It’s anchovy season here! Anchovy is a kind of fish living in Black Sea, which is called hamsi in Turkish. The size of anchovy shouldn’t mislead you in terms of its taste. Although it is very tiny and cheap, it has such an outstanding flavor that you can not compare it to any other kinds of fish. It is best enjoyed coated with cornflour and pan fried. But I love it in oven, too. You can find the recipe in my post titled Anchovy in Oven .
Autumn is the prime season of anchovy. Fishing is banned at the beginning of May as it is the time of fish migration and spawning. And this ban is lifted by September 1. The abundance of anchovies in Black Sea makes both fishermen and Turkish people very happy this year. The high number of anchovies makes them the cheapest fish at fish markets. As red meat has been very expensive since last year, people prefer to have chicken or legumes as protein source as these are decent in price. There is one more protein source for people now: anchovy. Not all fish kinds are as affordable as anchovies, so people rush to fish markets to buy anchovies. It costs about 3TL at black Sea region while it is about 5 TL in center Anatolia (including Eskişehir). Fishmongers are so pleased with the number of customers. They say that they earn much more from anchovies than they do from other kinds of fish. So it will result in a remarkable contribution to Turkey’s economy.
Go buy some anchovies and enjoy if it’s in season in your region too.
12 Comments on "Anchovy feast at fish markets"
I’m so jealous. I never see fresh anchovies! Pan fried on cornflour sounds delicious.
Where do you like ??? I have to look it up – I have wnated to eat Fresh Anchovies for 2 years now… black sea is in Eastern Europe, isn’t it? I am on it.
Valeire
Küçük diye bazıları mırın kırın eder ama, ennn sevdiğim balıktır. Tam mevsimi biz de bol bol alıyoruz…
yep. i recently today cooked hamsili pilav-anchovy rice,and still keep eating:)) it s very rich, full of vitamins, tasty and cheap..
Zerrin, hamsi is my favorite fish of all! I can’t trade it for any other fish for its outstanding taste! We were visiting Istanbul for a short time about 5 years ago, and while we were walking on the street we saw hamsi selling vendors. I wanted so badly to buy hamsi and cook it but didn’t have my kitchen:) Then I said to my husband, “oh, how do crave hamsi:(((” In the evening we were invited to our friends’ house and they made HAMSI! They didn’t know I craved it but there it was, my favorite fish:) baked and waiting for me. Eat lots of hamsi for me there, Zerrin’cim:)
I’ve never had fresh anchovies, Zerrin! I can imagine that I’m seriously missing out so I’ll defintely be on the lookout for them. They sound perfect coated in cornflour and pan-fried!
Love fresh anchovies but I do not get them too often. I hope you eat some for me. =)
That first photograph of all those silver fish was just beautiful! I love serving anchovies on top of my pizza, but I’ve never tried them fresh. Thank you for sharing…I need to find some soon!
Nice. I love anchovies. Kinda sucks that we sometimes can’t get fresh ones out here in the states. I guess it all comes down to where the fish mongers are.
I’ve never had fresh anchovies! Thanks for the post!
I’ve never had fresh anchovies but I’d love to try them. I imagine they’re very different from tinned ones, which I often find too overpowering.
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