In 1911 Alberto Soares Ribeiro founded two canning factories. By 1974, they were closed. In 2013, his great-grandson started again in Lisbon, with a yellow scooter and small batches.
The factories were located in Setúbal, south of Lisbon, and in Olhão in the Algarve. Both operated for over sixty years until they closed during the upheavals after 1974. Four generations later, Tiago Soares Ribeiro sold home-cured fish from a yellow Piaggio scooter in the alleys below the Castelo de São Jorge. The scooter became a brand: Miss Can, founded together with his twin sister Bárbara Cabral and their mutual friend Marta Fernandes. The three came from a design studio, which is evident from the cans—unlike the reprinted labels of the old houses found in every souvenir shop in Lisbon, they look almost understated. But this is no retro tribute. The family really did own the factories. Marta Fernandes also brings one with her: her great-grandfather João Rodrigues was also a canner.
Two years later, they received the Portuguese National Prize for Creative Industries and won the Arla Food Innovation Challenge at the Creative Business Cup in Copenhagen. In 2016, they opened a small petiscaria at Largo do Contador Mor, a few steps below the castle: twenty-four seats, cans on the wall, and bread and wine. That is where I was, in September 2017 and again in January 2018.
“Conservas artesanais, feitas com o peixe que Portugal tem para oferecer” — artisanal preserves, made with the fish that Portugal has to offer. This is how the brand describes itself.
The process is the same one their great-grandfather used, and it sets Miss Can apart from most Portuguese cans: The fish is steamed before the can is sealed. Otherwise, it is customary to cure it raw and cook it only inside the sealed can. You can taste the difference. Steamed fish is firmer and drier in texture, while the fillet cooked in the can remains juicier because its juices have nowhere to go. Neither is better; they are two different schools—and if you like your sardines compact on bread rather than falling apart, Miss Can is right for you. The fish is packed by hand.
It was not a given that this process still existed. The three of them first had to find a factory that worked the way it had been passed down in the family, and they found one in Póvoa de Varzim, in the north of the country, where the craft of canning has never completely disappeared. The cans are still produced there today. The recipes come from the family—a whole series of them from the kitchen of Tiago and Bárbara’s mother, Graça.
The fish comes from the Portuguese coast, with one exception: cod, which was never found there and always came from far away. They started with around sixteen varieties, mainly sardines, mackerel, and tuna, each in pure olive oil, hot oil, or tomato. They also included cod recipes and fish roe. Today, the range is much broader: octopus, stuffed squid, swordfish, cockles, scallops, and anchovy fillets. On the Tagus, there is now a street food stand in the form of an oversized fish can.
We have a selection of them on our shelves. The boneless sardines in olive oil are the best introduction if you want to taste the process for yourself. Then there are the two cod cans—one with chickpeas, which is almost a dish in itself in Portugal, and one with truffle, which stands out from the rest. The tuna fillets are available spicy or with gherkins in a savory oil, the mackerel fillets with curry and chili, and the bastard mackerel with garlic and parsley. And for anyone looking for something unusual among canned goods: the Lulas Recheadas, Portuguese-style stuffed squid, and the anchovy fillets in the small 50-gram can.
What I like about Miss Can is its understated nature. No sailor romance on the label, no reprinted Art Nouveau fish. Just a family that brought back an old craft because they knew how to do it—and turned it into something that fits into the present day.
Miss Can in our shop
All the cans at a glance: Miss Can – Canned Foods from Lisbon
- Boneless sardines in olive oil 120 g
- Cod in olive oil with chickpeas 140 g
- Cod in olive oil with truffle 120 g
- Tuna fillets in savory olive oil with gherkins 120 g
- Spicy tuna fillets 120 g
- Mackerel fillets with curry and chili 120 g
- Bastard mackerel fillets with garlic and parsley 120 g
- Lulas Recheadas à Portuguesa 115 g
- Filetes de Anchovas em Azeite – Anchovy fillets in olive oil 50 g
