Salted Anchovies Colatura from Cetara by Nettuno

Colatura di alici - Salted Anchovy Sauce, is a highly concentrated saline mixture derived by the drippings of the anchovies packed in wood barrels with salt. Traditional of the villages along the coast of Campania, whose inhabitants have been producing colatura for centuries and traditionally exchanged it in phials at Christmas time as a sign of friendship, colatura has gradually become a connoisseur item for its extremely rich fish flavor that adds an intense accent to all dishes. Colatura dates back to Roman times when the name for it was "garum", a precious salty fish sauce made in innumerable variations, both simple and refined. Considered today a culinary tradition worth being preserved (Slow Food included colatura in his Presidio of foods in risk of extinction) a growing number of anchovies lovers has set out to search for the best expressions of this culinary Italian tradition. Our colatura comes from the village of Cetara, a steep Mediterranean fishing village on the coast of Campania, whose economy solely depends on the the village anchovy fishing activity. The anchovies fished on this area of the Medittearranean Sea are particularly small and flavorful and make an exceptional colatura. A distinctive mark of authentic colatura is that the anchovies packed in salt are placed in special wooden barrels, made by the last artisans of the area such as the ones used to make the colatura we carry. Colatura is an historical Mediterranean flavor worth bringing back to enhance all dishes - from antipasti to entrees.