Thread: Frozen anchovies? Are they safe?

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:11:08 -0700, "Kent" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Have any tried frozen anchovies? Are they any kind of a worry regarding food
>borne infection. I have a package staring at me from the freezer from Ranch
>99. It comes from somewhere in the Orient. It looks unsalted, though there
>isn't anyway to know. They aren't oil packed, and they aren't dry salted? At
>Ranch 99 they are very well priced. A 12 oz package of frozen anchovies only
>costs a couple of bucks.

There is no such fish as an "anchovy" just like there is no such fish
as a "sardine"... could be any small fish prepared in many ways,
including cured in oil, cured in salt, cured in salt and dried...
typically the larger ones are dried and need to be soaked in several
changes of water to remove the excess salt.

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:11:08 -0700, Kent wrote:

> Have any tried frozen anchovies? Are they any kind of a worry regarding food
> borne infection. I have a package staring at me from the freezer from Ranch
> 99. It comes from somewhere in the Orient. It looks unsalted, though there
> isn't anyway to know. They aren't oil packed, and they aren't dry salted? At
> Ranch 99 they are very well priced. A 12 oz package of frozen anchovies only
> costs a couple of bucks.

How big are they? Are they at least gutted? If not, throw them
away. Otherwise they're probably just like a smelt. How you cook
them depends on how big they are.

I buy all my smelts from the Asian grocer.

-sw

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:45:14 -0400, brooklyn1 wrote:

> There is no such fish as an "anchovy" just like there is no such fish
> as a "sardine"... could be any small fish prepared in many ways,
> including cured in oil, cured in salt, cured in salt and dried...
> typically the larger ones are dried and need to be soaked in several
> changes of water to remove the excess salt.

How come you never lecture us on, "There is no such animal as a
cow"? Because the difference is the same. It a general term for
any of any Bos primigenius.

-sw

On 2010-06-27, Kent <[email protected]> wrote:
> Have any tried frozen anchovies? Are they any kind of a worry regarding food
> borne infection. I have a package staring at me from the freezer from Ranch
> 99. It comes from somewhere in the Orient. It looks unsalted, though there
> isn't anyway to know. They aren't oil packed, and they aren't dry salted? At
> Ranch 99 they are very well priced. A 12 oz package of frozen anchovies only
> costs a couple of bucks.

Give it a go.

I used to buy fresh frozen packs of ....what?.... grunion?
....anchovies? I forget. They were skinny whole fish, about 4-5
inches long. I'd jes let thaw, and toss 'em in a skillet full of
peanut oil. When almost finished frying, toss in a few dashes of soy
and lemon pepper and eat whole. Never suffered any ill effects.

OTOH, I once had a very severe reaction to something. I ate two
different meals within 18 hrs. One was two live dungeness crabs I got
from Ranch99 and boiled myself (40 mins at full rolling boil) and the
other a great dinner at a new Korean restaurant I'd never tried. All
I know is I became sick as a dog for a full week, with a severe full
body rash and my guts changing from a digestive tract to an aquaduct.
Never did figure out which was the culprit and never tried either
again to find out!

nb

On 2010-06-27, Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:
> Otherwise they're probably just like a smelt. How you cook
> them depends on how big they are.

That's it! Smelt! I used to eat those all the time. Jes stir fry
and eat. Never a problem.

nb

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:07:14 GMT, notbob wrote:

> OTOH, I once had a very severe reaction to something. I ate two
> different meals within 18 hrs. One was two live dungeness crabs I got
> from Ranch99 and boiled myself (40 mins at full rolling boil) and the
> other a great dinner at a new Korean restaurant I'd never tried.

40 minute boil for dungeness crab? I steam them for 10-12
minutes. At 40 minutes, and pathogens were sure to be dead. It
was the Korean food :-)

-sw

On Jun 27, 12:16*pm, Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:11:08 -0700, Kent wrote:
> > Have any tried frozen anchovies? Are they any kind of a worry regardingfood
> > borne infection. I have a package staring at me from the freezer from Ranch
> > 99. It comes from somewhere in the Orient. It looks unsalted, though there
> > isn't anyway to know. They aren't oil packed, and they aren't dry salted? At
> > Ranch 99 they are very well priced. A 12 oz package of frozen anchoviesonly
> > costs a couple of bucks.
>
> How big are they? *Are they at least gutted? *If not, throw them
> away. *Otherwise they're probably just like a smelt. *How you cook
> them depends on how big they are.
>
> I buy all my smelts from the Asian grocer.

You are brave.
>
> -sw

"Kent" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:i0847u$6gh$[email protected]..
> Have any tried frozen anchovies? Are they any kind of a worry regarding
> food borne infection. I have a package staring at me from the freezer from
> Ranch 99. It comes from somewhere in the Orient. It looks unsalted, though
> there isn't anyway to know. They aren't oil packed, and they aren't dry
> salted? At Ranch 99 they are very well priced. A 12 oz package of frozen
> anchovies only costs a couple of bucks.
>
> Kent
>
The anchovies frozen, about 2.5" in length, and are from a brand called "Sun
Enterprises" from a Vietnamese Corporation, "The Country Flavor
Corporation" in El Monte, CA. The origin of the anchovy is Vietnam. I think
the whole anchovy is there, skin and all. Obviously, I haven't opened the
package yet.

Kent

notbob wrote:
>
> OTOH, I once had a very severe reaction to something. I ate two
> different meals within 18 hrs. One was two live dungeness crabs I got
> from Ranch99 and boiled myself (40 mins at full rolling boil) and the
> other a great dinner at a new Korean restaurant I'd never tried. All
> I know is I became sick as a dog for a full week, with a severe full
> body rash and my guts changing from a digestive tract to an aquaduct.
> Never did figure out which was the culprit and never tried either
> again to find out!

That happened to me once, though only for a day.
I had tried three new foods that day: frog legs,
that red Vietnamese chili sauce that comes in the
bottle with the rooster on it, and pine nuts
from China (much cheaper than what I was used to
paying).

Very sick, with a rash. I've never eaten frog
legs again, and I've had maybe about three
tablespoons of that chili sauce -- only at
restaurants -- in the last 15 years. I didn't
eat any pine nuts for a long time, and I always
check to make sure they're not from China.

For a long time, I suspected that an agent used
for chemical sterilization of the production
equipment for the chili sauce was not properly
flushed before being used to process the product
caused the problem. But logically, the frog legs
should be the number one suspect. And you sure
can't rule out Chinese pine nuts, for example
maybe they were treated with a fungicide.

notbob wrote:
>
> On 2010-06-27, Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Otherwise they're probably just like a smelt. How you cook
> > them depends on how big they are.
>
> That's it! Smelt! I used to eat those all the time. Jes stir fry
> and eat. Never a problem.

And it probably came in a bag printed in blue
and yellow that came from Quebec. I miss those.

On Jun 27, 1:09*pm, notbob <not...@nothome.com> wrote:
> On 2010-06-27, Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:
>
> > Otherwise they're probably just like a smelt. *How you cook
> > them depends on how big they are.
>
> That's it! *Smelt! *I used to eat those all the time. *Jes stir fry
> and eat. *Never a problem.
>
> nbYou cooked them w/o cleaning the gut? Ewwwwww

On Jun 27, 1:07*pm, notbob <not...@nothome.com> wrote:
> On 2010-06-27, Kent <aka.k...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Have any tried frozen anchovies? Are they any kind of a worry regardingfood
> > borne infection. I have a package staring at me from the freezer from Ranch
> > 99. It comes from somewhere in the Orient. It looks unsalted, though there
> > isn't anyway to know. They aren't oil packed, and they aren't dry salted? At
> > Ranch 99 they are very well priced. A 12 oz package of frozen anchoviesonly
> > costs a couple of bucks.
>
> Give it a go. *
>
> I used to buy fresh frozen packs of ....what?.... grunion?
> ...anchovies? *I forget. *They were skinny whole fish, about 4-5
> inches long. *I'd jes let thaw, and toss 'em in a skillet full of
> peanut oil. *When almost finished frying, toss in a few dashes of soy
> and lemon pepper and eat whole. *Never suffered any ill effects.
>
> OTOH, I once had a very severe reaction to something. *I ate two
> different meals within 18 hrs. *One was two live dungeness crabs I got
> from Ranch99 and boiled myself (40 mins at full rolling boil) and the
> other a great dinner at a new Korean restaurant I'd never tried. *All
> I know is I became sick as a dog for a full week, with a severe full
> body rash and my guts changing from a digestive tract to an aquaduct.
> Never did figure out which was the culprit and never tried either
> again to find out! *
>
> nb


You cooked them w/o cleaning the guts? Ewwwwww

On 2010-06-27, Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote:

> And it probably came in a bag printed in blue
> and yellow that came from Quebec. I miss those.

These were fresh in a wrapped meat dept tray. Been decades since I've
seen those. Got me through a lot of almost-payday meals.

nb

Sqwertz wrote:
>
> On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 20:07:14 GMT, notbob wrote:
>
> > OTOH, I once had a very severe reaction to something. I ate two
> > different meals within 18 hrs. One was two live dungeness crabs I got
> > from Ranch99 and boiled myself (40 mins at full rolling boil) and the
> > other a great dinner at a new Korean restaurant I'd never tried.
>
> 40 minute boil for dungeness crab? I steam them for 10-12
> minutes. At 40 minutes, and pathogens were sure to be dead. It
> was the Korean food :-)

I noticed that too. Forty minutes? I steam them
for the same time you do, when I get crab, which
I haven't done in years. I fried up some frozen
Maryland-style crab cakes from Trader Joe's this
morning, and that reminded me why I don't eat
much crab. I think shrimp have a better flavor
than crab or lobster. The main advantages of crab
and lobster are texture and, in the case of lobster,
the size of the tail muscle.

Trader Joe's has recently started selling tiny
pink shrimp in cans from Oregon, $2.99 for a can
with a net drained weight of 4 oz. Expensive,
but for a canned product it's pretty good.
I wasn't aware that tiny shrimp were harvested
in Oregon. Many years ago, I used to buy tiny
frozen shrimp from Alaska, but apparently that
fishery has crashed.

An instant food that is pretty darn good is a
can of that shrimp, drained, and slathered in
Trader Joe's Greek-style Feta Cheese Dressing.
Just talking about it is making it hard to resist
putting those together right now.

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:49:50 -0700, Mark Thorson <[email protected]>
wrote:

>notbob wrote:
>>
>> OTOH, I once had a very severe reaction to something. I ate two
>> different meals within 18 hrs. One was two live dungeness crabs I got
>> from Ranch99 and boiled myself (40 mins at full rolling boil) and the
>> other a great dinner at a new Korean restaurant I'd never tried. All
>> I know is I became sick as a dog for a full week, with a severe full
>> body rash and my guts changing from a digestive tract to an aquaduct.
>> Never did figure out which was the culprit and never tried either
>> again to find out!
>
>That happened to me once, though only for a day.
>I had tried three new foods that day: frog legs,
>that red Vietnamese chili sauce that comes in the
>bottle with the rooster on it, and pine nuts
>from China (much cheaper than what I was used to
>paying).

Are you sure it wasn't the hot sauce? I've used the hot sauce for 15
yrs., and never had anything like you've described. I have never seen
the chili sauce in stores here, even in chinatown.

I'm betting it was the frog legs.

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:38:55 -0700 (PDT), Manda Ruby wrote:

> On Jun 27, 12:16*pm, Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:
>
>> I buy all my smelts from the Asian grocer.
>
> You are brave.

I'm American.

Nothing wrong with food from most Asian grocers. I would shop
there more than a regular grocer if it was closer.

-sw

On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:01:49 -0700 (PDT), Manda Ruby wrote:

> You cooked them w/o cleaning the guts? Ewwwwww

Annoying bitch, isn't she.

Crabs are not cleaned until they're cooked. And small smelts
don't need to be cleaned wither.

So what's your problem?

-sw

On 2010-06-27, Sqwertz <[email protected]> wrote:

> minutes. At 40 minutes, and pathogens were sure to be dead. It
> was the Korean food :-)

I tended toward that conclusion also, but these were BIG crabs and
they'd been in those live tanks a Ranch99 that get cleaned.... how
often!? That's one reason I boiled them double time. I usually
bought my crab right off the boats over on the coast.

Boy, I really miss MY traditional New Years Eve meal of D-crab, SF
sourdough bread n' butter, and French champagne. Maybe this year, if Safeway
gets in some D-crab. I found a local bakery in Denver that makes the
most awesome SF-style sourdough. Don't know how they do it, but it's
amazingly authentic.

nb

On Jun 27, 2:45*pm, brooklyn1 <gravesen...@verizon.net> wrote:
> On Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:11:08 -0700, "Kent" <aka.k...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >Have any tried frozen anchovies? Are they any kind of a worry regarding food
> >borne infection. I have a package staring at me from the freezer from Ranch
> >99. It comes from somewhere in the Orient. It looks unsalted, though there
> >isn't anyway to know. They aren't oil packed, and they aren't dry salted? At
> >Ranch 99 they are very well priced. A 12 oz package of frozen anchovies only
> >costs a couple of bucks.
>
> There is no such fish as an "anchovy" just like there is no such fish
> as a "sardine"... could be any small fish prepared in many ways,
> including cured in oil, cured in salt, cured in salt and dried...
> typically the larger ones are dried and need to be soaked in several
> changes of water to remove the excess salt.

The anchovy is salty and hairy. It's not just any small fish. Now
having said that,
I come to the conclusion that there is no such thing as cod either.
So, since
there is no such thing as cod fish, then it stands to reason that
there is no such
thing as as an anchovy which is a specific fish. So in other words, I
agree with
your post. Just don't **** around and try and make me look like a
stupid ****ing
jackass and I'll be your huckleberry. I used to eat anchovies until I
found out that
they were not a specific fish, but were a specific fish found off of
the coast of
Peru. And other western South American lands. So go and do drug
crime in
your favourite lands, and I'll forgive you; although the Drug
Enforcement Administration will not.