Anchovies vs. Sardines: What's the Difference?

How to discern and cook with these two similar swimmers.

Little tinned fish — a tasty, briny delicacy enjoyed all over the world by pizza lovers, tapas restaurant patrons, and possibly by your dad in the garage, trying to spare the rest of the family the aroma from his fishy snack.

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Anchovies and sardines are the two most common fish found in these small, rectangular tins and, perhaps due to their packaging and proximity in stores, they're often mistaken for each other.

But while these fish share a host of similarities, starting with being sleek and silvery, they are most certainly different from one another.

Similar Swimmers

Both anchovies and sardines are small, slender, almost adorable, oily fish that school in large groups. Both live deep in the ocean away from shores and subsist on plankton. They have silvery scales with green and blue reflections, live short, industrious lives, and occupy waters in very large numbers, as they are essential food for so much of marine life. It's no wonder they're easily confused!

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Anchovies and sardines are extremely nutritious for the aquatic species that consume them and for us, boasting high amounts of iron, calcium, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids (that promote brain function and support heart health), as well as being low in mercury. These facts also make them an excellent choice during pregnancy, if you can stomach them at that time.

Another thing they have in common? These nutritious, affordable, shelf-stable flavor bombs are entirely underrated.

What Are Anchovies?

Anchovies exist in more than 100 different species. They prefer warmer waters, with some varieties that live in freshwater or brackish water, and are most easily identified by their pointy heads and large mouths — compared to a sardine's larger head and smaller mouth.

These petite fish average about 4 inches in length and are sold fresh, usually whole with their heads, or preserved. (Though, in Asia, dried anchovies are also quite common.) Finding them fresh, however, can be quite the task indeed, as the anchovies most of us have come to know are the skinned, broken-down filets packed in olive oil or salt for preservation. This treatment gives them a darker, reddish-brown or gray color and an almost hairy look about them.

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Getting anchovies into their tiny tin beds is quite the process. Usually, they endure a nine-month-long cure in a barrel before being pressed with bricks, allowing the bones to become soft enough to eat. Anchovies have white flesh, but the darkly hued filets in the tin are a result of the months of curing in brine, bringing with them a pop of salty flavor and a bit of a tougher texture.

White anchovies, or "boquerones" in Spain, are marinated filets with a creamy-white flesh, packed specifically to maintain their fresh color, usually in an oil and vinegar brine. The result is a much milder, clean flavor with a delicate hit of salt compared to their more heavily processed kin.

Anchovies provide a phenomenal boost of flavor, most commonly seen in dressings and sauces and on salads or pizza.

Related:How to Make Caesar Salad From Scratch

What Are Sardines?

Like anchovies, sardines are sold fresh or descaled, fileted, and preserved in olive oil, water, or even mustard sauce or hot sauce. Sardines are the more versatile choice of the two, their milder, rounded flavor lending itself well to just about everything.

Sardines are the slightly larger, chubbier cousins to anchovies, measuring in at 6-12 inches and living purely in temperate saltwater. Surprisingly, they're actually more closely related to herring. In fact, sardines can sometimes be called herring or sprat.

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Unlike anchovies, when sardines are canned, their skin and (usually) their heads are left intact, though the skin is easily removed. Their flesh remains lightly colored and though their flavor is also a pronounced one, they boast a flakier texture and delicate buttery undertone. The subtle saltiness gives it a close resemblance to the tuna it sits beside on grocery store shelves.

Can Anchovies and Sardines Be Used Interchangeably?

While a simple swap of one for the other isn't a hard and fast rule, anchovies and sardines can be interchangeable in certain instances. It all comes down to how they're used in the recipe at hand.

If you're grilling or frying fresh versions of either, go ahead and use whichever one you like. Both being oily in nature, they take on a lovely crispy texture.

Both fish are lovely on toast. If you prefer the flavor to be a bit brinier and more complex, choose sardines. If you'd like a stronger, bolder fish flavor with a larger punch of salt, go with anchovies.

However, if the dish calls for the most commonly seen variety of either, i.e. tinned, it's best not to deviate. Sardines in a tin are usually descaled but not deboned, are firmer in texture, and have a flavor more refined in nature. Tinned anchovies, on the other hand, are fully filleted and cured with salt, pack a bigger, more pungent punch of umami, and have a softer texture.

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Luckily, dishes that call for sardines tend to make it more of a star, whereas dishes that use anchovies employ it as more of a supporting role, a flavorful accent or garnish. So, swapping with anchovies would be a bad call indeed, as the replacement could easily become quite overpowering. A dark tuna packed in oil is a much more appropriate substitute for the flavor of sardines, or, if you can find white anchovies, those would work as well.

Conversely, sardines could be substituted ounce-for-ounce for anchovies, the result will just be much milder. In a sauce or other "non-filet" use, the best substitute for cured anchovies is anchovy paste, sold in stores near the tomato paste.

It’s also important to keep in mind that these two fish react differently to cooking. Sardines, being meatier, will hold up well, whereas an anchovy will melt away, hence their excellent performance as a savory accent. That luscious tang that makes Caesar dressing so addicting? It's thanks to anchovies. A sardine in its place would not only yield a much different flavor profile, but the texture would likely be an off-putting disaster.