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Colatura di Alici, or anchovy juice, is a high-quality Italian fish sauce made by processing anchovies from the Mediterranean Sea, and aging it to obtain a deep, rich umami taste. During Ancient Roman times, Sicilian fishermen made their living by selling salted anchovies. During the salting process, the fishermen would collect the juice that ran from the press, and saved it for personal use. They called this extract Colatura di Alici.

The word colatura is derived form the Italian verb colare, meaning to tickle or filter, as in the filtered juice of anchovies that trickles out of the bottom of the barrel. Colatura di Alici is a transparent amber-colored liquid that is produced by a traditional maturation process. The selected fresh anchovies are cleaned by hand, covered in salt, stacked and weighted. After 45 days, all of the collected liquid is filtered several times until a transparent amber liquid is produced. This fragrant liquid is rich with the scents of the sea. This special condiment is still used in cooking today as a substitute for salt and to enhance the flavor of fish. The secret to using the Colatura is less is more. It is very concentrated, so a little goes a long way.

Recommended Use: Drizzle colatura over fish, pasta, salads, and vegetables. Add to soups and stews, or use it in meat and/or fish marinades. Add to any tomato sauce for additional flavor. Use within Caesar salad dressing to add more flavor.