Sardine
Rigorous daily inspections ensure the best possible quality, from the arrival of the fish to the moment it is canned.
We sort and separate our sardines to ensure we are left with the most beautiful fish. Prepared manually, our sardines are placed one-by-one on compartmentalized grids, then washed and dried. They are fried for just a couple minutes, before being left for a few hours to drain. The following day, the canning is done by hand. The women at our production site adeptly remove the neck and tail of each sardine with scissors. The fish are then carefully placed in their cans with their shiny, silvery bellies facing up (“au blanc”) or their backs and stripes visible when the lid is removed (“au bleu”).
Finally, the sardines are “juiced” before the can is sealed. This step involves covering the fish with an oil or a marinade. The cans are sealed by automated sealing machines, then washed and sterilized in tanks.
Canning process approved by AFNOR (April 1999)
Since 1997, our traditional sardine production method has been carried out in accordance with HACCP (system for analyzing critical control points and implementing technical measures to avoid risks). Concretely speaking, this amounts to our employees conducting their work with common sense, know-how, and precision.
Mackerel
Our mackerel is prepared in a similar way as our sardines. It is sorted with care to meet our strict quality standards, then cooked in water.
Our mackerel is prepared in a similar way as our sardines. It is sorted with care to meet our strict quality standards, then cooked in water.
The fish are trimmed with scissors, filleted, and carefully canned with the ingredients for each respective product. Canning of mackerel.
Tuna
Prepared in Douarnenez, our canned tuna is subject to the same meticulous production standards as our sardines.
It all starts in the butcher’s shop, with the small tunas hanging by their tails. Here, the fish are skillfully trimmed by butchers. This step is vital to securing the famous tuna belly that is sought-after by connoisseurs. At the production site, women expertly remove the loins of the tuna from each side of the central bone. An entirely manual operation that provides for immaculate fish!
Depending on the finished product, one of two things happen next:
- Tunas “au naturel” are canned raw
- Covered with brine, the tuna slices are cooked in the most natural way possible during the sterilization process.
- Tunas in oil and cooked tunas are pre-cooked, doused with liquid, then canned. This process (also called “juicing”) is done by machines.
The production of tuna belly requires the know-how of experts.
Carefully sliced by women with the nimblest of hands, the thin slices of belly are arranged one-by-one in their can then covered with premium extra virgin olive oil. A delicate and meticulous process that makes Connétable tuna bellies the favorites of demanding consumers.