The Basque Cantabrian Anchovy y is a variety of fish that, depending on the time it is caught, can vary in size. For many years, in this species as in many others, it is not allowed to catch fish that are too small. With this limitation, the aim is for the species to continue to grow correctly and not to break this stage before time.

Standard size

Regarding the size of the fresh anchovy it is important to say that it is more a matter of aesthetics than of taste. In the case of canning companies, they usually go in search of larger sized anchovies since the salting process reduces the size of these fish. Moreover, the larger the anchovies are, the more beautiful they are on the plate.

However, the fishmongers or supermarkets that make these products do not usually pay so much attention to size, as they usually choose standard-size anchovies (between 36 and 45 grains per kg). These are the intermediate size between the largest and smallest and are the ones used for cooking.

Therefore, it is convenient to clarify that, although visually they always attract more the fillets of the big anchovies, the size of this variety does not affect the final taste of the product, so when you go to buy fresh anchovies it is not of vital importance to buy by size, but by its origin and quality.