Nettuno Colatura Anchovy Sauce – Cetara, Campania, Italy - 3.3 oz

Most Colatura di Alici is little more than insipid salt broth with less character than a cheap bottle of Vietnamese fish sauce. It’s so easy to get swindled purchasing these adorable little colorfully-labeled bottles of expensive elixir -- especially since there is a LOT of profit to be made exploiting consumers’ ignorance of the product. This review will tell you what you need to know. Let’s start with perfection and then work backward to show you how some manufacturers corrupt it into a lesser product with a higher profit margin. The highest quality colatura di alici uses only fresh-caught anchovies that are individually beheaded and eviscerated by hand without damaging the skin or flesh, carefully layered inside a small wood barrel in a cross-stack pattern with just the right amount of good-quality sea salt between each layer, and carefully weighted using a tamper that leaves the edges open to the air. This barrel is then placed in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room to age for many months, during which time the clean flesh of the anchovy is transformed by the mineral-rich sea salt into an umami factory from which precious colatura leaches out into the surrounding salt. The precise stacking pattern of the fish and salt in the barrel creates a natural filter through which gravity pulls the colatura until it reaches the bottom. Once there, it ages slowly for about a year to a year and a half. Then a tiny hole is made in the bottom of the barrel and the aged colatura slowly drips into a glass jar. Because of the gentle manufacturing, filtering, and aging processes it is not over-saturated with salt, therefore no salt precipitates out into the liquid and no residual salt can enter the collection jar. This is perfected colatura di alici -- the naturally-leaked extract of anchovies. By contrast, the lowest quality colatura dumps massive quantities of whole anchovies -- heads and guts intact -- into huge mixers that churn it together with 50-pound bags of salt and some water to accelerate the process, and then dump the whole mess into massive containers of concrete or stainless steel. They let this sit for a few weeks at whatever temperature the season provides, and then they process the product by combining whatever runs off from the solids with a lot of extra water and shovelfuls of the now-pinkish salt from the container. The finished product has so much extra salt in it that it precipitates out into the bottle. And while the finished product tastes like it was derived, after a fashion, from anchovies, it is a flat, single-note flavor profile with very little complexity and so much salinity that the salt is all you will think about. This is low-quality colatura di alici -- the over-salted, watered-down forced extract of anchovies, their bitter gills, and the acrid fecal waste stored in their intestines. Most colatura di alici falls somewhere between these two extremes. The difference in the finished dish of food is remarkable, and instantly tells you that the additional money you spent on the top quality stuff was more than worth it -- especially if, like me, you’ve tried a few of them side by side, both by themselves and in expertly-prepared cuisine. The winner, hands down, was Nettuno. I had already seen their entire production process on video (go to their website and see for yourself) after I had researched colatura di alici in general, and was impressed with the old-world handcrafting and attention to each individual fish of the millions they process each year. My first side-by-side comparison was Nettuno against Sapori Di Mare. I bought the Sapori product from another vendor for $17.98 (includes shipping), and I bought the Nettuno product from Amazon for $32.25 (includes shipping). The difference in price for the Nettuno was 1.8 times that for the Sapori, but the difference in flavor was infinitely more than that. So much so that it provoked a “Wow!” from me. I don’t feel like I wasted my money on the Sapori product, but I will not be purchasing it again because the Nettuno is such better flavor and complexity. The Sapori product had two indications that it was not as high a quality product as the Nettuno: precipitated salt (a lot of it) and “water” in the list of ingredients. Both of these were readily apparent the moment I followed up a taste of a few drops of the Sapori with an equal amount of the Nettuno. So that’s the story of why not all Colatura di Alici is the same, what to look for when judging the product, and a go-to brand choice (Nettuno) if you’re in a hurry and just want the best you’re most likely to get for under fifty bucks. I hope this helps. By the way, here’s a recipe of mine you may like: 1 egg yolk 1 teaspoon Colatura di Alici 1 teaspoon roasted garlic, mashed to a paste 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Half teaspoon aged balsamic vinegar 1 teaspoon chopped Italian parsley Quarter cup (loose) grated Pecorino Romano Quarter teaspoon freshly and finely ground black pepper In a mixing bowl, stir the ingredients with a fork to combine. Boil 2 ounces of spaghetti or spaghettini (secco, not fresca) just to al dente and then immediately drain -- retaining a little of the cooking water back in the boiling pot -- and add the pasta to the mixing bowl containing the sauce ingredients. Using the same fork, swirl and toss the pasta in the sauce until it thickens and coats all the pasta. Add VERY LITTLE cooking water, if necessary, to thin it to a manageable consistency. Plate, and then scrape the remaining sauce from the mixing bowl over the pasta. Grate over some additional Pecorino Romano and then serve immediately.

This stuff is the real deal. It is very different than asian fish sauce (which i also love) This has a more of umami "punch". But not overboard at all. Great packaging. This firm has the best quality products

The BEST anchovy sauce on the market. All Italian, all the time. A WONDERFUL addition to our Italian dishes. Check it out!

Other fish sauces just taste like salt, but this has all the flavor and scent of pure Italian anchovies. Worth the price!

I have ordered this colatura several times: It is simply the best on the market today and straight from the Amalfi Coast. You can learn more about colatura and even get a couple of secret recipes from the seller's website (which I recommend)! Lastly, a word of praise about the seller themselves: they are just a great, humble and friendly company to work with. Their products are always genuine, always fresh and packed with care. Can't ask for much more these days. Give this sauce a shot and take a look at Gustiamo's website for some other awesome products!

Delicious - Vendor sent handwritten note thanking me. It's like shopping at one of your local shops. A lot of care in product and with customer.

This truly adds an exceptional umami flavor to simple olive oil based pasta sauces. When added to garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, parsley, breadcrumbs, there is no fishy taste. Warning, do not smell the bottle.

The product came perfectly packed. The company that makes the sauce has a website that describes the process of how it is made and how to use it. I have had anchovy sauce at fine italian restaurants, and love its extra kick. You can by olive oil for 10 dollars or for fifty dollars. I can taste the difference and I know when you should use a high quality olive oil. If you cannot, don't buy this product. If you do enjoy high quality olive oil, splurge on this sauce. You will be very pleased. The retailer is from the Bronx. In the sixties, I had the good fortune of going see the Yankees (including Mantle, Marris, Ford and Yogi). Support small business owners, like Gustiamo.