shades fills you in

It’s official, the internet loves tinned fish. People are posting about their love, and trendy tinned fish companies are cropping up -- Nylon

It wasn’t always like this. A Smart-Set Op wrote in 2016 that Americans had a strong aversion to tinned fish because they’re not used to eating fish that’s smelly and at room temperature. Tinned fish also carries social stigma -- in the past, it was a poverty food

So why the change? Refinery29 thinks it has to do with more Americans traveling to Portugal, one of the tinned fish capitals of the world

The Guardian has a different explanation: Thanks to social media, people were drawn to the retro, beautiful covers of tinned fish cans. Once they tried it, people realized that tinned fish are really good

SF Chronicle: Tinned fish fans also like that tinned fish is environmentally friendly, because tinned fish tend to be lower on the food chain. But the truth is more complicated -- your tinned fish habit can still contribute to overfishing

Mic has some more so-so news for tinned fish lovers: Tinned fish has a lot of health benefits you’d get with eating regular fish -- plus the added bonus of more calcium. *But* tinned fish has more sodium than fresh fish, so don’t eat it for every meal

In any case, as of October, #tinnedfishtok has 11.3M views on TikTok. This TikToker says she and her husband have tinned fish date night every week -- watch her put together her tinned fish board here

And people are sharing their own special ways of eating tinned fish online. Check out this TikToker’s method of eating tinned mussels

There’s even a Substack newsletter -- “Popping Tins” -- devoted entirely to giving tinned fish recommendations. Read it here

Eater talks with the founder of Fishwife, a trendy tinned fish company. She and her business partner started the business after realizing there weren’t any American companies catering to this real American market

My-Jewish-Learning points out that Jews loved tinned fish *before* it was cool: Tinned fish are an essential part of Jewish history and cuisine

Ready to dive in and have your very own “tinned fish date night”? WaPo has a few tips: Find 3 different kinds of tinned fish to start, and don’t forget the bread and cheese