A tour of the canning tradition

# tags: Matosinhos , Tourism , Tourism Activities

Portugal, and particularly the North of Portugal, has a strong canning industry. Pinhais, one of the oldest brands, has opened a Living Museum, to perpetuate the legacy of this industry.

Pinhais, one of the oldest national canning companies, with over a hundred years of history, inaugurated a Living Museum with the goal of contributing to the conservation and appreciation of the legacy of the canning industry, and it promises to be a successful tourist product in Matosinhos.

The ‘Conservas Pinhais Factory Tour’ is an immersive space that shows the various production stages of the cans. From fish selection to canning, visitors can follow the process, as the tour takes place in the middle of the Pinhais factory. This process has remained unchanged since the founding of Pinhais.

It all starts with Mrs. Paula and Mrs. Emília making the first selection of the fish, through its smell and appearance. The fish is then placed for 30 minutes in salt water tanks to gain flavour, then transferred to a marble structure where the cut is made, the head and the gut removed. A new selection of the sardines is then made and those that are of good quality are placed on a vertical grill to be steam cooked for 5 to 12 minutes at 110 degrees Celsius. At the same time, some workers cut cucumbers, carrots and other ingredients that will be used in canning. The canning process is a kind of tetris or puzzle. The sardines are ingeniously placed in the cans, then the oil is added and the can closed.

The visit, an authentic journey through time, passes through the former offices and the management room. And it ends with a tasting and a visit to the store that brings together preserves and collectibles.

This Living Museum is aimed at the local community, but also national and international tourists as it is unique and authentic.