The anchovy is a small, slender, silver-blue forage fish (above all the European anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus) that swims in vast shoals through the Mediterranean and the cold Cantabrian Sea. Eaten fresh it is a delicate, oily little fish, but its true fame comes from salt: cured for months in barrels, it transforms into one of the most concentrated savoury seasonings in the kitchen — soft, coppery-pink, intensely briny and deeply umami. A single fillet melts into a sauce and disappears, leaving only a profound savoury depth, which is why the anchovy is less an eating fish than a hidden engine of flavour behind garum, colatura, Worcestershire sauce and Caesar dressing.