Thread: Anchovies

Jay <[email protected]> wrote:

>I bought a jar for the first time (previously had them from small
>tins). Used a couple in a salad and put the jar in the fridge (as per
>the label). 2 days later I go to get them out of the fridge and the
>liquid in the jar has turned into a mushy white mush!
>The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
>Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?

Yeah, it's normal -- that is olive oil in the jar, which (at
least in certain grades) is solid at refrigerator temperature
(at least for some refrigerators).

When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.

Steve

It is perfectly normal. As soon as they are returned to room temp or heated,
they'll look like what you bought.

--
http://www.judithgreenwood.com
"Jay" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email protected]..
>I bought a jar for the first time (previously had them from small
> tins). Used a couple in a salad and put the jar in the fridge (as per
> the label). 2 days later I go to get them out of the fridge and the
> liquid in the jar has turned into a mushy white mush!
> The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
> Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?
>

"Steve Pope" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:g90bbe$nu3$[email protected]..
> Jay <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I bought a jar for the first time (previously had them from small
>>tins). Used a couple in a salad and put the jar in the fridge (as per
>>the label). 2 days later I go to get them out of the fridge and the
>>liquid in the jar has turned into a mushy white mush!
>>The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
>>Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?
snippage
> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>
> Steve

Steve, for many of southern recipes, you need the oil and salt for the
finished flavor of the dish. Ex: orecchiette ai broccoletti

On Aug 26, 7:31*pm, "Giusi" <decobabe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> "Steve Pope" <spop...@speedymail.org> ha scritto nel messaggionews:g90bbe$nu3$[email protected]..
>
> > Jay *<JazeM...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >>I bought a jar for the first time (previously had them from small
> >>tins). Used a couple in a salad and put the jar in the fridge (as per
> >>the label). 2 days later I go to get them out of the fridge and the
> >>liquid in the jar has turned into a mushy white mush!
> >>The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
> >>Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?
> snippage
> > When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
> > a new container. *This is just for convenience, no problem
> > to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>
> > Steve
>
> Steve, for many of southern recipes, you need the oil and salt for the
> finished flavor of the dish. *Ex: orecchiette ai broccoletti

Thanks to all, you've set my mind at rest.
Bit ugly when I'm trying to cut it up for a caeser salad.
Never thought of rinsing it - thought I might rinse the flavour away

Jay wrote:
> On Aug 26, 7:31 pm, "Giusi" <decobabe...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> "Steve Pope" <spop...@speedymail.org> ha scritto nel messaggionews:g90bbe$nu3$[email protected]..
>>
>>> Jay <JazeM...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> I bought a jar for the first time (previously had them from small
>>>> tins). Used a couple in a salad and put the jar in the fridge (as per
>>>> the label). 2 days later I go to get them out of the fridge and the
>>>> liquid in the jar has turned into a mushy white mush!
>>>> The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
>>>> Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?
>> snippage
>>> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
>>> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
>>> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>>> Steve
>> Steve, for many of southern recipes, you need the oil and salt for the
>> finished flavor of the dish. Ex: orecchiette ai broccoletti
>
> Thanks to all, you've set my mind at rest.
> Bit ugly when I'm trying to cut it up for a caeser salad.
> Never thought of rinsing it - thought I might rinse the flavour away

Just put them out to warm up a little while before you need them. All
that happened is the oil became a solid.

Steve Pope wrote:
> Jay <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I bought a jar for the first time (previously had them from small
>> tins). Used a couple in a salad and put the jar in the fridge (as per
>> the label). 2 days later I go to get them out of the fridge and the
>> liquid in the jar has turned into a mushy white mush!
>> The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
>> Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?
>
> Yeah, it's normal -- that is olive oil in the jar, which (at
> least in certain grades) is solid at refrigerator temperature
> (at least for some refrigerators).
>
> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>
> Steve

Can I suggest that you are loosing a lot of the flavor that has
dissolved in the oil? If you store partial contents in the fridge just
let them warm up a little and the oil will quickly liquefy.

Giusi <[email protected]> wrote:

>"Steve Pope" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio

>> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
>> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
>> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.

>Steve, for many of southern recipes, you need the oil and salt for the
>finished flavor of the dish. Ex: orecchiette ai broccoletti

Sure, go for it if you want anchovie tin fluid in your
dish. I generally discard it, and rinse some of the
salt off (but I don't go the next step of soaking the
anchovies, which removes most of the salt).

I normally use anochovies for pasta puttanesca, or Caesar
salads. Sometimes -- once per decade -- I make anchovie
butter for serving atop of steak or lamb. No anchovie
juice required for these purposes.

Steve

George <[email protected]> wrote:

>Steve Pope wrote:

>> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
>> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
>> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.

>Can I suggest that you are loosing a lot of the flavor that has
>dissolved in the oil?

Yes, but you can compensate by using more anchovies to
begin with.

Steve

Steve Pope wrote:

> George <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Steve Pope wrote:
>
>>> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
>>> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
>>> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>
>>Can I suggest that you are loosing a lot of the flavor that has
>>dissolved in the oil?
>
> Yes, but you can compensate by using more anchovies to
> begin with.

Or he could just tight the oil that's been loosed.

--
Blinky
Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://improve-usenet.org
Need a new news feed? http://blinkynet.net/comp/newfeed.html

Steve Pope wrote:
> Giusi <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> "Steve Pope" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
>
>>> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
>>> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
>>> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>
>> Steve, for many of southern recipes, you need the oil and salt for
>> the finished flavor of the dish. Ex: orecchiette ai broccoletti
>
> Sure, go for it if you want anchovie tin fluid in your
> dish.

The OP said he bought it in a jar.

Jill

jmcquown <[email protected]> wrote:

>Steve Pope wrote:

>> Giusi <[email protected]> wrote:

>>> "Steve Pope" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio

>>>> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
>>>> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
>>>> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.

>>> Steve, for many of southern recipes, you need the oil and salt for
>>> the finished flavor of the dish. Ex: orecchiette ai broccoletti

>> Sure, go for it if you want anchovie tin fluid in your
>> dish.

>The OP said he bought it in a jar.

Yes, certainly. There was thread drift, to tins.

Steve

Steve Pope wrote:
> jmcquown <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Steve Pope wrote:
>
>>> Giusi <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>>> "Steve Pope" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
>
>>>>> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
>>>>> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
>>>>> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>
>>>> Steve, for many of southern recipes, you need the oil and salt for
>>>> the finished flavor of the dish. Ex: orecchiette ai broccoletti
>
>>> Sure, go for it if you want anchovie tin fluid in your
>>> dish.
>
>> The OP said he bought it in a jar.
>
> Yes, certainly. There was thread drift, to tins.
>
> Steve

I know Copacetic

Steve Pope wrote:
> Jay <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I bought a jar for the first time (previously had them from small
>> tins). Used a couple in a salad and put the jar in the fridge (as per
>> the label). 2 days later I go to get them out of the fridge and the
>> liquid in the jar has turned into a mushy white mush!
>> The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
>> Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?
>
> Yeah, it's normal -- that is olive oil in the jar, which (at
> least in certain grades) is solid at refrigerator temperature
> (at least for some refrigerators).
>
> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>
> Steve

I guess you could just let the jar warm enough to melt the solidified
olive oil before using the anchovies..? It shouldn't take long.
If you are daring and adventurous, and enjoy fishing with dynamite, you
could put the jar in the microwave oven for 10 seconds or so.

On 2008-08-26, Jay <[email protected]> wrote:

> The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
> Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?

Yeah. Oil in cold gets funky.

Look for salt-packed anchovies. Hard to find, but so superior to anything
in oil.

nb

"none" <""Mark\"@(none)"> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email protected]..
> Steve Pope wrote:
>> Jay <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> I bought a jar for the first time (previously had them from small
>>> tins). Used a couple in a salad and put the jar in the fridge (as per
>>> the label). 2 days later I go to get them out of the fridge and the
>>> liquid in the jar has turned into a mushy white mush!
>> Yeah, it's normal -- that is olive oil in the jar, which (at
>> least in certain grades) is solid at refrigerator temperature
>> (at least for some refrigerators).
>>
>> When I open a tin, I rinse off the oil and transfer to
>> a new container. This is just for convenience, no problem
>> to let it solidify instead, then scrape/rinse it away later.
>>
>> Steve
>
> I guess you could just let the jar warm enough to melt the solidified
> olive oil before using the anchovies..? It shouldn't take long.
> If you are daring and adventurous, and enjoy fishing with dynamite, you
> could put the jar in the microwave oven for 10 seconds or so.

None of that is necessary. You need to leave the anchovies you aren't using
in the oil and salt that are preseving them. Don't heat them until you are
using them. These bottles are not cheap, but they will happily sit in the
fridge door for months as you use the anchovies filet by filet, which opened
tins will not.
Remove the amount you need and within moments it will be as you expect it to
be. If cooking with them, toss them into the pan and they will dissolve and
disappear just like any other anchovy.

"notbob" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:[email protected]..
> On 2008-08-26, Jay <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
>> Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be prevented?
>
> Yeah. Oil in cold gets funky.
>
> Look for salt-packed anchovies. Hard to find, but so superior to anything
> in oil.
>
> nb

I disagree. There is a reason to use one or the other depending on the
recipe. If the recipe can use either it will say so and tell you what to do
with the ones you plan to use.

This is like that arritude that fresh egg pasta is always better than dried
pasta. It's two different things, each good at what it does.

Giusi wrote on Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:50:41 +0200:

> "notbob" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
> news:[email protected]..
>> On 2008-08-26, Jay <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> The ingredients are anchovies, olive oil and salt.
>>> Is this normal behaviour? Are they usable? Can it be
>>> prevented?
>>
>> Yeah. Oil in cold gets funky.
>>
>> Look for salt-packed anchovies. Hard to find, but so
>> superior to anything in oil.
>>
>> nb

> I disagree. There is a reason to use one or the other
> depending on the recipe. If the recipe can use either it will
> say so and tell you what to do with the ones you plan to use.

Watching this thread, I get the impression that many people like the
taste of anchovies. I only like them as a contribution to an overall
flavor and I can't stand them on pizza.

Anchovies are not as bad as Vietnamese fish sauce, Nuoc Mam. I once
tried it by itself but never again. I had to use mouthwash and a strong
drink to get rid of the quintessentially fishy taste. However, at the
right concentration, fish sauce also improves overall flavor and works
in dipping sauces.

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Sat, 18 Oct 2008 21:18:08 GMT, "James Silverton"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Anchovies are not as bad as Vietnamese fish sauce, Nuoc Mam. I once
>tried it by itself but never again. I had to use mouthwash and a strong
>drink to get rid of the quintessentially fishy taste. However, at the
>right concentration, fish sauce also improves overall flavor and works
>in dipping sauces.

Guess you found out the hard way that it's not like soy. I like it,
but I'd never think of it for dipping or eating plain. It's a great
accent to a bigger recipe.


--
I never worry about diets. The only carrots that
interest me are the number of carats in a diamond.

Mae West

"James Silverton" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:kosKk.2000$[email protected]:


>> I disagree. There is a reason to use one or the other
>> depending on the recipe. If the recipe can use either it will
>> say so and tell you what to do with the ones you plan to use.
>
> Watching this thread, I get the impression that many people like the
> taste of anchovies. I only like them as a contribution to an overall
> flavor and I can't stand them on pizza.


I'm just about to try some 'White Anchovies'. A mate of mine is anchovie
mad and has found some somewhere!!


But for your usual run of the mill tinned or bottled anchovies, try
putting the lot in a saucepan over moderate heat, stirring all the
while. The fish will melt down to a sauce and lose that 'hairy-fish'
taste, and it's quite lovely when used in gravies or casseroles etc.


>
> Anchovies are not as bad as Vietnamese fish sauce, Nuoc Mam. I once
> tried it by itself but never again. I had to use mouthwash and a
strong
> drink to get rid of the quintessentially fishy taste. However, at the
> right concentration, fish sauce also improves overall flavor and works
> in dipping sauces.
>


Fish sauce is *never* used by itself!! Usually used with several other
ingredients in a dipping sauce, or added to a curry at the end for a bit
of a flavour hit.

Fish sauce is often made with anchovies and is made by leaving large
quantities of fish to ferment in salt, and straining off the 'juice' :-)

http://importfood.com/how_fish_sauce_is_made.html

http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/fea...ishsauce1.html

"In case you are not yet familiar with fish sauce, it is that salty,
smelly brown liquid made from fish that is the single, most important
flavoring ingredient in Thai cooking (also well-loved in Laos, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Burma and the Philippines). Used like salt in western cooking
and soy sauce in Chinese cooking, good-quality fish sauce imparts a
distinct aroma and flavor all its own. It is indispensable in the Thai
kitchen as Thai food wouldn't be quite the same without it.

Called "nam bplah" in Thai, or literally "fish water," genuine fish
sauce is the water, or juice, in the flesh of fish that is extracted in
the process of prolonged salting and fermentation. It is made from small
fish that would otherwise have little value for consumption. This can
either be freshwater or saltwater fish, though today, most fish sauce is
made from the latter as pollution and dams have drastically reduced the
once plentiful supply of freshwater fish in the heartlands of Southeast
Asia.

Among marine fish, anchovies and related species of small schooling fish
from two to five inches in length are commonly used, as they can be
found in bountiful supply in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Thailand
and the South China Sea. Larger varieties of fish, such as mackerel and
sardines, also make good fish sauce, but because they are relatively
more expensive due to their value as a food fish, they are seldom used
in the commercial production of fish sauce.

For fish sauce to develop a pleasant, fragrant aroma and taste, the fish
must be very fresh. As soon as fishing boats return with their catch,
the fish are rinsed and drained, then mixed with sea salt – two to three
parts fish to one part salt by weight. They are then filled into large
earthenware jars, lined on the bottom with a layer of salt, and topped
with a layer of salt. A woven bamboo mat is placed over the fish and
weighted down with heavy rocks to keep the fish from floating when water
inside them are extracted out by the salt and fermentation process.

The jars are covered and left in a sunny location for nine months to a
year. From time to time, they are uncovered to air out and to let the
fish be exposed to direct, hot sunshine, which helps "digest" the fish
and turn them into fluid. The periodic "sunning" produces a fish sauce
of superior quality, giving it a fragrant aroma and a clear, reddish
brown color.

After enough months have passed, the liquid is removed from the jars,
preferably through a spigot on the bottom of the jars, so that it passes
through the layers of fish remains; or by siphoning. Any sediments are
strained out with a clean cloth. The filtered fish sauce is filled into
other clean jars and allowed to air out in the sun for a couple of weeks
to dissipate the strong fish odors. It is then ready for bottling. The
finished product is 100-percent, top-grade, genuine fish sauce. "

--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia


If we are not meant to eat animals,
why are they made of meat?