# Anchovies, sardines, herring, surströmming, and other fishy treats **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 18, 2023, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347 "2023-11-18T23:16:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/21 "2023-11-19T03:06:11Z")
I love anchovies. I made buttered toasted French bread topped with anchovies and a poached egg a few weeks ago. It was great! I liked pickled herring but sort of OD-ed on it a long time ago. I might try some with sour cream again and see how I like it now. Can’t stand sardines, one of the very few foods I can’t tolerate. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/22 "2023-11-19T03:15:40Z")
Yay (?), I get to tell another fish story from my past. When I was in first grade, I **loved** sardines on Ritz crackers. My mom, loving parent that she is, sent me to school one day with sardines and crackers in my lunch box. We usually ate outside on the playground when the weather was good, so no problem bothering anyone else with my food (or more likely them teasing me about my weird food; I have another story about bulgogi for that). I couldn’t quite finish the whole tin, though, so I decided to save the rest for later and put them back in my lunch box. The teacher hunted down my lunch box a couple of hours later as the smell slowly permeated the classroom. My mom was asked not to send me to school with sardines again. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/23 "2023-11-19T03:29:00Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I love the chovies and gotta have em on my pizza. Yes, but SWMBO forbids putting anchovies on my pizza. Just cooking the on my slices imparts the taste to her slices. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/24 "2023-11-19T03:30:17Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > I’m not going to get a whole pizza for myself. With all due respect, you are … wrong. Leftover pizza is a mouthwateringly delicious breakfast. (Also, more than once in my life I have conceded to the indignity of getting a pizza with anchovies on only half, which may be culinarily disturbing but which can solve some social problems.) Also, anchovies are great because [umami](https://www.americastestkitchen.com/cookscountry/how_tos/8173-getting-to-know-umami-powerhouses#). ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/25 "2023-11-19T03:33:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Yes, but SWMBO forbids putting anchovies on my pizza. Just cooking the on my slices imparts the taste to her slices. ☹ I assume that you keep the oil from your jars/tins of anchovies for drizzling over things like anchovy deficient pizza slices? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/26 "2023-11-19T03:34:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Just cooking the on my slices imparts the taste to her slices. Well, there is the problem! You never put them on till the pizza comes out of the oven and cools a little. Cooking ruins them. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/27 "2023-11-19T03:41:27Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I kind of like the canned sardines as is. But what I’ve discovered is that if you squeeze a generous amount of lemon juice onto it, it reaches another whole level of deliciousness. I agree, although I’m more partial to putting on a few dashes of a good, high vinegar or citric acid hot sauce instead. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/28 "2023-11-19T03:45:32Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Cooking ruins them. I disagree. But on the other hand, I like eating them from the tin. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/29 "2023-11-19T04:42:47Z")
Anchovies! Yummy! Apart from pizza topping, they’re wonderful in pasta sauce. I still remember the first time I had pasta Puttanesca. And a few days ago I found a tube of anchovy paste. Mix some with a little butter, spread it on toast, put a slice of cheese on top to melt in the toaster oven–a quick anchovy cheese toast fix. The ancient Romans were supposedly big anchovy fans. Somewhere in my recipe files I have a NY Times clipping of a recipe for lamb with rosemary and anchovies that according to the article originated two thousand years ago. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/30 "2023-11-19T04:56:06Z")
Anchovies in caesar salad- yes! On pizza? Well, okay, but the smell will flavor everyone else’s pizza. I occasionally like sardines on toast or crackers. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/31 "2023-11-19T05:04:18Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > but the smell will flavor everyone else’s pizza. Hence, SWMBO’s prohibition. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/32 "2023-11-19T05:12:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Hence, SWMBO’s prohibition. Huh??? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/33 "2023-11-19T05:16:17Z")
SWMBO prohibits me from A) Ordering a pizza with ½ anchovies; and B) Putting anchovies on my half of a pizza when I make one at home. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/34 "2023-11-19T06:05:50Z")
After unhappily eating cheese or veggie pizza that was swimming in pork grease from the pepperoni and sausage on Mr. Legend’s side, I heartily approve her prohibition. We solve the problem by ordering separate pizzas from the two places in town that sell tiny pizzas that serve 1-2 people. As for canned fish, we had workmen here remodeling our bathroom for the past two weeks. They always ate their lunches out on the porch, although I’m civilized and invited them to come eat inside. This past Tuesday, one of them asked if I had a can opener he could use, and I showed him where it was; he and his co-worker opened cans at lunch for the rest of the week. Mr. Legend saw our food-mad cat dancing around the co-worker as he was opening a can one day, weaving between his feet and reaching up to the counter (he’s a very long cat), just like he does when I’m getting his food ready. When Mr. Legend passed them on the porch at lunchtime the next day, they offered him a sardine. I’m not sure if they were joking or not - don’t canned fish come in pull-tab cans? But if they really were opening cans of fish all week, I don’t think they realize how lucky they were to get out of the kitchen without being mugged by a cat! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/35 "2023-11-19T06:26:01Z")
I’ve had anchovy pizza a few times, and the first was - are you ready for this? - from Domino’s when I lived in my old town. We ordered pizza one weekend day, and another pharmacist ordered one with anchovies because he knew he could get it there. The local Domino’s doesn’t offer anchovies, because they don’t have enough demand for them. My dad (RIP) loved sardines but had to give them up, or at least not eat a whole can in one sitting, after he developed gout. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/36 "2023-11-19T09:24:47Z")
I like rollmops and _maatjes_. But as for pickled fish overall, [Cape Malay pickled fish](https://myanosmickitchen.com/pickled-fish/) outshines all European-styled picked fish. Curry spices and battered fish make it distinctly different (And superior!) Smoked and dried fish, usually snoek, is a big local tradition. I grew up with a butterflied salt snoek hanging on the kitched door, that you could cut little strips off of if you asked nicely. Replaced every couple of weeks by my uncle, who captained a fishing boat. Used to also eat our traditional dried mullet, _[bokkoms]_([Bokkoms - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokkoms)), before they became unsustainable. Portuguese-style _sardinhas assadas_ are also a thing in my family. Usually after the annual sardine run, visiting family in Durban. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/37 "2023-11-19T14:44:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > > Hence, SWMBO’s prohibition. > > Huh??? She Who Must Be Obeyed? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/38 "2023-11-19T14:56:11Z")
I sometimes make a quick pasta sauce by just dumping a tin of anchovies into a hot pan, sauteeing some chopped onion, green pepper, and garlic in the accompanying olive oil, and then stirring in some crushed or diced tomatoes. Yum! 🥰 And you can’t make a seafood pizza without anchovies! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/39 "2023-11-19T14:57:11Z")
I love anchovies. I love pickled fish of all types. I love salt cod, which I’ve used to make accras. Canned sardines are great, but I once had a plated single huge sardine, head on, as an appetizer at a Moroccan restaurant in Marigot, St Martin. It had a very subtle sardine taste and was easy to eat with a knife and fork. A guy orders a pizza with anchovies. When it is finished he comments on how few anchovies are on the pie. The cook replies, “of course, nobody likes anchovies”. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2023, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347/40 "2023-11-19T15:03:02Z")
My favorite sardines (Riga brand) come from Latvia. They’re packed in tons of oil, which I love. They literally melt in your mouth. I once bought a tin of anchovies in Riga, thinking I would use them in a Caesar salad. I don’t remember which Baltic country they were from, but it turned out they were pickled instead of salted. They didn’t taste _bad_, but they certainly weren’t the anchovies I was used to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anchovies-sardines-herring-surstromming-and-other-fishy-treats/993347.md?page=3)