To taste these anchovies, I invited a friend, the food journalist and author Sudi Pigott, to join me. Arriving with a packet of Pujadó Solano anchovies and her new book, Consider the Anchovy, in hand, she and I tasted 10 brands of anchovies straight from the tin or jar with sparkling water and cucumber to cleanse the palate. According to Pigott, the best anchovies are “juicy, plump and velvety, with a sweet, nutty taste of jamón!”
The anchovy supply chain has been heavily affected by El Niño, which caused abnormal weather events in Peru, where the most economical anchovies in our test were fished, and a shortage severe enough to threaten global supply and push up prices. Premium anchovies sourced from the Bay of Biscay (the Cantabrian Sea) have seen prices rise, too, driven more by growing international demand than any shortage, because the stock itself remains healthy.
