Published May 7, 2026 03:00AM<\/p>\n
In my family, we reserved Sundays for fish. My grandmother would saut\u00e9 sardines with onions and tomatoes. That fishy stench permeated from the kitchen into every room in the house. It had a personal vendetta against my nostrils. I started calling them \u201cthe stinky fish\u201d around age seven, lobbying loudly for pancakes like a normal American child. My Caribbean grandmother was not moved.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n While I was busy avoiding them, sardines took over the internet (and military bases before my time). Not only are tinned fish considered a skincare and health hack by TikTokers<\/a>, but those small tins also make for an excellent trail food. They\u2019re cheap\u2014if you ignore the luxury options\u2014portable, and full of protein<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how sardines and their tinned fish friends<\/a> evolved from that nasty-smelling thing I\u2014and I presume many others\u2014ran from to becoming the ultimate wellness and outdoor adventure superfood<\/a>.<\/p>\n Canned Fish Once Kept Entire Armies Alive<\/p>\n In France during the Napoleonic Wars (1803\u20131815), militaries struggled to keep food fresh. Napoleon offered a cash prize to anyone who could figure out how to preserve food for troops in the field.<\/p>\n By 1809, French chef and candy maker Nicolas Appert<\/a> figured out that you can preserve food by heating it and sealing it in airtight containers. Heating the food while in a can helps kill germs, and when it cools, the can seals, preventing other bacteria from getting in. Fish could be tightly packed in tins, remain fresh, and be shipped over long distances. And so canned food<\/a> became a hit.<\/p>\n In 1943, the U.S. began rationing canned fish because demand skyrocketed as World War II troops needed a steady source of protein. Eighty percent of tinned sardines and mackerel<\/a>, and 60 percent of canned salmon, went to soldiers. (Back in World War I, empty beef and fish cans were also\u00a0used as improvised hand grenades<\/a>.)<\/p>\n While once a source of survival, sardines today serve as a wellness and performance hack.<\/p>\n Why Are Sardines Trending Right Now?<\/p>\n Sardines have soared in popularity so much so that the tinned fish industry is expected to reach a global value of $64 billion by 2032, according to a report<\/a> from Introspective Market Research, a company that tracks consumer behavior. There are a few reasons behind the fish\u2019s current star power.<\/p>\n First, they\u2019re portable and long-lasting. During the pandemic, people seeking quick snacks turned to canned food<\/a>. Sardines can remain safely in your pantry for around three years and supposedly taste better<\/a> the longer they sit untouched. Sardines packed in tomato sauce can even be safe to eat for up to three days after opening, according to a 2022 study<\/a>.<\/p>\n Second, people won\u2019t shut up about them. TikTokers have flooded the algorithms with extravagant \u201cseacuterie<\/a>\u201d boards. Earlier this year, health influencer Ally Renee posted a video<\/a> that racked up nearly three million views. She told her followers that sardines were \u201cskincare in a can.\u201d Many commenters seconded her point, stating they\u2019ve been lifelong fans of the fish. Singer Kelly Rowland<\/a> brought them further into the mainstream when she shared a lunch recipe on Instagram: sardines, soft-boiled eggs, greens, and lemon.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n @hogislandoysterco<\/a> <\/p>\n IT\u2019S A SEACUTERIE BOARD \ud83e\uddaa\ud83c\udf8f, swap the meat and cheeses for a beautiful seafood spread \ud83e\udd9e!! featuring an array of Hog Island Oyster Co. and @Fishwife seafood including: oysters on the half shell \ud83e\uddaa, smoked trout dip \ud83e\udd63, tinned salmon, sardines, and trout \ud83d\udc1f, Fishwife caviar \ud83c\udf7e, and an abundance of delicious accouterments like watermelon radishes and persimmons \ud83c\udf4a!! (but any combination of seafood and snacks will do!) impress your snacking guests and whip up a beautiful seafood board for your next gathering\ud83d\udd7a #tinnedfish<\/a> #seafood<\/a> #seacuterie<\/a> <\/p>\n \u266c But Beautiful – Street Cats Jazz Band<\/a> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Next is the price point. In an interview with Vox<\/a>, Renee said that she started eating them because they were the cheapest thing she could find in Los Angeles. I think that the tension between eating well and price is the biggest driver of our collective obsession with sardines. Food is expensive right now,<\/a> and a generation that came of age during inflation is learning to spend and eat strategically. While some fancier cans, such as those from the popular brand Fishwife<\/a>, can run you nearly $11 per tin (or $32 for a three-pack), you can find many that sit around $2\u2013$3 per can. The brand Bumblebee offers sardines for a humble $1.49.<\/p>\n Lastly, sardines are really good for you. A 2023 review<\/a> in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition argued that sardines are among the more nutrient-dense foods available. They provide omega-3s, which are good for the heart, boost energy, and may even lower people\u2019s risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s. They\u2019re protein-dense, too. The review notes that in 100 grams of sardines (one tin may be around 85 to 119 grams), you\u2019ll get between 20 grams and 24 grams of protein.<\/p>\n Briana Bruinooge<\/a>, a registered dietitian nutritionist, board-certified sports dietitian, and CEO of New England Nutrition and Exercise<\/a>, a sports nutrition practice for outdoor athletes, is a big fan of the sardine trend. \u201cSardines contain nutrients that support muscular strength, power, speed, agility, endurance, and cognition. Vitamin D and calcium support bone health and muscle function,\u201d she told Outside. It\u2019s easy to see why sardines make for optimal outdoor fuel.<\/p>\n Why Are Sardines the Ultimate Outdoor Adventure Snack?<\/p>\n Sixty-one-year-old longevity expert and bestselling author of Your New Prime<\/a>, a book about living well after 40, Craig Cooper<\/a> has been taking canned sardines on the trail with him for over five decades. \u201cSardines are my number one superfood and have been since I was seven,\u201d he told Outside. Whether it\u2019s ultra-endurance swims in Greece, Spartan World Championship races, or surf trips in Fiji, Cooper says he can be found with a tin of fish in tow. \u201cThey give you real nutrition when you\u2019re on the trail for hours, not just calories,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Sardines deliver a micronutrient profile most sports foods cannot touch, Bruinooge says, particularly on docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the omega-3 fatty acid most critical for brain health and inflammation control. \u201cEating the whole sardine gives you calories, protein, fat, and a wide range of micronutrients,\u201d Bruinooge says. The whole sardine is doing considerably more work<\/a> than anything you will find in a fish-oil capsule.<\/p>\n Cooper agrees, and it shapes how he shops. His go-to is Fishwife\u2019s Sardines with Hot Pepper<\/a>, always bones-in for that calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus payload.<\/p>\n Should You Be Worried About Mercury?<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be, says Bruinooge. Sardines are low in mercury (compared to canned albacore tuna, which contains roughly 27 times more mercury<\/a>), and their sodium content is actually an asset for athletes losing electrolytes<\/a> on long efforts. She recommends a ceiling of three to four servings per week, given their organic arsenic content, and flags their purine content. Purines are chemicals<\/a> found in some foods and drinks, but too many lead to more uric acid build-up, which can exacerbate issues for people prone to gout or kidney stones. Cooper\u2019s main word of caution concerns the fish\u2019s low-carb profile, so he recommends not relying on them as your sole fuel source. \u201cYou still need higher-carb, calorie-dense foods to support endurance and sustained output,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Unlike most food trends, Cooper points out he\u2019s excited that sardines are at the forefront of wellness and nutrition right now. \u201cSardines are grounded in real science, with decades of longitudinal research behind the nutrients and benefits they deliver,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Tips for Managing the Fishy Smell and Packing Them<\/p>\n Sardines, as I mentioned in my childhood rant against them, are famously pungent, and out on the trail that smell is a wildlife consideration as much as a social one. Cooper\u2019s protocol: double zip-lock every empty tin before it goes back in your pack. The smell sealed inside is the alluring odor that won\u2019t broadcast your location to every bear in a quarter-mile radius.<\/p>\n Also, one Fishwife tin weighs about 120 grams, so carrying two or three is a real pack-weight commitment. If you\u2019re optimizing for pack weight, he suggests factoring that in before you hit the trailhead.<\/p>\n I bought a tin of sardines last week. I ate one straight from the metal package, the way Cooper says he does it. It was fishier than I expected and better than I wanted to admit.<\/p>\n My grandmother was not ahead of the trend. She was just feeding her family the way she always had, with something affordable and nutritious that stunk up the whole house on a Sunday morning. The fact that it took the internet for the rest of us to catch up is either funny or embarrassing, depending on how you look at it. Probably both.<\/p>\n Marisa McMillan is Outside\u2019s health history columnist. She\u2019s an avid runner and skier and is always game to try new foods, even the ones that look unappetizing. She previously wrote about the history of cottage cheese<\/a>.<\/p>\n