Colatura di alici experiment.

Saranak

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Ciao everyone,

I have just located a supplier on line that supplies fresh, frozen Mediterranean anchovies. Colatura di alici is very hard to find anywhere outside of Campania indeed it is difficult to find in Italy in general. So I have decided to try to produce some Colatura di alici in the traditional way by salt curing the anchovies. I will need a barrel with a sealable lid. I intend to start small with say 10 - 15 kilos of anchovy and see if any Colatura di alici will be produced.
This will take a good few months to see any results.
I will keep members updated on progress if they are interested.

Sarana x
 
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Ancient Romans used a sauce made with fermented fish called Garum, the ancestor of Colatura di alici

Traces of garum - or liquamen - were discovered in Ancient Roman pottery jars, excavated a few years ago by archaeologists in the south of England. I don't know if the pottery jars were stamped 'Made In Naples'
 
Traces of garum - or liquamen - were discovered in Ancient Roman pottery jars, excavated a few years ago by archaeologists in the south of England. I don't know if the pottery jars were stamped 'Made In Naples'
I have read that colatura di alici is the modern equivalent of Garum, The jars with made in Naples would not surprise me we tend to get everywhere!!
Sarana x
 
Effectively Colatura di alici is hard to find in the rest of Italy, I have been lucky enough to taste it in Cetara and it’s such a great product .

Ancient Romans used a sauce made with fermented fish called Garum, the ancestor of Colatura di alici
The main issue is as I understand is that it takes around forty kilos of anchovy to make a litre of Colatura di alici. I agree it fantastic I only saw it once at my Deli and he had a very small quantity so I managed to get three small jars. I intend to try, I have found a barrel maker online they are quite expensive however, if I can get any Colatura di alici it will be more that worth the cost.

Sarana x
 
Maybe you could sell surplus?

Russ
I do not think that would be possible, it takes around forty kilos of anchovy to get a litre of Colatura di alici and although I understand the principle of the process I have never attempted anything like it before so I have no idea if I will get anything usable or indeed anything at all! And Russ I do not think that my neighbours would be too happy if I had trucks full of anchovy arriving :hyper:. Then of course I am not certain if there is going to be any unpleasant odors associated with the process.
Sarana x
 
The main issue is as I understand is that it takes around forty kilos of anchovy to make a litre of Colatura di alici.

:ohmy: That is a huge amount of anchovies. Are you sure you want to do this?!

There are some on line suppliers I found - but there is no doubt its expensive. This one is the best value I found so far. Minimum order from this company supplying Italian food is £30 per basket and cheapest delivery is £6.50. They specialise in authentic Italian products including deli meats.

38587


Amalfi Cetara Colatura di Alici - anchovies (40ml)
 
:ohmy: That is a huge amount of anchovies. Are you sure you want to do this?!

There are some on line suppliers I found - but there is no doubt its expensive. This one is the best value I found so far. Minimum order from this company supplying Italian food is £30 per basket and cheapest delivery is £6.50. They specialise in authentic Italian products including deli meats.

View attachment 38587

Amalfi Cetara Colatura di Alici - anchovies (40ml)
Call me crazy Morning Glory but I always like to push the envelop with food. And to be honest it is something that I have considered doing for some time; also with the MS it may not be too long before I will simply not be capable any longer, so it is now or never. Food and family are my life and I will continue for as long as I can. My husband has said that he will do the heavy work for me (I am only 154 cm and 44.5 kilo) Ray is 190.5 cm so he is strong enough.
Thank you for locating the online supplier, if the experiment proves to be a fail then I will purchase some.
Also I intend to start small with say 10 - 15 kilo. All I have to do now is purchase a barrel and the sea salt then get the anchovy. I am quite looking forward to the results if any.

Sarana x
 
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