Prized for its umami-rich profile, colatura di alici is an Italian fish sauce made from anchovies that have been salted and fermented in small oak barrels. It packs a potent amount of umami, with a definitive flavor of the sea. Its profile is nuanced, delivering a flavor boost that is both complex and delicate. Chefs today are leveraging the distinct flavor of colatura, adding it as a contrasting hit of flavor to meat-centric dishes, a finishing note to pasta and salad builds, and an intriguing dipping sauce to raw or cured seafood dishes, to name a few.

Jaysen Euler, vice president of culinary for Chicago-based Ballyhoo Hospitality, is a fan of colatura, calling out its ability to bring a unique flavor story to the menu. “Colatura has always been one of my favorite ingredients to use. With diners becoming more and more educated about food, I find that ingredients that may have been a turnoff in the past now appeal to diners looking to try new things,” he says. “Colatura is essentially a pressed anchovy juice aged in barrels and sea salt. The result is an Italian version of Asian fish sauce. It screams umami, packing a salty, oceanic punch without having a fishy taste.”

Read on for in-market examples of how chefs are exploring the singular flavor of colatura.

Flavors on the Edge is an ongoing series that explores emerging ingredients poised to become high-impact flavor builders.