Anchovies

[ER2]

At dinner last night, the waiter identified a very small headless but whole fish on my companion's salad plate as a "white anchovy". Is this a different type of anchovy from the dark brown strips or fillets of anchovies that I buy in jars where they have been preserved in an oil of some kind?

As well, I've been told that in some places you can find anchovies peserved in a barrel with salt though I've never come across anchovies like this. Would this "white anchovy" be an example of this type of preservation? And, if so, where in Toronto can they be found?

TIA.

[Hmm]

Related to Anchovies, anyone know of a retailer of the smoked (Spanish?) variety in the downtown core? I checked the usual suspects at SLM to no avail.....

[jayt90]

It's the same fish as jarred or canned brown anchovies, just a lighter process of preserving.
They are cured more like herring, in salt and vinegar, then shipped in jars. The white vinegar seems to remove color from the fish.

Anchovies in a barrel are preserved only with salt, and they ferment in the warm climate. They turn reddish brown in color, and are also shipped in cans or jars, but are much more pungent. They are less costly than white anchovies, and easier to find.

[ER2]

Thanks, Jay90, for your very clear explanation of the differences.

Do you know of anywhere in Toronto where either the white anchovies or the salt cured ones are available ? I think I've only come across the brown ones in jars or in those flat cans where, with luck, you roll back the top with a key to open them.

[whoresradish]

I have seen them at SLM. At Scheffler's Deli, along the east wall. If not there, try one of the other delis along that wall.