Anchovies, Love or Hate them?

[MyDigitalpoint]

Anchovies are strongly flavored fish that is commonly preserved in olive oil and salt, and commonly sold in small cans. Here, anchovies are only available as imported food, or included in many restaurant and pizzeria menus.

I was raised in a sort of "canned food tradition," so my father was devoted enthusiast to get us all the canned food produced in Spain, anchovies inclusive. I remember how hard was taste them for the first time, but I became addict to them overtime, and I still consume loads of Spanish canned food including my anchovies.

However reading a comment in another thread discussing pizza toppings, I though to start this one to know how many of you like anchovies, or dislike them.

Have you ever eaten some? Do you like them or you can't stand eating them?

 

[chocomore]

l hate anchovies my brother gets them on his pizza and l always take them off, l know people put them in drinks so l think that's the only way I would eat it (soaked in brandy).

 

[Berties]

they are used a lot in braised lamb dishes as a seasoning,and give the sauce a depth of taste,i have made little puff paste roulades from them as a canapé,this makes people drink due to the salt,the other salted and dried fish out of use at the moment is the indian cousin of the anchovy the bombay duck,yes it is a salted fish again used as a seasoning in indian dishes

 

[OhioTom76]

I've warmed up to them in recent years, though I am more prone to use anchovy paste instead of whole anchovies. I have this (probably irrational) fear of biting into a hard bone or something and it ruining my dish. Incidentally I mainly got over my fear of anchovies by dabbling with fish sauce in some Thai recipes. The first couple of times I tried to use fish sauce the smell was knocking me out, and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Then when I finally bit the bullet it really wasn't so bad (though too much of it is definitely still noticeable). Much like fish sauce, anchovies are basically just another form of MSG. There is some specific acid produced during the fermentation process which is essentially the same thing as MSG (or a close cousin at least). As long as I see the anchovy disintegrate into whatever it is I am cooking, I'm fine with it.

 

[Night Train]

Anchovies are lovely, in moderation.

My brother and I once ordered a pizza in a Pizza Hut, when they first opened in the UK. The pizza we ordered was a seafood one, with garlic bread and a couple of colas, and so we were expecting prawns and other shell fish, tuna and bits of crab sticks (yuck).
What we got was a cheese and tomato pizza that had anchovies, with anchovies, with added anchovies and extra anchovies and anchovies as decoration on top. Nothing else!

That was hard to eat!

 

[Maggie Magpie]

I love anchovies. We have been really spoilt this year as Waitrose now sells them fresh in olive oil and lemon juice as opposed to tinned. Much less salty that way and easy to eat just out of the tub. Needless to say they don't last long in our fridge.

 

[Berties]

I buy kilo tubs of anchovies from my fish monger and they are the best to good to just use as a seasoning , and have just written a November menu using them with honey roasted salsfy and walnut salad both in season a few wild rocket leaves ,mustard dressing

 

[kgord]

Anchovies are very healthy I think however, I hate them. I tried them once and that was enough for me. I also hate sardines which are similar in taste as far as I am concerned. I will get my health benefits from other foods and leave the anchovies to those who like them. They are not my cup of tea.

 

[Corzhens]

I don't like anchovies but my husband loves it, the dried anchovies and not the fresh. During weekends, we normally have fried rice for breakfast with a matching fried dried anchovies. But I prefer the simple dried fish called Tuyo that I fry in cooking oil and dipped in vinegar with salt. My husband relishes fried dried anchovies with matching salted egg and sliced green tomatoes. He would always say that he loves that breakfast even if we have that breakfast every weekend.

 

[Maggie Magpie]

I buy kilo tubs of anchovies from my fish monger and they are the best to good to just use as a seasoning , and have just written a November menu using them with honey roasted salsfy and walnut salad both in season a few wild rocket leaves ,mustard dressing

You still have a fish monger? Lucky you. We have Waitrose or nothing.

 

[Berties]

You still have a fish monger? Lucky you. We have Waitrose or nothing.

I'm a chef , I get fish from a fish monger, mushrooms from the woods , game from a dealer and meat from a butcher , cheese from a Cheese maker who over looks his dairy herd , more idyllic than a trip around a super market
To me seasonality and local food is really important

 

[Shadow]

Waitrose now sells them fresh in olive oil and lemon juice

Are they really fresh? Can you buy them without the olive oil and lemon juice?
Even so, that is a huge improvement over canned/tinned.

Like many things, i used to dislike them intensely. But I had been given canned and presumable inexpensive ones. (I think, like many here, my first was on pizza - ugh!) But then I tried them fresh, I think in Portugal. They were delicious. I now adore Salade Niçoise with fresh anchovies.

 

[Maggie Magpie]

I believe they are fresh but no you cannot buy them other than i the prepacked plastic box. I will check just how fresh they are next time i go. They have a short sell by date though so reasonably fresh, not like the salted tin or jar variety.

 

[MyExWasAChef]

I love anchovies! The salty and fishy taste are a great combination. Spanish sardines are one of my favorite toppings in pizza. Just eat them in small amounts though because the excess sodium is bad for your health.

 

[sidevalve]

Yuk ! Tiny fishy things with bones - everything I hate. Still each to his own