Why you really do like anchovies.


Ask any American if they like anchovies and the answer is likely an emphatic no. Ask them if they've had it, and the answer is the same. It seems to be that as is the prospect of eating, say, a cockroach, one doesn't have to try one to know that it's revolting. Judgment is passed, and verdict rendered. Yet you do eat anchovy, and you like it. You may simply be unaware of how common an ingredient it really is. 

These popular items: Thai and Vietnamese food, all Caesar salads, anything with Worcestershire, a great deal of Italian dishes and many dishes of any provenance that are featured in high end restaurants all contain some preparation of anchovy, an extract of it or a similarly fermented, oily fish, yet none of the above contain "anchovy" in the name. 

The reason is that anchovies, through the long curing process, develop flavor compounds, amino acids and naturally occurring glutamates (MSG) that enhance all other flavors it is joined with. Chefs know this and on the sly, add some form of of these flavorings via whole anchovies, Worcestershire, and the fish sauces which are in your "Pad Thai" and "Red Curries." 


People seem to hate anchovies for no other reason that other people seem to hate them. 


 The tenderness of cured anchovies makes it dissolve, so it can be in your pizza sauce, salad dressing, stew, or soup without you knowing it, other than a certain indescribable flavor which we've appropriated a Japanese term for: Umami. The ancient Romans knew this and were making garum thousands of years ago. The tradition persists in some form or another in Italy, and we all love our "Italian Food" don't we?

So the next time you find yourself repeating "Soooo good," at a savory dish at your favorite restaurant, remember this: caveat emptor.



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