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 anchovy sauce is the highest quality product I have ever found. This is the real deal with flavor that elevates every food I have applied it to. You cannot go wrong with Nettuno Colatura.

This stuff was simply amazing. Not too fishy just the umami I wanted for my Spaghetti con la Colatura di Alici (Pasta With Colatura) . Worth every single penny

Oh my gosh. This is SOOOOOO good. Not overpowering, but definitely adds a boost to so many things. It's become one of my favorite go-to's in the kitchen.

I spent some time in Salerno, Italy, near Cetara. Everyone acknowledged Nettuno was the best colatura there is. Even the shops that sold other brands. I have tried the others. This is just… better. Delizioso! Also, Gustiamo is fantastic. A great seller with a wonderful catalog of Italian foods and ingredients to.

Excellent flavor! This is a high quality Colatura. A little goes a long way. I also love that this is a small business. I highly recommend this sauce.

Yummy!!! Finally opened up my bottle and it’s so delicious! Here’s what I made. Heat oven to 400. Get a whole head of cauliflower, remove leaves, salt and pepper the underside (get it down in the stems) and set aside. Use an oven safe pan, I used a cast iron pan. Splash about 1 tablespoon of anchovy sauce and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan. Remove skins and slice in half 2 cloves of garlic and place in pan. Place the whole head on top of garlic pieces. Drizzle olive oil over the top of cauliflower and generously salt and pepper it. Then, cover whole the pain in aluminum foil. No need to poke holes. Set on middle rack and cook for 1 hour. After 1 hour take foil off and test doneness with knife or fork. No resistance it’s done! Optional: broil uncovered for 3-5 minutes or until you like the char on top. After out of the oven butter the top if you like! Cut up like pie wedges and enjoy! This anchovy sauce permeates the cauliflower and it was so divine!!

I've heard of Colatura di alici before, but never had it. Researching, this seemed like the best one. But since I'm a religious user of Red Boat Fish Sauce, I decided to give this a try, despite the expense. Shipping was fast, and it was very well packed, with a nice handwritten note included. Yes, is is a very small bottle, so don't be surprised! I did a taste test side by side with Red Boat... Netunno was light clear brown, compared to the more soy sauce color of RB. Netunno was also milder, less funky on the nose. Tasewise, they are both excellent, but different. Netunno immediately reminded me of Parmigiana Reggiano, with only moderate fish sauce flavor. Red Boat is more intense fish sauce flavor and saltier (although they are both salty). I could see why Netunno would be good on a simple pasta dish and I'm looking forward to trying that. Given the expense, it won't replace Red Boat for most applications (it is my secret ingredient in my spicy pizza sauce).