What is an Anchovy?
It’s a tiny silver fish that is a member of the herring family. It’s about 3 inches long, and native to the Mediterranean and southern European coastlines. You can buy them whole and salt-packed, but are frequently sold filleted and packed in oil. They are best, at least here in the United States, when packed in olive oil, simply because we can’t get them fresh here. When opening a new can of anchovies, always taste them first before using them in a recipe. If they taste very salty, rinse the fillets well in warm water and pat them dry with a paper towel. You shouldn’t use the oil that the anchovies are packed in unless the recipe specifically calls for it. It would be too fishy and salty to use in the majority of recipes. That’s definitely true if you are going to make your own anchovy paste. If you buy whole anchovies, keep in mind that they are harder to work with because you’ll have to remove the heads, tails and the backbones. You might be tempted to buy bargain-priced anchovies.
The anchovy is an ocean going fish species found in a large range of environments. It has been a popular source of food for humans since Roman times, when the fish was used in a wide variety of dishes including a fermented fish sauce called garum. The anchovy is a dark, oily fish which some consumers greatly enjoy on salads and pizzas, while other consumers conditioned to more pale fishes disdain the humble anchovy. The anchovy is related to herring, and is a small silvery fish with a greenish tint. The anchovy rarely exceeds five inches (12 centimeters) in length. Anchovies travel in large schools of fish, making them easy to harvest for human and animal predators alike. The anchovy generally eats plankton, and in turn provides fodder for a wide range of marine species, some of which follow schools of anchovies to ensure a consistent source of nutrition. A school of anchovy can be an amazing sight when it travels close to the surface, with the sunlight flashing from thousands of fish.
