Menaica anchovies from Pisciotta

In the town of Marina di Pisciotta, near Salerno, you can buy straight from the fishermen little jars of anchovies known as “di menaica”, which have a very high quality white nearly pink meat with a special intense and delicate flavour. Anchovies di menaica are different even in the way they’re fished. The fishing ritual is practiced only by a small fleet of gozzi in Marina di Pisciotta and goes back to ancient times and remains intact through the centuries. During the night, under the stars, when the sea is calm, the fishermen go out on their gozzi and through their nets called “menaiche” they only catch the larger anchovies that die losing blood in the sea water. The fishermen delicately pull the nets by hand and pick the fish one by one out of the meshes, removing heads and entrails. Anchovies are put in wooden boxes without refrigerating means and are worked straight away in the first hours of the morning. They’re washed in brine and carefully put in enameled clay jars that can only contain a few kilos each. In the past when there was more fish it was put in “terzarole”, big wooden barrels. After been covered and pressed with stones the anchovies have to age for at least six months. Anchovies di Menaica are a result of an excellent culture interaction with the territory that has kept unaltered the skills necessary to keep all the necessary stages of production