By the end of the 19th century, the establishment of an American sardine canning industry had begun, and nowadays they sit ...

Canned sardines are a relatively new invention, starting in the 19th century with the rise of commercial canning processes.

Sardines were first introduced as a canned food in Portugal in the early 19th century. Sardines are small, oily fish that can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean Seas.

North America exported French sardines for most of the 19th century, but in 1870, the Franco-Prussian War put the brakes on that, creating an opportunity for commercial sardine canning in the US.

To find the best canned sardines—ones with strong flavor, a meaty flake, and oceany brine—we set up a blind taste test for a panel of Bon Appétit staffers.

In our taste test to find the best sardines, we tried 10 cans, including grocery store stand-bys King Oscar and Ortiz, and niche brands like Patagonia.