Young pilchards are known commercially as sardines. It is packed in oil and canned. But in Great Britain, sardines are young fish and pilchards older fish.
The name pilchard refers to five species of fish belonging to the family Clupeidae including the European pilchard, Sardina pilchardus, and the South American pilchard.
The word sardine derives from the island of Sardinia, where the canning of pilchards, now called sardines, was popularized.
The fine flesh of sardines can be eaten bones and all. The best are Norwegian sild sardines; the Portuguese or Spanish sardines being larger, coarser and more robust in flavor.
Sardines are often grilled, especially over hardwood charcoal, because their soft, dark, rather oily flesh takes well to direct heat.
Fresh sardines are seasonal, usually local, and most common in summer. In Portugal, were fresh sardines are hugely popular; the season lasts from the end of May to the end of October.
Sardines
