Who knew canned anchovies could go bad?!!

[csziggy]

It's been months since my husband and I had pizza. Since we're going out of town Friday and had used up our leftovers I decided that tonight would be a good pizza night. I had the crusts ready with sauce and cheese. I'd found a container of my husband's favorite pizza toppings in the freezer that needed to be used and got out one of the two cans of anchovies in the pantry for my pizza.

I opened the can a little and dripped the oil all over my pizza before pulling the top off completely to get the anchovies out. A little oil kind splushed out, but anchovy cans do that. The kicker was that the fish fillets did not look right - they were all shrunken and not the right color. We checked the can still in the pantry - it was bulging badly. I smelled the can - but how do you tell if anchovies have gone off?

Rather than take a chance on the anchovies being bad, I threw out my pizza and the unopened can of anchovies.

At least I had a salad for dinner and that was certainly healthier for me. But I am still craving an anchovy pizza...

[angstlessk]

1. Sea what happens when you put fish on a perfectly good pizza?

Hell, if the anchovies were good, the pizza would still be ruined

[CanonRay]

2. Completely and medically correct!

No such thing as a fish pizza. Get some good Italian Sausage and forget the fish.

[csziggy]

4. My husband always complains about my dead fish pizzas

I don't eat them nearly as often now as when I was doing hard physical labor in Florida summer heat, but I still get a craving every once in a while.

My husband likes sausage, hamburger and tons of other stuff on his pizza so we don't share - I can't eat sausage any more. Even pepperoni doesn't agree with me any more.

Maybe I should try the combo a college roommate loved - Canadian bacon and mushrooms. Her cat would sneak up and steal all the mushroom - we never figured that one out.

[angstlessk]

6. I love the Hawaiian with ham and pineapple or, my fave

Vegetarian pizza...it is a juicy sucker, and does well overnight...when the pepperoni and sausage dry up, the tomatoes and onions juice it up even more!

[csziggy]

9. I'm not much for pineapple

And really haven't experimented much with different kinds of pizza. For almost forty years we have lived where there is no food delivery (well, we did get our horse feed delivered, but that is different). That means pizza is either a dinner out, frozen, or home made. Frozen usually isn't worth the energy to heat up the oven. Home made means planning all the ingredients - like cooking up a batch of what my husband likes, dividing it up into pizza size portions and freezing what won't get used right away.

One of the places a group I hang with has chicken margarita pizza - white sauce, sliced tomatoes, chicken pieces and some cheese. I like that better than anything else on the menu and generally bring home half of the 6" pizza.

I guess I need to experiment more.

[politicat]

23. Got a grill?

Even frozen pizza turns slightly magical on the (gas, in our case) grill. We have an unglazed floor tile (42.49 at the home improvement store) that I use as a baking stone. No heating the house, and lovely little crispy bits. Faster, too. 5 minutes to preheat, 5-7 to bake, 2 to cool down enough to eat without burns.

[csziggy]

29. We've got a charcoal grill my husband's brother gave us

When he upgraded to a propane. We've had it over a year and never even bought charcoal for it.

I don't like flames - had third degree burns once - so we have nothing but electric appliances in the house and I am not thrilled about using a grill at all. I do love grilled stuff, but only when other people do the grilling. If my husband were interested, I'd let him get a propane one, but he's not into it at all.

[longship]

18. Pineapple? What's next? Candy bars on pizza?

Fruit does not belong on pizza. (Except tomato, that is.)

I like thick crust, lots of toppings, and -- yes!! -- anchovies. Mushrooms are a must. And I like fennel sausage, too, if it's available.

Eat! Enjoy! Even pineapple, if you insist.



Nom! Nom! Nom!

[angstlessk]

20. Except for fish on your pizza, I would eat a slice or two..

Hell, malted milk balls on a pizza? yum, yum!

[longship]

21. Hell, I like malted milk balls. Just not on pizza, or anything like pizza.

Spaghetti maranara with malted milk balls?

Sheesh!

[Dale Neiburg]

26. I've never known a cat...

that didn't go for canned mushrooms!

[jberryhill]

3. Just put pepperonis in your armpits and work out

Boom - instant anchovies. Your guests will never know the difference.

I learned that from my manager at Domino's years ago.

[csziggy]

5. Hmmm - maybe that is why the pizzas from Domino's were always weird!

One of my roommates worked at Domino's back in the 1970s. The only time she'd let me order an anchovy pizza was just before they closed - so the ovens didn't smell like dead fish. The benefit was that she'd bring it home with her and I'd get her employee discount.

[2naSalit]

7. Boom!

Expertly employed!

[angstlessk]

8. I've had one of those pizzas, and a few hairs were still on the pizza!

What one learns online

[jberryhill]

12. We were required to shave our pits first

It was also a good way to make sure the pizza cutters were sharp.

[angstlessk]

15. Glad my nose was not stopped up!

or the loud guffaw would have cleared my sinuses all over my keyboard!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Don't they start out bad?

[csziggy]

13. That's the problem - how do you tell? nt

[procon]

11. There should be an expiry date on the can.

Good thing you were suspicious and tossed it.

[jberryhill]

14. Yes, but if the year is only two digits, it gets confusing

My pantry has its own y2k problem.

[csziggy]

16. The sell by date was March 2017 so I would have expected a couple of months grace period

I checked that before I opened the can - but didn't pay attention if the can I opened was bulging. The other can was purchased at the same time with the same expiry date and was bulging.

No way I'm taking a chance!

[Skittles]

22. I would not give fish any grace period

NO INDEED

[frazzled]

17. A bulging can is a big red warning sign

That the contents are bad--there's bacteria that will cause botulism. Throw it out immediately, regardless of date. I thought everyone knew this.

This may not even be an age issue, but rather a product or packaging issue.

[TreasonousBastard]

19. Properly processed cans should kill any botulitic bacteria, but processing...

equipment can screw up. Bon Vivant's was a rare case, but it did happen.

Anchovies, though, are imported and who knows how well the processing is done down there...

Scary, though. I've seen bulging cans and the feeling was the same as seeing a poisonous snake on the path.

[FSogol]

30. +1 n/t

[DFW]

24. I thought anchovies had to go bad before you are allowed to serve them in the first place

At least, that's what they smell like......

[PoliticAverse]

25. Bulging cans should be treated like toxic waste. It could have turned out worse...

you could have put pineapple on the pizza.

[4139]

27. Canning is not perfect, I've had canned French style green bean that...

We're moldy when I opened them, and two cans of herdez salsa that went 'poof' when I opened them.
And they were not passed the expiration date

[Croney]

28. My anchovies are in little glass bottles.

Cheerful standing soldiers waiting to be cut up and mixed into my cottage cheese for lunch today. But yes, bulging cans of anything must be thrown out.