Can you eat the head and guts of anchovies?
I read that you shouldn't eat fish guts and other parts because (a) fish guts have the fish stool, maybe poisonous, and (b) fish guts can affect the flavour.
I bought some dried small anchovies and some slightly bigger ones (though still small compared to most fish). The small ones are in the top right of the pic, and the larger ones on the bottom shelf:
I notice that if I break the small ones there are some black things inside (I'm guessing it's the stomach). It's all very small and I'm not sure how I'd go about removing the stomach.
Should the small ones be eaten with the stomach or is there some way to remove it? Does the same apply to the slightly bigger ones?
Best Answer
Just eat them
No need to do anything special with them, they're a tasty snack. Heads, bones, fins, all is good. They wouldn't be sold as snack foods if they weren't fully fit for consumption.
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Quick Answer about "Can you eat the head and guts of anchovies?"
Most recipes will tell you to always gut the anchovies before making broth and take the head off. Taking the gut out is necessary only if the fish is really big (around 3 inch or bigger) otherwise, it's totally fine to use the whole thing.Do you eat anchovy head?
No need to do anything special with them, they're a tasty snack. Heads, bones, fins, all is good. They wouldn't be sold as snack foods if they weren't fully fit for consumption.Are you supposed to eat the whole anchovy?
Salt-packed anchovies are sold whole, so you have to fillet them and discard the spines. Remember when using them in recipes that each anchovy is two anchovy fillets.Should anchovies be gutted?
Anchovies may be a high sodium food, which increases the risk of developing high blood pressure. They may also be contaminated with domoic acid, and eating raw anchovies may lead to parasitic infections.DRIED ANCHOVIES
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Answer 2
They're fine to eat. In fact, we often go overboard when it comes to what is fit to eat and what is not, to the detriment of nutrition: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/study-ikan-bilis-is-good-for-you-but-dont-clean-them#5qBsLwP31ZUFVi0r.97
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