As a well-known and widely loved clothing and gear company, it’s both surprising and unexpected to see the Patagonia brand name printed on a box of tinned seafood. How do they connect? Is it the same Patagonia? Those were my thoughts when I first saw these packages on our shelves.  Patagonia Provisions, a recently added division of a B corporation that has been around since the 70’s, has expanded into selling food items, specifically tinned seafood—which we should all be so excited for!

There’s a lot of talk today of the fragile state of our environment. A lot of that fragility comes from a disconnect between humans and our treatment of the earth as we try to provide for the population and simultaneously grow our economies. Patagonia Provisions started as an effort to try and fix our broken chain, as noted by Yvon Chouinard, CEO and founder of Patagonia. He saw the distance that was being put between people and their food, as well as a loss of respect for the earth, the creatures that inhabit it, and the value of knowing where your food comes from. For example, did you know that mussels are actually one of the most sustainable food sources in the world? By eating mussels, we are actually helping more mussels grow, as written by Paul Greenberg on why mussels might save the planet. Patagonia was originally started as an effort to change the world, but the necessity of buying a winter jacket or sturdy piece of clothing comes around only a handful of times throughout adult life. On the other hand, food is something we interact with multiple times a day, so why not affect the same change from another different, but necessary angle?

Patagonia Provisions is a certified B Corporation, gives 1% of all profits back to the planet just as the clothing brand does, and as of 2017, is also part of the Regenerative Organic Alliance, ensuring fairness to farmers and workers, with strict requirements for farming practices. There’s no shortage of transparency in any effort Patagonia makes—especially with their tinned fish. There is an abundance of information on the package alone, as well as even a little picture of what the contents inside of the tin look like and it’s wholly enticing. You can unfold the box and find notes on the nutrition, flavor, sourcing, and the environmental impact of each tin you enjoy.

Now that we have warmed our hearts, let’s fill our bellies and talk taste, shall we?

A while back, during conservas week here at Caputo’s, I was encouraged to try Patagonia’s Smoked Mussels. Despite my reluctance towards smoked foods I found myself quite pleased with the flavor. There are a lot of them packed in the tin, are lightly smoky, and a little sweet. Sourced off the Galician coast of Spain, where mussels are native to the region, these are smoked naturally over Spanish bay wood and packed in organic olive oil and their own broth. Most recently, a friend suggested I revisit them, but warm the tin in the oven for about 15 minutes before eating with a little bread… I enjoyed them this way for a quick, casual lunch and finished with the satisfaction of having a fully prepared meal. The flavors and fatty components were transformed to change the overall experience in the best way possible, both in flavor and texture.

I enjoyed the Savory Sofrito Mussels next. Sofrito is essentially a traditional Spanish sauce made with onion, garlic, peppers and tomatoes; however, there’s a variety of ways it can be made. This mixture includes bell peppers, onion, sherry wine, spinach, and Spanish paprika. The sauce is incredibly savory, and has borderline tomato-y characteristics without any actually added. I tasted them and instantly felt a familiarity in the flavor…I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. I ended up having the mussels, sauce and all, over a little rice with some roasted carrots and onions, and it clicked! The combination of flavors made me reminiscent of a Spanish style Bolognese. This was not your long Sunday afternoon dinner, we’re talking 20-30 minutes, and a $7 tin of mussels, with more protein, Omega 3’s, and vitamin B-12 than any Bolognese you’ll find.

Another tin I found myself favoring was the Spanish Paprika Mackerel. With similarly rich, meaty qualities of other fish such as salmon or tuna, smothered in a vibrant red oily sauce, these mackerel are approachable in flavor and texture. I dreamed of using a tin in the future to make some mackerel cakes…maybe a little egg, breadcrumbs, peppers, onions, and paprika mackerel blended together and pan-fried? Sounds like a perfect party snack to me. However, without the ability to do anything extensive, I ended up using the last half of the tin over a salad. Being such ample fillets, a fish like mackerel needs a bit of a stronger mix of salad ingredients that won’t easily be overpowered. I could recommend some chopped kale that’s been massaged with a creamy dressing as a simple restaurant-worthy salad, however I opted for a mix of romaine and spinach, complimented with some finely chopped carrots, onions, and peppers, topped with a little bit of Dodoni feta, to add an extra bit of tang. I could go on all day about the fun ways to enjoy any tinned seafood, so get creative, eat it alone, or try both!

I know it may seem a bit odd for a company that has been making jackets and gear for so long to expand to food, but what better way to reach people than through our nourishment? Food helps us connect with not only one another but with the planet so let’s be thoughtful about it. You can have confidence in enjoying a tin of Patagonia Provisions tinned seafood knowing it’s sustainably sourced, responsibly produced, and thoroughly delicious. So let’s change the world, one tin at a time.

As conservas culture takes the U.S. food scene by storm, tinned seafood is becoming a new pantry staple and popping up on hip bar and restaurant menus in cities around America. This historical practice of preserving food in a can, specifically a variety of fish, bivalves and cephalopods, allows us to dive into another culture’s food traditions, participate in this growing trend, and enjoy seafood sourced directly from estuaries and open seas around the world.

Conservas de Cambados began selecting the finest seafood from the estuaries located near their birthplace in Galicia, one of them being Ria de Arousa, the largest estuary in the northwest region of Spain. The cannery quickly grew, and by 2008, they were exporting small, net-wrapped tins to Europe, the U.S., and other markets around the world. Despite their rapid growth, Conservas De Cambados prides themselves on maintaining pristine culinary traditions that are present in each tin of seafood sold. It has now been 35 years of Conservas de Cambados, and despite their notoriety in conservas culture around the globe, their relatively small facility of 8,200 square feet continues to uphold artisanal standards with sustainability in mind.

I was immediately enamored by the shiny lettering and trademark net wrapped tins and cracked open their Mussels from Galicia in marinade for a late dinner on a Monday. The king size mussels, describes as such on the packaging, are fried in olive oil and packed in a vibrant reddish orange marinade called Esabeche sauce, made from vinegar and smoked paprika. The mussels were arranged neatly, looking plump and begging to be devoured. There were only 4 in the tin, which speaks to their incredibly large size. That larger size is a very desirable characteristic when eating mussels, clams and other bivalves. Harvested at the peak of size and fat content after fattening up all season in the warm, nutrient dense waters, they are perfectly plumped and ready for the cold season. The texture of the mussels was very tender, so much so they nearly fell apart when speared with a small fork or bitten into. My first bite was a pleasant surprise, not slimy, briny, fishy, or chewy at all; these mussels were straight up decadent. After eating two alone to fully experience what a king size mussel has to offer, my curious palate took over and I turned to my fridge for some adventurous accompaniments. I unearthed some cannellini beans and cornichons, mashed the beans with salt, pepper and olive oil, spread it on a small piece of toast with the cornichons, and perched the last of the mussels atop, with a drizzle of the marinade to tie it together. The creamy richness from the beans and mussels along with the crunch of the toast and cornichons, was a composed and satisfying bite with the smallest amount of additional labor.

Days later, I dove into their Scallops in Galician sauce and clams in brine. The Scallops, packed in a thick tomato sauce with pieces of onions and herbs throughout, gave a tickle of sweet heat at the back of my throat and were so packed with flavor that I didn’t want anything other than some light crackers to accompany them. The sauciness left at the bottom of the tin made a perfect dressing for a spinach salad with a little chevre crumbled on top as a side dish.

The clams from Galicia in brine, the most simple and delicate of the 3 tins, rose above the other two in the most elegant manner. After the first taste, I felt a cool sea breeze come across my senses, and wanted nothing more than to frolic along the Galician coast. I couldn’t help but devour the whole tin with only a fork and the occasional dash of Espinaler sauce. Packed in translucent milky brine, these clams had the perfect amount of salinity and chew.

There’s a sense of ease and joy when cracking open a can of plump mussels, glistening sardines, or whichever tin speaks to you. These tins have an extensive shelf life, are cooked and seasoned to perfection, and ready to eat straight from the tin. As a company that places a high value on sustainability and upholding tradition, the offerings from Conservas de Cambados are nothing short of excellent.

I can’t decide whether it’s the cute and confident fish logo, the extensive family history, or just the pure delicious flavors that draw me to Espinaler. Whichever it may be, each tin of fish or bottle of sauce represents generations of hard work. The packaging is playful yet enticing, and what lies within each tin embodies an important piece of tapas culture. In addition, Espinaler’s sauce has developed a cult following of late and has become an invaluable condiment to many that try it.

Espinaler was born in 1896 in the area that is now Barcelona. Miquel Riera I Prat opened Taverna Espinaler to provide the classic Mediterranean mix of wine, snacks, and familial ambience to the villagers. When the Spanish Civil War broke out in the 1930’s, Miquel’s daughter Francisca, bravely took over the family business despite being a widowed mother of four. Located in the first city to be introduced to vermouth in Spain in the 19^th century, the founder’s grandson Joan Tapas I Riera began adapting the business in the 1940’s by selling high quality vermouth, which quickly became one of their most popular products.

Joan continued to expand Espinaler’s repertoire of products, introducing fine Galician preserves. His wife then created the noteworthy Espinaler sauce, to perfectly compliment seafood, olives, chips and any salty snacks. Some of my first encounters with tinned seafood were complimented by this sauce, and soon became a must-have for my chronic snacking. The vinegar-based sauce is made with a special selection of spices, quickly becoming their first iconic product, and spurred the Espinaler revolution in the 1970s. The company’s focus on fine preserved seafood began with a third generation family member, Miquel Tapias Roldós, who took over the business and started travelling across Spain to the northwest corner region of Galicia. Galicia, known for its estuaries and prominent canning industry, is where he carefully selected the best preserves at auction and continued to pass down the importance of knowledge in choice, which spurred the marketing of Espinaler brand tinned fish.

With the arrival of the 21^st century, the long-lived family business expanded throughout Spain, and two Warehouse-Tavern-Stores were opened just a decade apart. Since then, run by fifth generation Tapias brothers, Espinaler has expanded to offering its wide range of preserved shellfish, sauces, liqueurs, and other products to Europe, Asia, and America, most importantly Caputo’s in good ole’ SLC. With such a rich history, David and Miki Tapias continue to strive to uphold the values that are true to the Espinaler brand and were taught to them: “To offer a very high quality product, produced and packed at the right time.”

Whether you have a tin of baby sardines with some hot sauce a la carte as a mid-day snack, or an arugula salad topped with pickled veggies and a tin of white tuna in pickled sauce, you’ve made an excellent choice. Pour yourself a glass of vermouth or your favorite Spanish wine, and transport yourself to a cozy tapas bar buried in beautiful Barcelona (I know that’s what I’m doing), and try a tin of fish that’s not only packed with the finest ingredients, but also contains over a century of family history, and Spanish culture.

Below, you’ll find a short video about heirloom cacao in Belize. This is what Caputo’s Chocolate festival goes to support. People like those at Belize Foundation for Research & Environmental Education (BFREE) are trying to create a buffer zone for their nature preserve through sustainable farming of heirloom cacao. In this case one of only two Heirloom Cacao Perservation (HCP) verified strains of genetically pure criollo. Caputo’s was the bursary sponsor for this strain!

Please share with your chocophile friends and new enthusiasts and please note we are working hard to further extend the Caputo shield of preservation for BFREE and their cacao.

I love a good food trend as much as the next person. But what I love more is a bonafide food revival. Here’s the difference:

A food trend starts with an innovative hack or recipe twist and makes waves on social media in mere days. Your favorite food bloggers offer up their takes on it, then said trend is murdered by big chains trying to get in on the action. It’s a windfall experience, left to die a lonely death with only faint memories of their once viral hashtags and millenial social love.

The story of a  food revival started centuries ago, back when food was a means of survival. Food was fuel then, made delicious by generations of tweaks and passed down techniques. Sure, they may have faded to make way for said trends above, but they’ve never fully disappeared. The revival begins quietly on the shelves of your favorite stores. It gains traction slowly after one recommendation to take it home and try it for yourself, one Google session to figure out what to do with it, one bottle of wine to pair it with. Small articles in Bon Appetit or Food and Wine will mention it, your friends will say they’ve tried it. Your mom might even send you a newspaper clipping about it. Before you know it, you’ve changed your eating habits to incorporate it, developed a tiered list of favorite brands, traditional preparations, and recipes using it at home, and now you’re sending clippings back to your mom about even better options than she’d originally recommended.

That’s the food revival. Unassuming at first, but impactful. Think of the difference between $100 gourmet burgers and Greek yogurt, artisan cupcakes and fermented foods…you get the idea. Spendy burgers and all things cupcake came and went. Yes, they’re still around, but you may not feel as inclined to keep ingredients on hand to prepare on a whim or boast their consumption on your Insta stories. Greek yogurt and fermented items found their way into our hearts and refrigerators and will remain. Whether it’s for solo snacking or adding to recipes, the health benefits and lingering flavor keeps us all coming back for more.

So, I’m here to tell you what’s next. Now remember, enter with an open mind. It’s time to get reacquainted with tinned seafood, my friends.

This is not the mass-produced ‘Chicken of the Sea’ cans of tuna that ensnare dolphins and tuna alike. It is not flash-cooked and preserved in weird faux-brine water. It is not tasteless slop. Revival-worthy tinned seafood is the stuff of legend. Think small boats with three generations aboard—working together, catching together, selecting the very best to bring back to shore. Grandmothers oversee the preparation and preservation with strong opinions, heavy-handed seasoning, and a forever-furrowed brow.

Once preserved, seafood does a magical thing and becomes even more delicious with time. The oil, sauce, or brine permeate the fibers and flesh and textures become soft and supple. Flavors commingle and rest until each tin is chosen for consumption. What was once a way to preserve precious proteins for the off-season is now a stalwart of tapas fare and ultra-sustainable because of its inherent nature, not because of a trend.

You’ll find one of the best in Jose Gourmet. Fish, bivalves, and mollusks are prepared traditionally with classic sauces and oils. There’s an option for every eater: mild and delicate or toothsome and full of flavor. Each tin is prepared with exceptional attention to detail, down to how each piece is artfully preserved in the tin, sealed for optimal preservation and flavor, and bound with eye-catching art and enchanting stories. For those of us residing in landlocked locales, this is the perfect way to start introducing seafood into our diets without breaking the bank. Roll back the lid on a tin, toss together a salad, and pour yourself a glass of wine. You’ll be transported to another place and time for as long as the tin takes to consume. You’ll begin craving the experience and the flavors and come back for more as often as I have this year. I’ll see you in the tinned seafood aisle.

Spain is underrated. Spanish food is even more underrated than Spain itself. The Land of Cervantes is similar to Italy as far as culinary ethos goes. Simple, high quality ingredients are key for simple, delicious recipes. It’s a wonderful ethos to live by and makes cooking and home entertaining a breeze.

Meet the Basque Piparra. This long, slender pepper looks very similar to a green beans and is native to the Basque region of Spain. It’s traditionally quite sweet and unassuming when fresh, but these little peppers are almost always preserved in an acidic brine and stored away to use for tapas and pintxos year round. You’ll see these most often in a pintxo called a Gilda, a toothpick speared through an olive, a Basque piparra, and a white anchovy (aka boquerones), then sometimes repeated on the same toothpick. It’s a briny, salty snack that does exactly what every bartender wants… for you to keep drinking. I love serving these at parties. Minimal effort and no heat application are the way to go when you’re expecting company, nothing can really go wrong.

Want to enjoy your Basque Piparras in more than one way? Their acidic, briny flavor is the perfect matched for smoked fish dishes and tinned seafood. Try dicing them up and mixing into an aioli for sandwiches or spearing into your next Bloody Mary. They’re even mild enough to adorn your next cheese board. The only danger of popping open an jar is closing it up again after your first pepper. This little taste of the Basque region is quite addictive, you’ll be ready for a siesta in no time.

I am among the vast number of people who look to Matt Caputo for inspiration when seeking out new, exciting food when life starts to taste a little dull. With the holidays drawing closer everyday, now is time for me to start poking my nose into all the decadent, delicious treats hiding in plain sight on the shelves here at Caputo’s. I stock up now on things like cheese, chocolate, and confections to keep on hand for last minute host gifts, gift exchanges, and snacks to keep me going through decorating and gift wrapping.

Like every time before, Matt’s done it again and found a tiny company worthy of all praise and adoration. Friends, meet Scaldaferro Torrone. Torrone is an ancient old Italian confection from the time of the Roman empire made from honey, almonds, and egg whites. Scaldaferro takes this time honored confection to new heights with their commitment to using only the highest quality monofloral honeys, DOP and IGP protected nuts, and production methods that are almost outrageously particular. The result is a crunchy, ethereal treat perfect for sharing after large meals with your family.

Since no one can describe such a treat like Matt himself – here’s his take on Scaldaferro:

“When an artisan makes nougat based on the waxing of the moon and explains it in such a way that makes sense, you should go out of your way to eat that nougat. Scaldaferro is the perfect nexus of heirloom ingredients and outlier in skill. No other nougat on Earth will taste like this. In my somewhat expansive nougat experience, it is the best out there. With our modern day food system continuously degrading what people are willing to pay for food, it is a treasure that will likely be lost to history some day. I am giving Scaldaferro as a gift, because it is a perfect example what Caputo’s is trying to achieve. We fight to protect these traditional foods by sharing our passion for them with our friends, family, and customers.”

My favorite? I have a hard time choosing between the Rose almond torrone made with Sicilian DOP Avola Almonds and rose honey OR the pistachio torrone made w/ DOP Bronte Pistachios from Sicily and coriander honey. Both are lovely and easy to buy together so I never have to choose. I’ll keep these stashed away for gifts and shared treats, but I am pretty sure most of these will be kept hidden away for my own indulgence.

So, are you drooling yet? Dying to get your mitten-ed paws on these confections? You can get them here or at your nearest and dearest Caputo’s location.

Something happened. It was special, beautiful, inspiring, and even a little bit heartbreaking. We gave it a silly sounding name, yet the experience was everything but.

That silly name and transcendent affair was Goat Camp. We gathered a handful of our Caputo’s team and some of our beloved restaurateur friends and headed south to the open spaces of Utah where the landscape is tinted red and passion for food culture is surprisingly easy to find. From Caineville to Boulder, our little group had the experience of a lifetime. Mesa Farm, Hell’s Backbone Farm and Restaurant, and Ruth Lewandowski Wines were our destinations and now our lingering inspirations.

Stop 1: Mesa Farm, owned by Randy Ramsley, home to the happiest goats and cutest kids in Utah

In a humble farm market store, over nibbles of Randy’s cheeses and fresh coffee, I, and many others, rediscovered why we do what we do. Matt has always said it best – we don’t work in specialty food because we want to be millionaires; we do it because we have a love for food, with its cultural and historical implications, and we have to protect that. Randy’s cheeses are as excellent as they are because Randy is committed to creating them from the very best beginnings. His herd – which is now at 38 lovely little goat ladies- graze freely on the banks of the Fremont river. During the winter, their diets are supplemented with a much higher quality feed than industry standard; in fact, it’s organically grown specifically for Randy’s herd by his neighbors. That doesn’t come cheap. Even more surprising than their feeding practices was learning that Randy only milks during the natural cycle. As winter comes and the babes begin grazing themselves, Randy does not give the goats any kind of hormone to lengthen the milking. When they dry up, he closes up shop until the next spring. This is so uncommon and nearly unheard of in modern day cheese production, even for most artisan cheese production.

Since Randy doesn’t cut corners (or costs): we receive the kind of quality cheeses people write poems and love stories about. Whether it’s one of our cave-aged cheeses, chevre, or feta, the taste is unlike any other cheeses we carry. There’s true Utah terroir buried deep within the paste of each cheese because that’s where it came from. From the natural grasses and plants nourished by the Fremont river to the buckets of milk separated into curds and whey, something truly magical happens. Add expert cave aging to the mix from the loving, deft hands of our own affineuse, Antonia Horne, and suddenly, it’s like nothing else matters and no cheese ever existed before this one.

With all this beautiful imagery and romanticism, I almost forgot Randy was facing closure of his farm before our partnership. It wasn’t until Caputo’s and our customers began purchasing and raving about the cheeses that things started looking up. This year, Mesa cheeses got a nice little makeover with beautiful logo art. It’s so gorgeous that it attracted more help and interns to his farm, which is helping create the means to continue operations and cheesemaking. Randy called Caputo’s, chefs, and customers the “forefront of this industry.” He used the term “conscious sustainability” to convey this sort of community oriented promotion of good food. It helped me recognize that we’re all in this together and that our support of one another is invaluable.

That was the moment when I experienced my most recent cheese epiphany.

I love Caputo’s, and I love what I do here. Much of that is sharing food and stories and history at our classes. I love seeing people’s faces when they try something for the first time and fall in love, their eyes might glaze over as the subconscious takes over and I can see euphoria take hold. But to be honest, what I love more is seeing people begin to understand how important food culture is to our existence and our experience. We talk about cheeses that are going extinct and why it’s happening. For example, the oldest cheese recipe known to man lives in our cases, but today, it’s going extinct. Our grandchildren won’t have the chance to try it. In our lifetime, after over THREE THOUSAND years of production, this cheese is headed for extinction. This is why it matters and this is why Randy’s work can’t go unnoticed. If one of the oldest cheeses in the world is in danger, what does that mean for cheese made in our own state? What does that mean for all food here in Utah? We’re on the brink of losing history, culture, and the side of food that makes people come together with the people they love to share a meal. This isn’t about food as fuel, this is about food as love and the war being waged against that in the name of economic efficiency, cutting quality for the prize of lower costs. Hence the heartbreak.

Heartbreak aside, hope exists. Hope exists at Mesa Farm and hope exists at Caputo’s. Tony picked up a torch for the cause when he opened the doors of Caputo’s twenty years ago. Randy and Matt did the same with a new resurgence of passion and dedication to protect who we are because of what we create and consume.  Every restaurant that makes the decision to feature a Mesa cheese on their menu is a win for Utah food and another hand in the fight. Hope exists when each of us commits to supporting Mesa Farm by sharing it with our friends at dinner parties and at picnics. Even when it feels small, it always matters.

So in that farm market, surrounded by co-workers and friends, I rediscovered my passion and I watched everyone else rediscover theirs. Matt and Randy engaged in the kind of conversation that make you want to dry your tears and save the world. It was just like watching the cheese epiphanies in a class at Caputo’s, except I was having the epiphany and was incapable of hiding my newfound excitement. Everyone else seemed to have a similar experience. Dry eyes were scarce that morning, and I know not a single one of us was ashamed to show it. Passion runs deep with a group of people like us, and I am so, so proud to be a part of it.

***In 2023, Randy of Mesa Farm entered his beautifully earned retirement. The farm and its singular cheeses will live on in our hearts and stories for years to come.***

Part 1 of 4. Go to Part 2: Hell’s Backbone.

We believe wholeheartedly in flavor here at Caputo’s. We celebrate the power of flavor’s ability to tell stories about the world in which we live and eat. It shapes our senses, it holds our histories, and it gives voice to our diversity. Unfortunately, the vast chorus that sings the world’s heirloom flavor notes is under a sustained attack from the rising tides of a globalized economy, a climate in utter crisis, and industrial agriculture’s efforts to homogenize food culture.

CPP designation highlights select products made with traditional craft to support biodiversity & stewardship