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Manufacturing process
Get to know what we do at Conservas Hoya
We elaborate our preserves in an artisan way and respecting the traditional fishing arts. We preserve the tradition of our land in each can.
MSC(Marine Stewardship Council) seal of quality
Finalists 2025
80 years of experience
Anchovy capture and selection
From the Cantabrian Sea to Conservas Hoya
We catch anchovies from Santoña using sustainable fishing techniques during the spring. This is the time where the anchovies have a better balance of fats that make them suitable for canning. The selection of the anchovy for its quality and size is made at the time of purchase.
Arrival at the factory
The first thing that is done when the fish arrives at the factory is to salt it and place it in brine, where it can remain for one or two days. Then the fish is removed from the brine and the head is removed and gutted and classified by size, all by hand. The fish will have two destinations: salting and anchovy fillets.
The Salting
For salting, after washing in brine, it is placed in 10 and 5 kg cans, forming alternate layers or strata, with a certain amount of salt between each layer. This is the packing. Then a lid is placed on each can and on it a weight (cement block) for pressing, the purpose of which is dehydration and degreasing. The cans are placed on top of each other, separated by boards, forming blocks called wagons.
Anchovy Fillets
The other fish destined for fillets is placed in barrels with salt. Each one stores about 350kg of fresh anchovy. They are also fitted with a lid and weights for pressing, but no wagons are formed. During the first two months the barrels are left at room temperature to accelerate maturation. Thereafter, they are stored in refrigerators at 7ºC for another two, three or four months. During the maturation period, the cans and barrels are cared for in various ways to keep them in optimum condition. After about one hundred days, all the fish has matured, has taken on a reddish color, the appropriate aroma and has become hardened.
Once the appropriate degree of maturation has been reached, we proceed in two ways:
The cans of fish destined for salting have their lids removed, the inside is cleaned with brine and covered with salt to be hermetically sealed and ready for marketing. The fish intended for fillets has a more elaborate process:
Fillets in oil
Processing of fillets in oil:
We remove the salted anchovies from the barrels and wash them to remove the salt, scald them to loosen the skin and put them back in brine so that they can recover the salt concentration they had before washing. The skin can be rubbed by hand, by rubbing the sides of the anchovy with a soft cloth or a soft vacuum cleaner. Then, on the work tables, the central part, the edges, tail and beards are trimmed and squeezed in a centrifuge so that it loses the humidity. This can also be done by hand by placing the anchovies in order on cloths and then wrapping them in a roll that is twisted to squeeze them.
Hand-packed
Once the anchovies are completely clean and dry, we open them by separating the two parts of the body and removing the central spine, remaining in two strips or fillets. The fillets are packed by hand in cans of different formats, placing them one next to the other successively crossing the layers, also using glass jars and vertical placement. The oil is used as a covering, an operation that is carried out by a machine that also seals the cans hermetically. Finally, the containers are washed outside, labeled and cartoned in boxes.
