a fish of the family Engraulidae. Species are found in all the warm oceans, and it is interesting to observe the varying uses made of them in different regions of the world.
The anchovy of culinary renown is Engraulis encrasicolus of the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the warmer waters of the E. Atlantic coasts. In earlier centuries it was mainly consumed as salted anchovies, which were sold from barrels. It is now more familiar in the form of canned anchovy fillets, which are used to impart a distinctive and salty flavour to many dishes. The preserved anchovies of Collioure, in the south of France, are reputedly among the best.
However, the practice of eating fresh (unsalted, and not canned, but often frozen) anchovies is spreading to other European countries from those where the abundance of the catch had already made it a familiar delicacy, for example Portugal, Spain, and above all Turkey. The Turks are beyond doubt the greatest enthusiasts in the world for anchovies, which they call hamsi. The intense and proprietorial feelings inspired by hamsi in Turkish hearts have found expression in some remarkable poems recited by itinerant troubadours on the Black Sea coast, one of which is cited by Davidson (1981) along with an impressive list of the culinary uses to which hamsi are put in Turkey, including their incorporation in a kind of bread.
On the western side of the N. Atlantic, the striped anchovy, Anchoa hepsetus, arouses little interest.
In the Indo-Pacific region anchovies present a different picture. E. ringens occurs off the coast of Peru and adjacent countries in shoals so enormous that the catch of the anchoveta (its Peruvian name) has often been the biggest by weight in the whole world. The cold Humboldt current, which flows northwards in those parts and is very rich in zooplankton, accounts for its abundance. This species is made into fish meal.
In Asian waters there are anchovies of the genera Stolephorus (long-jawed anchovy); Coilia and Setipinna (hairfin anchovies, with sharply tapering rear ends); and Thryssa (the moustached anchovy, which has rearward extensions to its upper jaw which are thought to resemble a moustache or the whiskers of a cat, and whose Thai name means ‘cat fish’). These are all good food fish, but do not have the special importance in Asian cuisines which the European anchovy has in Europe. The explanation may be that in SE Asia a special taste which corresponds in gustatory effect to that of the European anchovy is already provided in the daily diet by the fish sauces of the region. These may, incidentally, be made from anchovies.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Davidson, Alan (1981), Mediterranean Seafood, 2nd edn (further rev in 1987 impression), London: Penguin. (Rev edn 2002, Totnes: Prospect Books.)
