian Sea.
Frinsa Albacore Tuna is caught on the coast of the Cantabrian Sea, using traditional angling methods and catching them one by one, thereby assuring the quality of the product and protecting the environment.
Suggested Recipe Use: Simple Tomato Ratatouille with Tuna
Ingredients:
1 tin or jar of Frinsa Bonito del Norte Tuna
1 red bell pepper
6 ripe tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
Preparation:
Cut red bell pepper into long slices. Peel the skin and de-seed tomatoes. Add olive oil to a pan and slowly cook the bell pepper and tomatoes. Cook until water is absorbed. Place cooked bell pepper and tomatoes onto a plate, season with salt and pepper to taste, and add a bit more extra virgin olive oil. Lay out the tuna on top of the cooked vegetables. Garnish with mixed greens.
The baby scallops (Chlamys sp) are a bivalve belonging to the Pectinidae family, very similar to the Atlantic scallop but smaller in size. Its natural habitat is on rocks along the coast, at depths of up to 8o m. Like other bivalve molluscs, it is a filter feeder which lives on plankton. It is caught from a boat with a device called a dredge or rake.
Frinsa baby scallops are caught in the Galician Estuaries. After being cleaned to eliminate the sand, they are dehydrated and their hepato-pancreas is removed. Then they are canned in Atlantic scallop sauce, prepared using traditional Galician recipes.
Suggested Recipe Use: Scallop Chickpea Stew
Ingredients:
1 tin of Frinsa Scallops per serving/bowl
1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, or 3 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed
Olive oil
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 sprig thyme
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
Kosher salt
Bundle of spinach
Wrap Up
Canned seafood is not limited to just a simple, cheap fish or imitation fish that you can get from your local grocery store. High quality fish and other seafood types such as octopus and scallops are available thanks to top seafood producers like Frinsa. Whether it's making a classy, high end meal or simply wanting to eat quality seafood straight out of the tin, these gourmet products are sure to fulfill your needs. You can find Frinsa products as well as other imported gourmet foods through our online retail website at www.gourmetimportshop.com. Thanks for reading and we hope you find this information helpful!
Suggested Recipe Use: Simple Tomato Ratatouille with Tuna
Ingredients:
1 tin or jar of Frinsa Bonito del Norte Tuna
1 red bell pepper
6 ripe tomatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
Preparation:
Cut red bell pepper into long slices. Peel the skin and de-seed tomatoes. Add olive oil to a pan and slowly cook the bell pepper and tomatoes. Cook until water is absorbed. Place cooked bell pepper and tomatoes onto a plate, season with salt and pepper to taste, and add a bit more extra virgin olive oil. Lay out the tuna on top of the cooked vegetables. Garnish with mixed greens.
Baby scallops in sauce
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| New product coming soon! |
The baby scallops (Chlamys sp) are a bivalve belonging to the Pectinidae family, very similar to the Atlantic scallop but smaller in size. Its natural habitat is on rocks along the coast, at depths of up to 8o m. Like other bivalve molluscs, it is a filter feeder which lives on plankton. It is caught from a boat with a device called a dredge or rake.
Frinsa baby scallops are caught in the Galician Estuaries. After being cleaned to eliminate the sand, they are dehydrated and their hepato-pancreas is removed. Then they are canned in Atlantic scallop sauce, prepared using traditional Galician recipes.
Suggested Recipe Use: Scallop Chickpea Stew
Ingredients:
1 tin of Frinsa Scallops per serving/bowl
1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas, or 3 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed
Olive oil
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 sprig thyme
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups vegetable broth
Kosher salt
Bundle of spinach
Preparation:
For spinach:
Cook spinach in salted water for about 1 minute. Set aside for later.
For chickpeas:
Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and thyme sprig; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, 10-15 minutes. Add chickpeas and wine. Bring to a rapid simmer; cook until wine is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chickpeas are very soft, 1 1/2-2 hours for dried chickpeas, or about 30 minutes for canned. Discard thyme sprig.
Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and thyme sprig; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft, 10-15 minutes. Add chickpeas and wine. Bring to a rapid simmer; cook until wine is reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chickpeas are very soft, 1 1/2-2 hours for dried chickpeas, or about 30 minutes for canned. Discard thyme sprig.
Presentation:
Before serving, put the spinach and scallops (including the sauce it's in) together with the chickpeas. One tin of scallops per bowl.
Wrap Up
Canned seafood is not limited to just a simple, cheap fish or imitation fish that you can get from your local grocery store. High quality fish and other seafood types such as octopus and scallops are available thanks to top seafood producers like Frinsa. Whether it's making a classy, high end meal or simply wanting to eat quality seafood straight out of the tin, these gourmet products are sure to fulfill your needs. You can find Frinsa products as well as other imported gourmet foods through our online retail website at www.gourmetimportshop.com. Thanks for reading and we hope you find this information helpful!
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