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Essence of Anchovy

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United Kingdom

Known as a British recipe, with similar versions prepared across other nations.

  • Preserving. Old preserving methods may not make food safe to keep. Use current tested guidance.
  • Additives or old utensils. The text names something no longer considered safe in food or for cooking in, such as lead, alum, borax, bitter almonds or copper pans. Don't use it.

Ingredients 12 ingredients

  1. a gallon of liquor
  2. a drachm of cayenne
  3. six pounds of water
  4. Madeira
  5. Orange
  6. seven ounces of flour
  7. Catsup
  8. a tablespoonful of cold water
  9. Rub
  10. Anchovies
  11. Must
  12. seven ounces of common salt
Contains GlutenFishSulphites Read from the ingredients, not verified. Check labels.

Possible health benefits

General information, not medical advice.

  1. Orange High in vitamin C · Source of folate

    High in vitamin C · 71 mg per 100 g, 89% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of blood vessels.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of bones.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage.
    11 more authorised claims
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of gums.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of skin.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal collagen formation for the normal function of teeth.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    • Vitamin C contributes to normal psychological function.
    • Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Vitamin C contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
    • Vitamin C contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
    • Vitamin C contributes to the regeneration of the reduced form of vitamin E.
    • Vitamin C increases iron absorption.

    Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble nutrient found in some foods. In the body, it acts as an antioxidant, helping to protect cells from the damage caused by free radicals. NIH fact sheet

    Source of folate · 30 µg per 100 g, 15% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Folate contributes to maternal tissue growth during pregnancy.
    • Folate contributes to normal amino acid synthesis.
    • Folate contributes to normal blood formation.
    5 more authorised claims
    • Folate contributes to normal homocysteine metabolism.
    • Folate contributes to normal psychological function.
    • Folate contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Folate contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.
    • Folate has a role in the process of cell division.

    Folate is a B-vitamin that is naturally present in many foods. Your body needs folate to make DNA and other genetic material. NIH fact sheet

    Nutrients per 100 g of “Oranges, raw, with peel”, USDA FoodData Central.

  2. Flour Source of phosphorus · Source of copper · Source of manganese · +1

    Source of phosphorus · 106 mg per 100 g, 15% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Phosphorus contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Phosphorus contributes to normal function of cell membranes.
    • Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    1 more authorised claims
    • Phosphorus contributes to the maintenance of normal teeth.

    Phosphorus is a mineral contained in each cell in our body. Most phosphorus is in the bones and teeth, and some is in your genes. NIH fact sheet

    Source of copper · 0.2 mg per 100 g, 17% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Copper contributes to maintenance of normal connective tissues.
    • Copper contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Copper contributes to normal functioning of the nervous system.
    5 more authorised claims
    • Copper contributes to normal hair pigmentation.
    • Copper contributes to normal iron transport in the body.
    • Copper contributes to normal skin pigmentation.
    • Copper contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Copper contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Copper is a mineral that you need to stay healthy. Your body uses copper to carry out many important functions, including making energy, connective tissues, and blood vessels. NIH fact sheet

    Source of manganese · 0.6 mg per 100 g, 28% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Manganese contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism.
    • Manganese contributes to the maintenance of normal bones.
    • Manganese contributes to the normal formation of connective tissue.
    1 more authorised claims
    • Manganese contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Manganese is a mineral that your body needs to stay healthy. Your body uses manganese to make energy and protect your cells from damage. NIH fact sheet

    Source of selenium · 10 µg per 100 g, 19% of the reference intake per 100 g

    • Selenium contributes to normal spermatogenesis.
    • Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal hair.
    • Selenium contributes to the maintenance of normal nails.
    3 more authorised claims
    • Selenium contributes to the normal function of the immune system.
    • Selenium contributes to the normal thyroid function.
    • Selenium contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.

    Selenium is a nutrient that the body needs to stay healthy. Your thyroid gland needs selenium to produce hormones and function properly. NIH fact sheet

    Nutrients per 100 g of “Flour, 00”, USDA FoodData Central.

Claims: EU Register of health claims (Regulation (EU) No 432/2012, © European Union, CC BY 4.0), shown only where the ingredient meets the claim's conditions (Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006). Nutrients: USDA FoodData Central (CC0). Facts: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements (public domain).

Cook safely

Keep children and pets away from the hob and the oven, and keep oven gloves and a lid within reach.

  • Boiling water and steam. Turn pan handles inward, away from the edge of the hob. Lift lids away from you, and pour hot water away from your body: steam burns too.
  • Sharp knives. Cut on a board that doesn't slip (a damp cloth under it helps), and curl the fingers of the hand that holds the food.

Method

  1. Pound in a mortar, ten or twelve anchovies that have been well pickled;
  2. put the pulp into a saucepan, then throw a tablespoonful of cold water into the mortar, shake it round, and pour it to the anchovies.
  3. Set the pan by the side of a slow fire, frequently stirring its contents, till the whole is melted, which will be in about five minutes.
  4. Then stir in a quarter of a drachm of cayenne, and let it remain by the fire a few minutes longer.
  5. Rub it through a hair sieve, with the back of a wooden spoon ;
  6. bottle it up, and keep it well corked, for the air will spoil it directly.
  7. Instead of water, some put in sherry or madeira, with the addition of mushroom catsup.
  8. Pound from two to four pounds and a half of anchovies, and rub the pulp through a fine hair sieve;
  9. boil the bones with seven ounces of common salt in six pounds of water;
  10. strain it off, and add seven ounces of flour, with the fish.
  11. Boil the whole;
  12. pass it through a sieve;
  13. and then colour it with Venetian red to your fancy.
  14. It should produce a gallon of liquor, which must be carefully stopped and sealed.
  15. The Venetian red, if genuine, is an innocent substance, but it is sometimes adulterated with orange lead, which is nothing better than minium, or red oxyde of lead, which is poisonous.
  16. Some oilmen, instead of this pernicious pigment, colour the sauce with Arminian bole, which is harmless.

Plating

Cookware for this recipe

  • Saucepan
  • Mortar and pestle
  • Chef's knife
  • Wooden spoon
  • Sieve