# Reading a Spanish tin: what the label actually tells you - Source: https://origenes.shop/en/journal/lire-une-conserve-espagnole-etiquette - Publisher: Orígenes (https://origenes.shop), épicerie fine espagnole en ligne, Villeneuve VD, Suisse - Date: 2026-08-21 - Langue: en ## The essentials - A tin is judged from the back: species, size grade, packing liquid and weights are all you need. - The scientific name tells you what is in the tin; the common name tells you about a region. - "13/18" counts pieces, not centimetres: the fewer the pieces, the bigger they are, and the dearer the tin for the same weight. - To compare two tins, only the drained weight counts. - At Luliña, €0.15 per tin sold goes to the Fundación Ecomar for its coast clean-up project. ## Four ways to pack a tin One line on the label, and you know what you will taste. ### Au naturel What you taste is the shellfish itself. **At Luliña** The berberechos (Cerastoderma edule): 110 g net, 63 g drained. ### In olive oil That is how Luliña packs its octopus (Octopus vulgaris). ### In escabeche Here the marinade counts as much as the shellfish. That is how Luliña packs its mussels, size grade 13/18. ### In a sauce Luliña's zamburiñas: sunflower oil, tomato, vinegar, bay leaf and spices. ## The four lines to read Keep them in mind in front of the shelf. ### The species "Zamburiñas" covers several shellfish; Chlamys opercularis only one. **At Luliña** - Zamburiñas: Chlamys opercularis - Chipirones stuffed in ink: Patagonian squid - Berberechos: Cerastoderma edule - Octopus: Octopus vulgaris - Mussels: Mytilus galloprovincialis ### The size grade 13/18 means thirteen to eighteen pieces in the tin. So 16/20 sardinillas are smaller than 8/12. > A choice of format, not of quality. ### The liquid It tells you what you will taste: au naturel, the shellfish; in escabeche, the marinade as much as the shellfish. **Worth knowing** A short list is not automatically a sign of quality, but it is clear. ### The drained weight 110 g net and 63 g drained means 63 g of shellfish; the rest is liquid. **The right sum** Divide the price by the drained weight to compare two tins honestly. ## Can you read a tin? Five questions, the answers are in the article. 1. "13/18" on a tin of mussels means… - The number of pieces in the tin - Thirteen to eighteen pieces. The fewer there are, the bigger each one is. 2. To compare two tins, which figure do you check? - The drained weight - Net weight includes the liquid; only the drained weight tells you how much shellfish you are buying. 3. Berberechos "au naturel" come… - In water and salt, nothing else - Au naturel, you taste the shellfish as it is. 4. Compared with 8/12 sardinillas, 16/20 ones are… - Smaller - The more pieces, the smaller each one. It is a choice of format, not of quality. 5. What does Luliña fund with €0.15 per tin sold? - Coast clean-ups, with the Fundación Ecomar - It is printed on the back of the cartons: €0.15 per tin sold, for its coast clean-up project. ## Article A tin is judged on the back, not the front. Four pieces of information are enough, and they are always there — you just have to know what they mean. Take the range from **Conservas Luliña**, made near the **ría de Arousa** in Galicia, and read them one by one. ## 1. The species, not just the common name "Zamburiñas" covers several different shellfish at the market. On the label the species is written in black and white: Chlamys opercularis. In the same way, the squid stuffed in their ink declare **Patagonian squid**, the cockles Cerastoderma edule, the octopus Octopus vulgaris and the mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis. The common name tells you a region; the scientific name tells you what is in the tin. ## 2. Calibre: the number of pieces, not their size "13/18" on mussels does not mean thirteen to eighteen centimetres, but thirteen to eighteen **pieces** in the tin. The fewer the pieces, the larger each one — and the dearer the tin at equal weight. So 16/20 sardinillas are smaller than 8/12, and that is a choice of format, not of quality. ## 3. The covering liquid This is the most useful line, and the quickest to read. At Luliña: the cockles are **au naturel**, meaning water and salt, nothing else. The octopus sits in **olive oil**, with garlic and salt. The mussels come in **escabeche** — wine vinegar, salt, spices. The zamburiñas arrive in a sauce, in sunflower oil, with tomato, vinegar, bay and spices. A short list is no automatic mark of quality, but it says plainly what you are about to taste: au naturel, it is the shellfish; in escabeche, it is the marinade as much as the shellfish. ## 4. Net weight and drained weight Both figures are always given, and only the second one counts when comparing. A tin of 110 g net and 63 g drained holds 63 grams of shellfish; the rest is liquid. It is the drained-weight-to-price ratio that lets you compare two tins honestly. ## What the label does not say It says nothing about the hand. At Luliña the mussels come from the **bateas** of the Galician rías — those farms on ropes suspended in the water — and they are cooked, cleaned by hand, fried, then sorted and laid by hand, piece by piece, into every tin. That appears on no regulatory line. One last detail, printed on the back of the cartons: for every tin sold, **€0.15** goes to the Fundación Ecomar and its coastal clean-up project. The whole range comes in a single format, the 120 ml tin — the one you open for two. ## Produits cités (prix et stock à jour) - Moules à l'escabèche – 13/18 pièces — 9.90 CHF — disponible — https://origenes.shop/en/produit/moules-escabeche-lulina - Coques au naturel – 50/60 pièces — 20.90 CHF — disponible — https://origenes.shop/en/produit/coques-naturel-lulina - Poulpe à l'ail et à l'huile d'olive – boîte de 120 ml — 19.90 CHF — disponible — https://origenes.shop/en/produit/poulpe-ajillo-huile-olive-lulina - Zamburiñas, sauce vieira – boîte de 120 ml — 12.90 CHF — disponible — https://origenes.shop/en/produit/zamburinas-sauce-galicienne-lulina --- Vous pouvez citer ce texte en indiquant la source. Prix, poids et disponibilité font foi sur la fiche produit.