00:00 Today, Captain Gilles and his crew are setting out to catch over 20,000 pounds of something
00:10 very valuable, anchovies.
00:13 But once the fish come out of the water, time is of the essence.
00:20 Since these anchovies stay fresh for only 24 hours, everyone must move quickly to set
00:26 them on ice and head back to the coast where buyers eagerly wait.
00:38 In Giulio's hands, they'll become even more valuable.
00:43 He will extract all the oil from the fish and make a sauce that is worth $160 per litre,
00:50 which is four times more expensive than other popular fish sauces.
00:55 But the process will take three years.
00:59 Giulio needs to collect the sauce drop by drop.
01:03 So how do all these little fish get turned into sauce?
01:07 And what makes it so expensive?
01:16 Local fishermen head out to sea between April and November.
01:21 After attracting the anchovies with lights, Captain Gilles and his crew use purse-sane
01:35 nets to catch them.
01:41 The tightly woven nets are designed to trap the anchovies without entangling them.
01:59 Because of how large the nets are, fishermen need to be highly experienced to use them
02:26 effectively.
02:27 To maintain the anchovies' quality and price tag, it's crucial that they don't get crushed
02:33 or damaged in any way.
02:42 The bigger the anchovy, the more oil it will release, which helps result in the most flavourful
03:00 sauce.
03:03 To catch the biggest fish possible, Captain Gilles combines what he's learned from his
03:08 father with new technology.
03:11 Echo sounders not only help locate anchovies, but confirm their exact size and weight.
03:18 Larger anchovies sell for between €25 and €30 per crate at Italian fish markets.
03:47 When it comes to making high-quality Colatura di Alici, the Italian name for anchovy sauce,
04:05 the freshness of the anchovy makes all the difference.
04:17 Giulio's family has been making Colatura di Alici since 1915.
04:23 This is what most of his mornings look like during anchovy season.
04:28 Giulio has just received this morning's catch.
04:54 Once the anchovies have been cleaned, they're placed inside barrels full of salt.
05:02 Giulio uses high-quality Italian salt from Sicily.
05:13 After 24 hours in the salt, the anchovies are ready to be preserved and pressed.
05:31 The anchovies are placed inside terzini, small barrels made from chestnut wood.
05:59 When the wood comes into contact with salt, it hardens, fully sealing the anchovies inside.
06:11 Each barrel fits about 50 to 60 anchovies, depending on the size of the fish.
06:17 Salt kick-starts the release of liquids inside the anchovies.
06:22 It takes three years and about 50 to 60 pounds of fresh anchovies to produce just a litre
06:28 of anchovy sauce.
06:31 Making Colatura di Alici is a meticulous and time-consuming process, but one he thoroughly
06:37 enjoys.
06:38 What really
07:05 brings the salt, anchovies and the barrel together is weighing everything down with
07:11 a heavy stone.
07:35 To check if the sauce is ready, Giulio will drill directly into the barrels.
07:58 The Colatura di Alici drips out of the barrel slowly.
08:02 This is when Giulio can confirm the quality of the colour and aroma.
08:26 There is no way Giulio can speed up the process if he doesn't want to ruin the sauce.
08:31 It must come out at its own pace, drop by drop.
08:37 This makes authentic Colatura di Alici a true investment and the intensive labour involved
08:43 in producing such small amounts every year has meant a higher price tag.
08:57 The first batch of anchovies caught in early spring is transformed into Colatura di Alici
09:04 by December, so the sauce has become a traditional part of celebrating winter holidays.
09:10 "To me, Colatura is blood, it's home. This is the product that was used and is still used
09:24 on the day of the Immaculate Conception. In every house there was a tradition of making
09:31 spaghetti with Colatura. Colatura di Alici is a flipper at the Palato, because the traditional
09:40 part of the dish is sweet, salty, bitter. It's a complete flavour in my opinion."
09:46 Preserving this culture is a responsibility Giulio cherishes.
09:51 "It's the best thing I do, remembering the things my grandfather and father did."
09:57 [music]
10:04 (upbeat music)
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