I had no idea Worcestershire sauce was made with anchovies. Learn something new every day...

I am not a fan of anchovies, but Worcestershire sauce is bad ass.

@wickedpixel: Same here. I also had no idea there was a market for 5 lb. tubs of cheese spread.

@Coles_Law: It's also in Caesar dressing. Sneaky fish!

Fun fact: Cheez Whiz contains anchovies.

I've been a vegetarian for half of my life... I'm well aware the Worsececestorsursurshire Sauce has anchovies in it, so I never buy anything with it listed.

If I found out I had something with anchovies in it and didn't realize it, I would be soooooooooo pissed off.

@corbyz:"I'm a level 5 vegan -- I won't eat anything that casts a shadow."

@Canino:

Does that mean you can only eat at noon?

@CubeRat:

Maybe he's a vampire and only eats at night.

@wickedpixel: It has a pretty interesting history... esp. the part where they stuck the first version in a basement, waited a few years, tasted it again and voila!

[en.wikipedia.org]

@wickedpixel: Yeppers! They leave the anchovies in the fermenting sauce long enough for the fish to dissolve, bones and all.

I wonder if it's still OK to eat Mrs. Grissom?

I was audited by the IRS last year for "undeclared anchovies." Of course, it was only one tin of anchovies and was priceless (and apparently delicious).

@Coles_Law: Oh, dude, there's a local bar that everyone calls "the cheese bar" (it's really called Ray's Castle Patio ... there is no Ray, no Castle, and no Patio). They sell 5-lb. tubs of cheese spread that people out of town BEG you to bring when you come visit. And it's really that good.

@nakedscience: Nah, see, like a lot of people, you were probably exposed to anchovies straight up, which is just the wrong way to introduce someone to a flavor like that. You gotta start with sauces and other dishes containing anchovies, then work towards the fish.

The ways I sees it, everyone likes anchovies, but only some of us know about it. Being allergic is no excuse, it just means you *shouldn't* eat them, not that you don't want to!

@ludwigk: Well, it's not the taste, it's the texture -- same reason I don't like mushrooms. If a mushroom is, say, on my pizza, I have no problems picking it off, I just gag at the weird texture (either slimy or soft or just ugh!). Anchovies are slimy and ugugugugug. This is why I like Worcestershire -- all the goodness without the ick. lol.

@Saboth: Sorry, it's a line from the Simpsons, didn't realize it was that obscure.

@halloweenjack: Better buy her a couple drinks first, then use some sweet talk. ;)

@wickedpixel: if you're inclined, try out a bottle of vietnamese fish sauce, which incidentally tastes nothing like fish.
it's made of sardines and other things and provides a very distinct and earthy plavor to almost anything.

So, was the problem that it didn't list "anchovies" as an ingredient, or that it didn't list "Worcester Sauce" as an ingredient? I don't think it's as egregious if it is the former rather than the latter, but I agree that the sub-ingredients of Worcester sauce should have been printed on the label.

Damn Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ruined the idea of good-tasting anchovies for an entire generation. Anchovies - an admittedly acquired taste - can be delicious, especially on pizza.

@Canino: I thought the quotes made it pretty clear it was a reference to something, but I guess people got distracted by thinking of anchovies.

I should have guessed it was the Simpsons..... though for some reason I imagined it being on Seinfeld.

This is what happens when you spend too much time reading the FDA recalls page! That site is addictive. Luckily, I don't have any food allergies, or I'd be even more hooked on it. Seems like most of the recalls are allergy or labeling related.

Suddenly, crazy Al says, "S-say, Don, there sure is something familiar about that bowling ball." To which a terrified Don replies, "Oh my God! That bowling ball! It's my wife!" And the lesson we learn from this story is, next time you place your order,don't forget to say, "No anchovies please."

@wickedpixel: Oh yeah. You can get a vegetarian version though.

@CubeRat: I think it means you can only eat completely transparent food.

Incidents like this are why only a minority of the consumers who buy Kosher-certified food are actually people who observe kashrut (the laws of kosher) - mostly it's people who want to be 100% the ingredients label is right.

"Undeclared Anchovies" would be an awesome name for a band.

Really, I'm sure it says "worcestershire sauce" on the list of ingredients. If someone were looking out for their allergies, wouldn't they already know not to have worcestershire sauce?

@MooseOfReason: I'm deathly allergic to fish... I also did not know that worchestershire sauce had anchovies in it until I had to hit myself with an epipen and go to the ER a few years ago...

I was eating some chocolate-covered pretzels from Target (Archer Farms brand) and looked at the label to find that they had anchovies in them. Watch out... it happens!

@Tony Webster: Did it say "may contain anchovies"?

@MooseOfReason: I enjoy seeing labels referencing the possibility that it may contain ingrediants with no relation to the product itself whatsoever simply because that something is mad in the same factory or with the same machinery.

Things completely random like, "This bread may contain leprachaun blood and childrens tears".

Eh, you get the idea.

I love anchovies!

Just wanted to give credits to the "Lagniappe" tag.