Why are anchovies so divisive? A history of this controversial little fish
Whether you're an anchovy fan or not, chances are that you've inadvertently eaten them in various sauces. (Getty: Magone)
The humble anchovy has a long culinary history, which dates back thousands of years.
But this small, strongly flavoured fish still has the potential to divide even the most harmonious of dinner tables.
Author Christopher Beckman finds it "a little perplexing" when someone dislikes them.
"An anchovy is really a flavour enhancer, and they can work extraordinarily well behind the scenes," he tells ABC Radio National's Late Night Live.
His book A Twist in the Tail: How the Humble Anchovy Flavoured Western Cuisine considers the anchovy.
He says, whether eating them salted or in oil, anchovies provide our tastebuds with a burst of umami, which can really elevate a dish.
But throughout history, anchovies have not always been eaten with such enthusiasm.
Ties with Italy
The historic forum in Rome, Italy, was used for social gatherings and trading during the Roman Empire. (Getty: Sean Pavone)
Today, anchovies are eaten widely throughout the globe, but their origins can partly be traced back to ancient Rome more than 2,000 years ago.
During this period, the Romans traded three key items: wine, wheat and olive oil.
"Some people argue that number four on that list was Roman fish sauce, which they called garum. And we're now finding that most of that garum was made from anchovies," Beckman explains.
"The Romans used it to season practically everything they ate, from meat to fish, fowl, grains, legumes, vegetables, even fruit. Everything got seasoned with garum."
He says they used it widely, much like south-east Asian countries use fish sauce today.
It was also once associated with the cuisine of the impoverished in Europe.
"Anchovies have this funny thing, where, on the one hand, they were absolutely looked down upon, but then at other times, they were elevated to the very heights of gastronomic greatness," he says.
At one point, the upper class really looked down on anchovies, he says.
In 1592, an Italian doctor wrote that they were "food for the poor" and "for rough people, accustomed to exertion".
"But then later in history, it also surges up, [and] specifically in France around the 1700s, it became this extraordinary flavour enhancer in which elite, aristocratic Frenchmen were flavouring all their sauces," he adds.
"And for about 100 years, it was one of the key flavour enhancers of these sauces."
So what is it about this oily fish that still has so many people salivating for more?
The fifth taste
Before the rise of the anchovy pizza, the ancient Romans used to put garum on their flat bread. (Unsplash: Henry Perks)
Johannes le Coutre is a professor of food and health at the University of New South Wales. He likes to describe anchovies as having a "strong, very distinct and likeable taste".
"Like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, taste is on the tongue of the beholder to some extent," he says.
For those people who do enjoy eating them, there's an explanation behind the craving.
Professor le Coutre explains human taste can be linked back to the different taste qualities: sweet, sour, salty and bitter.
But there's also one more. Anchovies are linked to the fifth modality for taste: umami.
Kikunae Ikeda coined the term umami. (Supplied)
Umami is also linked to meat, tomatoes, mushrooms and parmesan cheese.
It was named by Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda in 1908, and translates to 'a pleasant savory taste'.
Having grown up eating dashi stock in Japan, which is made from seaweed and bonito fish flakes, Ikeda was familiar with the taste.
"So those two things combined give you this very intense, flavourful broth, which is why the Japanese use it to season a lot of their dishes. But basically, this scientist uncovered the fifth taste, and that's why he came to call it umami," Beckman says.
Raw anchovies have almost no umami, he explains.
But through a process of roasting, broiling, cooking, fermenting and aging, the umami flavours are enhanced through glutamates. These are amino acids produced in our bodies, and also occurs naturally in some foods.
Navigating overfishing
Anchovies are fished around the globe, with Peru being home to one of the largest fisheries in the world.
But they're not in endless supply.
In 2002, the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain struggled with anchovy overfishing. And in 2004, this led to a full shutdown of operations. But that's since turned around.
"If you're an anchovy aficionado, the best ones right now are coming out of the Bay of Biscay."
He explains it was closed for five seasons in the early 2000s, then reopened. The anchovies are now sustainably fished and this fishery carries the Marine Stewartship Council (MSC) sustainability seal.
But he adds that there's still room for improvement in other fisheries.
"In Italy, a number of the fisheries .. are, in fact, considered not sustainable, and a lot of the Black Sea [fishing] is not sustainable [due to overfishing]," he says.
He say the easy way to check if anchovies and seafood are sustainable is to look for a blue MSC label.
Umami taste aside, Professor le Coutre says there are benefits to eating seafood, particularly fish.
"There's omega−3 fatty acids … and if people do have issues with eating anchovies, I would recommend giving it another try," he says.
"Put it on a pizza, or maybe go for a lower dosage, but it's good food."