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Fermentation Atlas

Sauces and condiments from Britain

Anchovy essenceanchovy essence

Anchovies that have ripened in salt for about a year are pounded, warmed with a little water until they melt, seasoned with cayenne and rubbed through a sieve into a thick bottled sauce. It is a boundary entry; the fermentation happens earlier, while the salted fish mature, not in the sauce itself. Made in 5 steps over 40 days – 12 months. The longest step, ripen the anchovies in salt, takes 40 days – 12 months (Kitchiner W. 1821) and runs at 16–28 °C (Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari…). Salt is 18–33 % (Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari…).

Key numbers
Main step40 days – 12 monthsReported[kitchiner1821][acciughe2017]Ripen the anchovies in salt
Temperature16–28 °CSet[acciughe2017]Ripen the anchovies in salt
Salt18–33 %Set[acciughe2017]Ripen the anchovies in salt
Fully documentedSauces and condiments40 days – 12 monthsMore sauces and condimentsMore from United Kingdom

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceKitchiner's recipe, 3rd edition of The Cook's Oracle (1821). He notes that thirty fish weighing a pound and a quarter, with two tablespoons of water, made only half a pint of essence.
10–12Salted anchovies · Mellow fish that have been in pickle about twelve months; Kitchiner names Gorgona anchovies[kitchiner1821]
1 tablespoonCold spring water · Or sherry, Madeira or mushroom ketchup instead of water[kitchiner1821]
A quarter of a drachmCayenne pepper[kitchiner1821]
OptionalLemon peel, or vinegar or citric acid · Lemon peel only for sauce used at once; acid for a sharper sauce[kitchiner1821]
Starternone (the salted anchovies are already ripened)

Total time across the recorded steps: 40 days – 12 months

Start
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16–28 °C40 days – 12 months

What changes: Layered in salt under a weight, the anchovies slowly ripen until the flesh turns red

Step 1 of 5
Ripen the anchovies in salt
Time
40 days – 12 months
Reported
Temperature
16–28 °C
Set
Salt
18–33 %
Set
Acidity
Not documented

The numbers come from the modern Ligurian PGI for salted anchovies, a nearby product; Kitchiner gives only the twelve months. Output: mellow salted anchovies.

Flavour
mellow, high-flavoured
Texture
flesh softens until it dissolves easily
Colour
flesh turns red

Microbes at work in this step

The fish's own enzymes slowly ripen the flesh under salt.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Anchovy essence is made from whole salted anchovies pounded and sieved into a thick sauce, not from liquid drained during fermentation as colatura and Asian fish sauces are. Its own process takes minutes; the slow change happens beforehand, in the salt cure.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Anchovy paste (beurre d'anchois)Pounded anchovies sieved, potted and covered with clarified butter; or essence rubbed with flour for immediate use.
  • Thickened commercial essenceSome makers dissolved the fish in gruel or barley water, or thickened it with flour; it kept half as well.
  • Wine-based essenceMade with sherry or Madeira, or mushroom ketchup, instead of water.

Safety

Anchovies belong to a fish family that EU law treats as high in histidine. For anchovies matured in brine, no more than two of nine samples may exceed 200 mg/kg histamine and none may exceed 400 mg/kg. Kitchiner already warned that air spoils the sauce, so bottles must be kept tightly closed.

Hazards the sources name: Histamine-forming bacteria (anchovies belong to a high-histidine fish family under EU rules).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Kitchiner's Cook's Oracle (3rd edition 1821) notes that Thomas Young claimed the invention in The Epicure (1815), and that Burgess of the Strand in London had long been famous for making it. Commercial essence was so cheap that Kitchiner advised buying rather than making it.

  1. [kitchiner1821] Kitchiner W. 1821, The Cook's Oracle, 3rd edition, London, recipe No. 433 "Quint-essence of anchovy" (Internet Archive scan)archive
  2. [acciughe2017] Ministero delle politiche agricole alimentari e forestali 2017, Disciplinare di produzione IGP "Acciughe sotto sale del Mar Ligure" (version of 22 September 2017), art. b.3–b.4spec
  3. [eu2073] Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs, Annex I rows 1.26–1.27 and footnote q (histamine), as retained in UK lawspec
  4. [wp] Wikipedia, Anchovy essence (outline only)wiki