Anchovies – Nutritional Value, Health Benefits

Nutrition

Anchovies are loaded with protein, a crucial building block used within your body to repair tissue, create muscle mass, and boost metabolism.

Anchovies are also an excellent source of:

• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Niacin
• Vitamin B12
•  Calcium
•  Selenium
• Potassium
• Vitamin A

Nutritional profile

Anchovies pack a lot of nutrients into a small package.

A 2-ounce (45-gram) serving of anchovies canned in oil provides (2Trusted Source):

• Calories: 95
• Protein: 13 grams
• Fat: 4 grams
• Carbs: 0 grams
• Vitamin B3: 56% of the Daily Value (DV)
• Selenium: 55% of the DV
• Vitamin B12: 16% of the DV
• Iron: 12% of the DV
• Calcium: 8% of the DV

Anchovies have a high content of vitamin B3 — or niacin, a vitamin that helps turn food into energy. They also contain large amounts of selenium, a mineral involved in heart, thyroid, immune, and bone health (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).

They’re likewise sources of the minerals iron and calcium. Your body needs iron to transport oxygen from your lungs. Calcium is important for strong bones (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).

What’s more, anchovies are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, they’re considered oily or fatty fish along with salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel.

Just a 2-ounce (45-gram) can of anchovies provides 924 mg of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) combined, which is more than the same amount of salmon (2Trusted Source, 7Trusted Source).

Together, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B3 and selenium are responsible for most of anchovies’ health benefits.

Even in a small serving, anchovies deliver key nutrients, including niacin, selenium, iron, calcium, and the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA.

How to Prepare Anchovies

The largest anchovy catches take place in November and December. However, because they are so often preserved, these fish can be enjoyed throughout the year. You can find them in most grocery stores, seafood markets, or specialty food shops.

When choosing anchovies, pay attention to their preparation. Preservation methods can have a significant impact on flavor. This can also affect nutrition, as some approaches increase fat or sodium content. Stronger flavors can often be found in anchovies stored in jars instead of cans.

You can eat anchovies raw, but they are typically smoked, salted, or packed in brine. Try these ideas to add anchovies to your diet:

• Add to a sandwich with tomato, lettuce, and aioli
• Layer on toast with a soft-boiled egg for breakfast
• Sprinkle in scrambled eggs for a hint of umami
• Toss anchovies with mixed greens, lemon, and olives to create an enticing salad
• Brush with olive oil and bake with bread crumbs
• Stir-fry with soy sauce and sesame oil
• Add to pasta along with garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes
• Simmer in tomato soup with bay leaves and thyme
• Use as a topping on a homemade pizza

Potential Side Effects

Because most anchovies are cured, they can be quite high in sodium. For example, a 2-ounce (45-gram) can of anchovies provides 72% of the DV for the mineral (2Trusted Source).

Consuming too much sodium increases your risk of developing high blood pressure. People with salt sensitivity, diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, or those who already have high blood pressure should pay special attention to their sodium intake (25Trusted Source).

A simple way to reduce your anchovies’ sodium content is by rinsing them before eating them.

Also, anchovies may be contaminated with domoic acid. This toxin may lead to amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), which is characterized by symptoms like vomiting, nausea, gastrointestinal discomfort, confusion, disorientation, and memory loss (26Trusted Source, 27Trusted Source).

Lastly, eating raw anchovies increases the risk of a parasitic infection called anisakiasis, which is caused by the fish parasiteAnisakis simplex.

It may cause gastrointestinal symptoms like abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever or lead to allergic reactions, which commonly include an itchy rash (28Trusted Source, 29Trusted Source, 30Trusted Source, 31Trusted Source).

Therefore, be sure to consume fully cooked anchovies if possible, and seek medical attention if you experience any of the previously mentioned symptoms after eating them.

Anchovies may be a high sodium food, which increases the risk of developing high blood pressure. They may also be contaminated with domoic acid, and eating raw anchovies may lead to parasitic infections.

How do you choose good-quality anchovies?

Anchovies are small, slender fish found in the Black Sea, Mediterranean and Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. However, when you see them in the supermarket they are more likely to be preserved than fresh.

Salt-cured anchovy fillets packed in sunflower or olive oil are the cheapest and most readily available. They are sold in tall, thin resealable jars which is good if you only plan to use a few. Horizontal ring-pull tins or cans are also available, but make sure you transfer what’s left over to a sealed container and the fillets are submerged in oil, as storage in an open can will contaminate the taste.

Another way you can buy them is packed in salt. Whole salted anchovies are meatier, firmer and sweeter, but expect to spend around half an hour prepping them. They are usually left with their bones and fins intact so need filleting. After scraping off excess salt and rinsing with water, an extra soak in either milk or white wine can help soften them. Store the anchovies you haven’t touched in a glass jar in the fridge for up to six months.

Less common are marinated anchovies – often known by their Spanish name, boquerones – which are eaten as a snack or tapas dish. They are deboned then marinated in vinegar, oil and salt. The pickling process turns them bright white (unlike the grey or pink flesh of the salted ones) and they are much milder. Try on top of toasted bread with butter.

Anchovy recipes 1

Dust off your blender to make a seriously speedy anchovy snack. Add a couple of fillets to this tapenade with black olives to spread on toast, crostini, or crackers. Did you know you can also add anchovies to homemade pesto or ketchup for an extra layer of flavor?

A simple way to eat anchovies is to use them to pep up pasta dishes. The fillets dissolve into sauce easily and add a savory hit to a fiery puttanesca, a filling gnocchi bake or garlic, chilli and olive oil spaghetti.

If you can handle whole anchovies, add them to pizzas or the classic French onion tart, pissaladière.

Salads are also often boosted with the umami-laden fish – Niçoise salad just wouldn’t be the same without anchovies while the flavor-packed fillets are also a key ingredient in the dressing for Caesar salad.

Anchovies work very well in lamb dishes – they accentuate the meat’s flavour without making it fishy. For a quick and satisfying supper have a go at lamb mince skewers with coriander dip or lamb cutlets with anchovy and herb butter. If you’re looking for a weekend project, try barbecued cumin lamb chops with anchovy butter, stuffed shoulder of lamb with cockles or roast lamb with salsa verde.

Anchovies also go well with other fish, so experiment with a piquant salsa verde for sea bass, incorporate in these tuna and olive stuffed peppers and perk up a hearty Niçoise bake You can even incorporate the high-flavour fish into vegetable dishes – we love this creamy roasted broccoli.

Recipes 2

This Southeast Asian bumbu (sauce) is not only the perfect partner to satay. It is also the accompaniment to gado-gado, a warm Indonesian steamed-vegetables salad.

• 120g or 4oz peanuts 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons terasi/belacan or 2 fillets of anchovy in oil, drained
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• ½-1 teaspoon chili powder or more to taste
• ½-1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 cups water
• 30g or 1oz cream of coconut
• Salt Juice of 1 lime

Fry the peanuts in the oil over medium heat till toasted. Drain onto paper towels and cool, then grind or pound them into a rough powder.

Crush the terasi or anchovies with the garlic and shallots into a paste. Fry this in 1 tablespoon of the oil for a minute, then adds the chili, sugar, and water.

Bring to a boil, then add the peanuts. Simmer, stirring occasionally, till it thickens, and add the coconut cream. Season to taste with salt if necessary. Add the lime juice just before serving.

Pour over a warm salad of steamed mixed vegetables such as cauliflower florets, green beans, cabbage, carrots, with chunks of boiled potato and cubes of fried tofu, to which you add a handful of bean sprouts, thick slices of cucumber and quarters of boiled egg, and serve with prawn crackers. Or use as the dip for skewers of chicken satay.

How Cook with Anchovies

Once you begin cooking with anchovies, you will quickly discover incredible versatility. Consider the fact that they show up in everything from pissaladiere (a savory French tart) to pad Thai (thanks to the fish sauce). You can enjoy the whole or mash them into a paste using a mortar and pestle or the back of a fork against a cutting board.

For ideas on how to best enjoy these flavorful little fish, I asked my two anchovy experts, Sharon Ardiana and Kelly Cosgrove. Here’s what they shared:

• Mash them into a paste and whisk them into salad dressings.
• Cook them with olive oil, chiles, garlic, lemon zest, and juice, and toss with hot pasta.
• Make anchovy crostini by topping ricotta or fava bean puree with a single, good-quality anchovy.
• Wrap a slice of mozzarella and fresh basil around an anchovy for an appetizer.
• Mince an anchovy or two and whisk into an oil and vinegar dressing. Toss with cooked broccolini and finish with grated Pecorino.
• Add a few to any braised dish for a hit of umami, such as braised lamb shanks.
• Include them in a batch of tomato sauce to make it a little more interesting.
• Add it to pizzas, savory tarts, and flatbreads. (Adriana adds them to her excellent pizzas after they’re baked!)
• Top toast with tomato, garlic, and a Boquete, along with pickled pepper.
• Assemble a brunch board with smoked salmon, bagels, and a little side of boquerones.
• Add anchovies to a charcuterie board, along with olives and cornichons.
• Include anchovies in a deconstructed Caesar or Cobb salad for a pop of salt and flavor.