Cantabrian Anchovies in Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Casa Santoña
Highlights:
Selected anchovies: Carefully hand-selected, our anchovies come from the purest, clearest waters, ensuring unrivaled quality.
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Immerse yourself in the smooth, balanced flavor of our organic extra virgin olive oil, which enhances the intensity and freshness of the anchovies.
Artisanal process: Made using artisanal methods passed down from generation to generation, our anchovies are a testament to culinary mastery and dedication to excellence.
How to enjoy them:
These anchovies in organic extra virgin olive oil are perfect for elevating your dishes with their unique flavor and tender texture. Pair them with crisp toast, fresh salads, or simply enjoy them on their own for an exceptional gourmet experience.
Organic benefits:
By choosing these Anchovies in Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, you are also contributing to a sustainable lifestyle. Our commitment to organic production respects the environment and guarantees the freshness and purity of its products.
Technical sheet:
Characteristics: Net weight: 115 g // Drained weight: 80 g / 10 fillets.
Ingredients: Anchovies (FISH) (Engraulis Encrasicolus), sunflower oil and salt.
Producer: Casa Santoña
Location: Guadarrama (Madrid)
Nutritional Information for Bonito del Norte (per 100gr, drained)
- Energy value 192 Kcal
- Fat 6.75g
- Carbohydrates 7.44g
- Protein 25.30g
- Salt 9.10g
Allergens: may contain traces of fish
Keep refrigerated
Best before: 6 months after production
Made in Spain pairing: Ideal in salads and on crackers as an appetizer. And, of course, we can pair them with a good white wine, Penedés, Verdejo, Albariño, or why not a premium cava, a vermouth or a frizzante such as La Mundial, all of which you will find at Made in Spain Store.
Santoña: world capital of Premium Anchovies
The seaside town of Santoña is located in western Cantabria. It is known as the birthplace of Juan de la Cosa, navigator for Christopher Columbus on his voyages to America (not the comedian), for its natural treasures such as the Santoña Marshes and Berria beach, and for its historic buildings, including the forts of San Martín, San Carlos and Napoleón, and the church of the Virgen del Puerto. However, whenever someone says its name, the immediate response is: Bring me anchovies! Without a doubt, this product has achieved a fame that extends beyond Spain’s borders and appears on the menus of the finest restaurants around the world. No visitor leaves Santoña without taking anchovies back home, but how are they made and sent from Santoña to the rest of the world if we are not visiting this seaside town?
In the 19th century, when salted fish was scarce in southern Italy, a group of Sicilian adventurers arrived in Santoña and some decided to stay, creating the main canning industry in northern Spain. They brought with them a new technique, salting, mainly for preparing “bocarte,” as the anchovy is known at origin. This method consisted of removing the heads from the anchovies, placing them in barrels with salt, and leaving them pressed for between four and six months, a process known as maturation.
Anchovy production process
Selection
Upon arrival at port, the freshest fish and the most suitable size are selected and then purchased at the fish market auctions.
Quality
When the fish arrives at the factory, it undergoes quality control. If it passes, it is salted in suitable containers to achieve rapid dehydration and bleeding.
“Alla vera carne”
Once salted, the fish is headed and gutted, then arranged as quickly as possible in plastic barrels in alternating layers of fish and sea-salt from saltworks. It can also be pressed in salting tins with just the right amount of salt, a method known as “Alla vera carne”.
Transformation
When the salted anchovy has reached the optimum degree of maturation and the appropriate organoleptic characteristics (texture, aroma, pink color and flavor), it is transformed into anchovy fillets. This key decision in the process is made by the master salter
Scalding, trimming and dehydration
The skin is removed by scalding the fish, and the belly section and tail are trimmed. The anchovy is then dehydrated by centrifugation or with cloths to obtain the correct moisture level.
Filleting
In this process, the anchovy is manually separated into its two muscular sections along the backbone, producing two fillets. Small bones, as well as any remaining skin, are removed, and the fillets are carefully and neatly packed.