Sardines, Though Small, Make a Big Difference in Fighting Hunger
CANstruction is an international project that combines canned food and creativity to help fight hunger in communities nation- and world-wide. At each CANstruction event, businesses and organizations go head-to-head creating themed sculptures out of canned food. The sculptures are on display for several weeks, prizes are awarded, and the food is donated to local hunger organizations at the end of each event.
As you can imagine, this event is a great way for a canned seafood company to get involved with an important cause. So we at Crown Prince couldn’t have been happier when we were approached by New York-based Dattner Architects and asked to donate 1500 cans of our Sardines in Tomato Sauce for their entry, pictured here:
"Paint the Town Fed!" by Dattner Architects
They titled their sculpture “Paint the Town Fed!” It was on display from November 11-22 at the World Financial Center Winter Garden in New York City. All of the food was donated to City Harvest, and visitors to the exhibit were encouraged to donate canned goods as well.
Doesn’t it look great? What’s more, “Paint the Town Fed!” won the judges’ award for “Best Meal.” Congrats to the Dattner Architects creative team for all of their efforts!
Here are a few more photos from different angles:
Want to Get Involved?
Crown Prince Seafood was glad to help CANstruction feed hungry families in the New York area. Want to see how you can help out in your community? Click the map below to see if there are upcoming CANstruction events near you.
Or find a food bank where you can donate or volunteer directly:
——
UPDATE: We just received the following email from Dattner Architects, including the total donations from their sculpture and a few fun links to news coverage of the event.
They also included a picture of their creative team (who did a great job!):
Here’s the email:
We would like to express our utmost appreciation for your generous support of our competition entry Paint The Town Fed! for CANstruction 2010. Your personal commitment meant so much to us, but even more to City Harvest and the New Yorkers receiving the food.
Here are some notable achievements from this year’s entry;
Awarded ‘Best Meal’ Prize by CANstruction Judges
4,444 Cans Donated to City Harvest
2,300 Hungry New Yorkers fedPlease see attached the links below for even more media associated with our CANstruction:
You Tube Video of the Dattner Team CANstruction BUILD
CNN
GothamistThank you again, and best wishes this holiday season!
Dattner Architects CANstruction 2010 Team
If you like what you’re reading on the Crown Prince Seafood blog, please come back often. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or contact us directly. We look forward to hearing from you.
Four Fantastic Thanksgiving Appetizers You Shouldn’t Overlook
Thanksgiving is almost here. You’ll have guests in a few days and haven’t figured out your appetizers. Or maybe you’ve volunteered to cover appetizers at a get-together someone else is hosting and want to make a good impression. You want something tasty and inviting but would like to think outside the box. The world has eaten enough French onion dip.
Seafood to the rescue! Packed in their prime, our canned fish and seafood lend themselves to appetizers like nobody’s business. You can’t run a seafood company without playing around in the kitchen, and our Crown Prince staff has come up with many a fine recipe.
Of those recipes, here are our top four seafood hors d’oeuvres.
Crab and Citrus Salsa: Fresh veggies, smooth crab meat and zesty citrus flavors create a well-balanced salsa that delivers indulgence with a twist.
Crab & Citrus Salsa
Savory Wild Salmon-Dill Cheesecake: The name says it all. Smoked salmon with the classic salmon-friendly flavors of lemon and dill, in cracker-ready cheesecake form. Who says cheesecake has to be for dessert?
Savory Wild Salmon-Dill Cheesecake
Bayside Farmer’s Bread: Perfect for the harvest season, this cornbread features zucchini, onion and smoked oysters. It can be made as a loaf, muffins or mini-muffins and is an easy-to-make hit.
Bayside Farmer's Bread
Shrimp Salad Stuffed Tomatoes: With plenty of veggies (tomato and celery), flavorful shallot, fresh basil and black olives, and of course our delicious Tiny Shrimp, this recipe is a flavor-lover’s dream. It’s also great atop crackers if fresh cherry tomatoes aren’t readily available in your area.
Shrimp Salad Stuffed Tomatoes
Disclaimer: We’ve run plenty of taste tests, and each of these recipes has earned solid office-wide approval. You may be peer-pressured to bring these recipes to family gatherings ad infinitum. Try one out and let us know what you think!
FREE $1.00 COUPON: Email us a photo of yourself with the appetizer you made and we will mail you a coupon for $1.00 off ANY Crown Prince product! (Don’t forget to include your mailing address, which we’ll only use to send you your coupon.)
If you like what you’re reading on the Crown Prince Seafood blog, please come back often. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or contact us directly. We look forward to hearing from you.
Spotlight Series Continues: On the Ground (or In the Water) in Morocco
Now that we’ve introduced you to the Kingdom of Morocco, let’s focus on fish! Crown Prince gets both anchovies and sardines from Morocco, a country where we’ve been fostering close relationships with our fishers and canneries for over 20 years. Our President and North Central Regional Sales Manager make annual visits to Morocco, and we have an active representative living and working in the country year-round.
Ocean to Boat
So, how do Crown Prince fish get from the sea to your table? It starts in the water along Morocco’s Atlantic coast, in traditional fishing areas such as Safi, Agadir and Tan Tan. Caught in the open ocean waters, our anchovies and sardines are fished during peak season for optimum flavor and texture. (We’ll go further in-depth for each of these fish in coming posts.)
During harvest season, Crown Prince maintains regular visits to the different fishing ports to inspect the fish as they’re unloaded from the boats, and to oversee the trucking process between the harbors and the nearby canneries.
Boat to Can
At the canneries, the fish are screened, processed and canned by hand to ensure an exceptional level of quality control. Our partner canneries use the latest equipment and technologies and adhere to the toughest food manufacturer certifications in the industry (including BRC, IFS, and OU Kosher certification).
(Photos by Dustan Hoffman / Crown Prince)
Again, stay tuned for a closer look at the canning and preparation process for each of our two Moroccan fish: anchovies and sardines.
Can to Kitchen
Most of this you can probably guess: when packed and ready to go, Crown Prince seafood products are carefully shipped, distributed and stocked at your local grocer.
What you might not know is that even after our high standards and active participation in the canning process, we still personally test samples from every single product batch before we send them out to our grocers. Not that we mind.
Pictured: Snapper with Pesto Anchovy Sauce, Sardine Penne Arrabbiata and Baked Eggplant with Sardines (Photos by Lisa Sabatino / Crown Prince)
Growing Local Roots
Over the years, we’ve grown strong ties with our suppliers in Morocco, and these business partners have inevitably become friends. Many of the canneries are family-owned companies like our own, and our close working relationship with them helps us to source the best products to be found.
In fact, if you read the captions closely, you’ll see that several of the photos from our last post were taken by our president, Dustan Hoffman! She’s been great about documenting her travels to Morocco during the past several canning seasons. We hope you enjoy them!
What’s Next?
In our next edition of the Crown Prince Global Spotlight Series, we’ll look closely at each of the two fish we source from Morocco: the anchovy and the sardine. Just started reading? Make sure you visit our Global Spotlight Series Introduction post for a little context!
If you like what you’re reading on the Crown Prince Seafood blog, please come back often. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or contact us directly. We look forward to hearing from you.
Global Spotlight Series: Exploring the Kingdom of Morocco
"Meknes" by cliffwilliams (via Creative Commons)
The Kingdom of Morocco has a rich history of complex culture and fantastic cuisine. And as you may remember from our last post, Morocco is currently in our virtual limelight as the first featured country in our Crown Prince Global Spotlight Series!
Today we’re going to open a small window from your computer screen into the landscape, history and culture of Morocco. (We realize that one blog post is, indeed, a very small window for an entire country, so we’ve provided some of our favorite links at the bottom if you want to explore further.)
In the words of travelers
Morocco leaves a hint of spice in one’s nostrils. From its jostling crowds, exotic atmosphere and perpetual motion, the minute you set foot in the country, you know you’re in for a different experience. Morocco is a fascinating mix of Islamic, Arab, African and Berber cultures with some pleasant cities, ancient medinas, timeless souks, incredible landscapes, colorful people and excellent beaches thrown in.
A Rich History
While Crown Prince’s ties with Morocco go back more than two decades, Moroccan-American ties go back much further. Morocco was actually the first country to seek diplomatic relations with the U.S. – all the way back in 1777, when the U.S. had just become a country!
Morocco has been inhabited for more than 8,000 years. Another illustration of Morocco’s rich, complex culture: the official language is Arabic, while French is widely used in government and business.
Morocco's culture and traditions are rich, vibrant and diverse (Photo by Dustan Hoffman / Crown Prince)
Land and Landscape
Love the film Casablanca but not sure where the city is actually located? Now you do! Casablanca is Morocco’s largest city, and its capital city is Rabat. Both are located along the nation’s Atlantic coast, where most of its seafood comes from.
Geographically, Morocco also has lush coastal land along the Mediterranean sea, and its inland topography includes both mountains and deserts. Quite the mix for a country not much larger than Texas!
Casablanca at sunset - by Milamber (via Creative Commons)
Food and Culture
Morocco is known for its rich tapestry of culinary flavors. And while seafood makes up a considerable portion of its exports, meats like lamb, chicken, and beef are actually more popular in Moroccan cooking because they tend to be more affordable.
Spices, olives, apricots and a number of other components add complexity and vibrant flavor to dishes that have become known the world over. Our good friend and long-time business partner in Morocco, João, says that favorite local dishes include:
- Tajines, slow cooked tender meat with aromatic vegetables
- Couscous, a steamed grain dish popular with stews, meats, and vegetables
- Mechui, savory, delicious slow-roasted leg of lamb
- Pastillas, sweet and savory pies (typically including chicken, egg, almond, onion, and cinnamon) in a delicate, flaky crust
“These are all prepared with meat, although you can prepare a Tajine and a Pastilla with seafood and it is excellent,” he added.
Moroccan cuisine is known for its bright colors and big flavors (Photo by Dustan Hoffman / Crown Prince)
Fun Further Reading
Moroccan tree-climbing goat - by Catilin (via Creative Commons)
Doesn’t it make you want to hop on a plane right now? In lieu of impulsive travel, you can live vicariously through some of the great websites we’ve found:
- Fantastic photographs of Morocco by travel writer/photographer Andrew Farrand
- Morocco’s Goats That Hang Out in Trees
- Classical and Popular Moroccan Music (with audio samples)
- Rick Steves on travelling Morocco: Beyond Europe: Morocco – Plunge Deep
- Moroccan Cuisine and Gastronomy: Recipes and Cooking Advice
If you like what you’re reading on the Crown Prince Seafood blog, please come back often. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or contact us directly. We look forward to hearing from you.
Introducing the Crown Prince Global Spotlight Series!
Hello loyal blog readers! Since your experience with our seafood starts when you open the can, we thought it’d be fun to share with you the origins of the fish that you and your family enjoy.
So today we are kicking off the Crown Prince Global Spotlight Series! Each calendar quarter, we will highlight one country. We’ll take you behind the scenes and around the globe, learning about the landscapes, cultures and facilities that make your at-home culinary creations possible.
The first country in the spotlight will be…(drum roll please)…. the Kingdom of Morocco!
The Kingdom of Morocco, just south of Spain, borders both the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean
This North African nation is known the world over for its rich culture and incredibly flavorful cuisine. It borders both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and seafood is one of its most sought-after exports.
We have been working with two different family businesses (packers) for over 20 years, and our Moroccan-caught fish include sardines and anchovies, which are some of our biggest sellers. So there is a good chance that you’re a fan of Moroccan fish without even knowing it!
We’re right in the middle of harvest and packing season in Morocco, so between now and the end of the year our blog will take you on a journey to explore the origins of the Moroccan sardines and anchovies we sell in the U.S.
Please stay tuned to join us on this scenic journey!
If you like what you’re reading on the Crown Prince Seafood blog, please come back often. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or contact us directly. We look forward to hearing from you.
Crown Prince History (In a Clamshell)
Every good food has a story. The story behind Crown Prince Seafood begins back in 1918, when founder Corneleus “Case” Anton Hoffman was born in Arnum, Holland. His family soon moved to California, where he grew up and started his first business—an orange juice company—with some friends shortly after WWII.
One of Case’s acquaintances, a native of Norway, offered Case and his business partners the opportunity to sell Norwegian-caught sardines in the United States. Juice and canned seafood didn’t pair particularly well, and the men eventually sold the orange juice company. But Case ran with the seafood business, and in 1948 Crown Prince (then called Norwegian Fish Importers) was born.
Our company today
For the first two decades of Crown Prince’s existence, Case did much of the work himself. The attention Case paid to quality and consistency paid off, and by the 1960s Crown Prince was selling seafood in nearby states and eventually across the country.
The business continued to grow slowly and carefully. Case’s son Bob got more and more involved and eventually took over as president, a journey that was repeated by Bob’s daughter Dustan, who leads Crown Prince today.
Since 1948, Crown Prince grew from a small business that Case Hoffman operated by himself to a nationally-recognized seafood provider whose products are sold in supermarkets across the U.S. and in Mexico.
So now you know the story behind the people who bring you your canned tuna, sardines and other tasty fish. Want to learn more? You can read a more detailed version of the company’s history on our About Crown Prince page. Thanks for reading our story!
If you like what you’re reading on the Crown Prince Seafood blog, please come back often. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or contact us directly. We look forward to hearing from you.
Our Tuna Won a 2010 Taste Test Award From Cooking Light!
Taste Test Winner in the water-packed Albacore category
What a great bit of news we got last week: Crown Prince Natural won the “Taste Test Award” in the Albacore Tuna (packed in water) category of Cooking Light’s 2010 Taste Test Awards.
We were acknowledged along with Whole Foods 365, earning special recognition based on our tuna’s exceptional flavor and texture. In the magazine’s own words:
TASTE TEST AWARD: Crown Prince Natural. Fresh, not-too-fishy flavor and firm texture make this a great everyday option.
For the better part of a year, the magazine’s editors “ate their way” through 200 foods in 32 different categories ranging from beans and bread to tuna and yogurt. Through nutritional analysis and blind taste-testing, they sought out the most flavorful products in each category.
2010 Taste Test Awards: The Best Grocery Store Finds
To even be considered for tasting, a product had to first pass nutritional muster. Anything too salty or containing artificial sugars or trans fats was out. The 6-ounce can of Crown Prince Natural Solid White Albacore Tuna in Spring Water contains no fat, no sugar, and just 105mg of sodium (4% percent daily value).
To maintain that maximum freshness and flavor that impressed the tasting judges, Crown Prince Natural Albacore is carefully prepared and packed on-site in pure spring water. Our taste buds alone could tell you that this tuna is tasty, but it’s far more fun to get official recognition from a magazine like Cooking Light!
If you like what you’re reading on the Crown Prince Seafood blog, please come back often. You can also subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or contact us directly. We look forward to hearing from you.
Welcome to the Crown Prince Seafood blog!
Welcome to the blogging home of Crown Prince Seafood! Whether you’re new to Crown Prince or know our products as well as we do, we hope you come back often. We’ll keep you updated on what’s new around here and on location across the globe, and you can keep us posted on how things are going in your kitchens!
Since this is our very first post, let’s start with the basics:
Who We Are
Crown Prince is an American family-owned company, founded by Case Hoffman in 1948 and now led by the third generation of the Hoffman family. Our business has grown slowly and deliberately, as we’ve focused on the quality of the products we carry, the needs of our customers, and our relationships with the packers who prepare our seafood on location where the fish are caught fresh.
About Our Seafood
We provide high-quality canned seafood to customers throughout the United States and Mexico. What began with a single fish—specifically Norwegian sardines—has grown into a great mix including various types of oysters, shrimp, anchovies, tuna, salmon, crab meat, mackerel, clams, kipper snacks, and sardines. Many of our products are packed in flavorful sauces or heart-healthy olive oil, and can be prepared in a variety of dishes or eaten straight out of the can! As we see it, there’s something for everyone.
Off We Go!
So you know who we are and what we do, but there is so much more to seafood than that. We’re excited to share our world with you in the coming days, weeks, and months. You’ll learn more about where our products come from and how they are prepared so that they can safely and flavorfully reach your kitchen. And what would a seafood blog be without recipes? Don’t worry, we really like to eat what we sell, so we have plenty of recommendations on that front.
Again, welcome to the official Crown Prince Seafood blog! Please come back often, subscribe to our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or whatever strikes your fancy. We look forward to hearing from you.
Crown Prince Seafood Blog 