Biology:Anchovies as food

Seller of anchovies in Piedmont, Italy, 1971

Anchovies are a family (Engraulidae) of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish. They are small, green fish with blue reflections due to a silver longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal fin. They range from 2 centimetres (0.79 in) to 40 centimetres (16 in) in adult length, and the body shape is variable with more slender fish in northern populations.

A traditional method of processing and preserving anchovies is to gut and salt them in brine, allow them to mature, and then pack them in oil or salt. This results in a characteristic strong flavor and the flesh turns deep grey. Anchovies pickled in vinegar, as with Spanish boquerones en vinagre, are milder and the flesh retains a white color. In Roman times, anchovies were the base for the fermented fish sauce garum. Garum had a sufficiently long shelf life for long-distance commerce, and was produced in industrial quantities. Anchovies were also eaten raw as an aphrodisiac.

Today they are used in small quantities to flavor many dishes. Because of the strong flavor, they are also an ingredient in several sauces, including Worcestershire sauce, remoulade and many fish sauces, and in some versions of Café de Paris butter. For domestic use, anchovy fillets are packed in oil or salt in small tins or jars, sometimes rolled around capers. Anchovy paste is also available, as is anchovy essence. Anchovies are a popular pizza topping in some places. Additionally, fishermen use anchovies as fish bait for larger fish, such as tuna and sea bass.

Preparation and marketing

The strong taste people associate with anchovies is due to the curing process. Fresh anchovies, known in Italy as alici, have a much milder flavor. In Sweden and Finland , the name anchovies is related strongly to a traditional seasoning, hence the product "anchovies" is normally made of sprats and also herring can be sold as "anchovy-spiced", leading to confusion when translating recipes.

The European anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus, is the main commercial anchovy, with Morocco being the largest supplier of canned anchovies. The anchovy industry along the coast of Cantabria, initiated in Cantabria by Sicilian salters in the mid-19th century, now dwarfs the traditional Catalan salters.

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  Dried Japanese anchovy

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  Salted and fermented anchovy (jeotgal) Korea

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  Canned anchovies

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  Workers handling anchovies in a canning company in Cantabria, Spain

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  Workers cleaning dried anchovies at a market in Mae Sot, Thailand

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  Anchovy at the market, Turkey

Uses

In English-speaking countries, alici are sometimes called "white anchovies", and are often served in a weak vinegar marinade, a preservation method associated with the coastal town of Collioure in southwest France. The white fillets (a little like marinated herrings) are sold in heavy salt, or the more popular garlic or tomato oil and vinegar marinade packs.

In Southeast Asian countries, anchovies are known as ikan teri in Indonesia, ikan bilis or setipinna taty in Malaysia (ikan being the Malay word for fish); and dilis, gurayan, monamon, guno or bolinaw in the Philippines. They are usually sold dried, but are also popularly used in fermented condiments like the Philippine bagoong and Malaysian budu. Ikan bilis is normally used in a similar way to dried shrimp in Malaysian cuisine. In Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore anchovies are commonly used to make fish stock or are deep fried. Anchovies are also popular ingredients for the traditional Javanese sambal.

In Vietnam, anchovy is the main ingredient in the fish sauce - nước mắm - the unofficial national sauce of Vietnam. In Thai cuisine, dried anchovies are called pla katak haeng. They are used in a variety of dishes and especially popular deep-fried as a snack. Similarly to Vietnamese fish sauce, Thai fish sauce (nam pla) is also often made from anchovies. In other parts of Asia, such as Korea and Japan, sun-dried anchovies are used to produce a rich soup similar to setipinna taty. These anchovy stocks are usually used as a base for noodle soups or traditional Korean soups. There are many other variations on how anchovy is used, especially in Korea.

Fresh and dried anchovies are a popular part of the cuisine in Kerala and other south Indian states, where they are referred to as netholi/chooda (and nethili in Tamil Nadu) and provide a cheap source of protein in the diet. Fresh anchovies are eaten fried or as in a spicy curry.

In Turkey, anchovies are known as hamsi and are eaten between November and March (their name being derived from hamsin, an Arabic term for the winter period). They are generally consumed fried, grilled, steamed, as a meatball, and as Döner, and pilav.

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  Scotch woodcock, scrambled eggs on toast spread with anchovy (United Kingdom)

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  Tapenade, anchovies in olive oil with finely chopped black olives and capers (France)

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  Sambal teri kacang, fried anchovies with peanuts and chili (Indonesia)

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  Anchoa en salazón, anchovy fillets in oil and salt (Spain)

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  Ginataang dilis, anchovies with winged beans and pork stewed in coconut milk with spices (Philippines)

Health concerns

Anchovies can concentrate domoic acid in their gut which causes amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans when eaten whole. If suspected, medical attention should be sought.

See also

• Gentleman's Relish
• Bagna càuda
• Bagnun

External links

• Consider the anchovy Guardian, 18 January 2011.
• The height of good paste The Telegraph, 28 December 2000.