La Quiberonnaise – Breton Sardines
Since 1921, the family business La Quiberonnaise has been processing Breton sardines into the finest vintage sardines, classically preserved in olive oil or peanut oil, but also in successful combinations with parsley and garlic, seaweed, or chili.
In the Conserverie La Quiberonnaise, based in the French port town of Quiberon, freshly caught sardines are still processed into tasty canned fish in the traditional way. "Artisanal" is the magic word, meaning handcrafted. The sardines are carefully cleaned, gutted, decapitated, and trimmed with scissors by diligent hands to fit perfectly into the sardine can. No more than 48 hours pass from catch to can.
But even though speed is essential in processing the fresh fish, La Quiberonnaise vintage sardines, once canned, have all the time in the world. For their fine taste, and it's no secret to connoisseurs, the sardines mature for several months in good oil. True lovers of vintage sardines even let them mature for several years, like a good wine. The cans should be turned every 6 months.
Fresh fish, quick, artisanal processing, and time to mature in good oil – these are the guarantors of sensationally good canned fish of exceptional quality, like La Quiberonnaise vintage sardines.
La Quiberonnaise – 100 Years of Experience
For exactly 100 years, the Jourdan family has been producing vintage sardines, the so-called Millésimes, in Brittany, more precisely in the fishing port of the Quiberon peninsula. Canned oil sardines have always been an integral part of Breton DNA and of great culinary significance. Making fresh fish long-lasting and "packaging" it so that it can be enjoyed practically anywhere – at sea, in the field, while traveling, but also at home – had primarily practical reasons 100 years ago, when refrigerators didn't exist.
Today, the fine, particularly small yet fatty sardines, fished in the Atlantic and processed by Bernhard and Thierry Jourdan, the grandchildren of the company's founder, just as they were then, are a delicious delicacy, a special treat that is more popular than ever due to its high quality, firm bite, and delicate flavor.
Although the La Quiberonnaise fish cannery has been working for generations according to traditional methods and recipes handed down since 1921, the beautiful sardine cans with their cheerfully colorful can designs, created by local artists, are captivating.
