Every Last Anchovy

Sometimes I get a little teary-eyed when I think of all of the tins of anchovies that have been opened for the sake of adding a couple fillets to a recipe, only to be thrown out three months later, when they’re discovered rotting away in the back of the refrigerator. I, too, have made this mistake, sighing as I throw away the remains of a good six-dollar can. So much potential for umami, squandered!

Many home cooks don’t realize this, but unlike many other tinned seafoods, anchovies are only partially preserved. This means that even in an unopened can, they shouldn’t be stored for much more than a year, after which they start to become mushy, grainy, and unpleasant in taste. I store my unopened tins in the refrigerator to slow this process. A few European brands explicitly remind you on the package to store them in the refrigerator.