Best mackerel I ever tasted were five minutes out of the Clew Bay (western Ireland) water, cooked by our boat's skipper while we tucked in sitting on the transom. Tinned mackerel in sauce? Now there's sacrilege for you.

Preserving methods, canning, salting, smoking, pickling etc, do of course create a unique quality product in their own right and having it's own taste attraction over the fresh food.

Most smoked fish is considered a delicacy not a poor relation to fresh fish, especially salmon.

Sun dried tomatoes and hams are an Italian speciality, and of course tinned tomatoes are a superior base product for cooking Italian pasta sauces.

The Victorian cook was a specialist in preserving foods well past their natural season, fruit preserves, aspic jellied and salted meats. But there's not much call for pemmican in the modern kitchen these days.