Most well known in North America is the European anchovy
(Engraulis encrasicolus) found packaged as fillets in jars and
cans, mostly from Italy and Morocco, but they are also found salted.
In Europe they are also sold fresh, frozen and dried. Other species
of anchovy are very much used in Asia, mainily in dried form.
Photo by Jschop distributed under license
Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike v3.0 Unported.
More on Anchovies.
Notice: what the Swedes, Danes and Finns call
"Anchovy" (Ansjove) is totally different from what the rest of the world
calls Anchovy. Theirs are sprats canned in a special spiced pickle.
Many attempts to make Jansson's
Temptation have been totally ruined by not knowing this. The Swedes
call our Anchovies "Sardeller". For details and buying them, see our
Sprats page.
Anchovies are a very important culinary ingredient, used in many salad dressings and sauces. A small amount of anchovy can significantly increase savory (umami) elements in a recipe without imparting a noticeable fishy flavor. Other recipes use plenty of anchovy. Our Spanish Salad Dressing has lots of anchovies, and has been well liked by people who claimed they hated anchovies. Fresh Anchovies can be prepared in the manner given on our California Anchovys page. Canned Anchovies
From Roman times anchovies were salt packed but the oil pack cans
so familiar today came into use during the 1800s. Unlike other canned
products, no heat is applied when packing anchovies.
Storing: I have noticed that unopened canned anchovies tend to lose their firmness in a few months at room temperature and can no longer be removed from the can without braking up. Anchovies in jars can be more conveniently stored in the fridge for longer keeping, even up to a year after opening. Buying: Morocco produces about 24% of the world's supply of canned anchovies and nearly half those imported into North America. Unfortunately I have been very disappointed in Moroccan anchovies. I've had cans of Moroccan anchovies (multiple brands) that seemed mostly bones, fins and scales mixed in with a few over salted fillets that disintegrated to mush if touched. Those packaged for top brand names like Crown Prince, are better, but still not as good as from other sources. Spanish anchovies are widely considered of finest quality, but are pretty much unavailable to most of us in North America. Italian anchovies can be found put up in glass jars (photo at left) and sometimes cans. A jar is costly, but has lots of fillets in it and is a good investment. It'll keep over a year in the fridge, and after the anchovies are gone you can use the anchovy flavored olive oil. I've purchased canned anchovies from Peru and Chili that were excellent. They were put up in the standard 2oz cans, and have the storage problem I mentioned above. Norway used to be famous for anchovies, but the canneries have been replaced by oil refineries since discovery of North Sea oil. Very fine anchovies are prepared in various ways in Spain and parts of Italy for local consumption. They are served as tapas and snacks in bistros and bars throughout Spain. American tourists won't touch them - and the Spaniards laugh. Salted Anchovies
Anchovy Paste
Salted and dried anchovies are a very important flavoring item in
Southeast Asia and Korea, used in many ways. Japanese Niboshi or Iriko
are properly juvenile sardines rather than anchovies, but are almost
always labeled "Anchovies" in English, and are pretty much
indistinguishable from Anchovies. This important seafood product has
its own Dried Anchovies page.
The highest grade Fish Sauces are made in Thailand and Vietnam from
Anchovies and only Anchovies. These sauces are essential to the cuisines
of most of Southeast Asia, and were also essential to the cuisine of the
Roman Empire. These sauces are now making inroads into the cuisines of
North America, especially in California, and are begining to revive in
Italy. They have their own
Fish Sauces page.
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