Skip to main content
Main

Imitation Anchovies

A preserved fish product made by layering sprats with salt, saltpetre, prunella salt, cochineal, and curing for six months.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Imitation Anchovies

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Do not wash or wipe the fresh sprats.

  2. Finely pound and mix together the coarse sea salt, bay salt, saltpetre, prunella salt, and cochineal.

Cure

  1. In a stone pan, layer the sprats and the prepared mixture alternately until the pan is full.

  2. Press the mixture down firmly and cover the pan tightly.

  3. Let the mixture stand for six months before using.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Fresh sprats
Provide the fish that is cured and becomes the anchovy-like flesh.
Coarse sea salt
Draws out moisture and firms the fish through salt curing.
Saltpetre
Helps preserve the fish and keeps its colour during long curing.
Cochineal
Adds red colour to give the cured fish its anchovy-like appearance.

The step that matters

Pressing and covering the pan. Firm pressing keeps the sprats packed under the salt so the cure penetrates evenly, and a tight cover limits air exposure during the long six-month stand.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesBrown BreadBrown Bread461 recipesMutton BrothMutton Broth292 recipesYorkshire PuddingYorkshire Pudding264 recipes