Orlando Bird

Love it or loathe it – the umami flavour of anchovy

The anchovy is everywhere now, lacing salads, pizzas and appetizers. But in the past it was often denigrated in the West as bitter, putrid and ‘a worthless little fish’

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issue 03 August 2024
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  • A Twist in the Tail: How the Humble Anchovy Flavoured Western Cuisine

    Christopher Beckman

    Hurst Publishers, pp. 368, £18

We are blessed to be living in a golden age of anchovies. They’re everywhere – lacing salads, festooning pizzas, draped across inordinately expensive small plates. In certain circles, there are few more potent social signifiers than the red, yellow and blue of an Ortiz tin. Victory for the umami junkies.

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