ottawa foodies

I've been looking around and can't seem to find white anchovies anywhere!

I've tracked some down.....it's not THAT long of a flight to San Francisco :)

More seriously I don't know the answer exactly, have you checked Chinatown?

Luciano's (Preston @ Somerset) usually has them. They're near the sausages in the open fridge case.

Okay, my curiosity is piqued; what's the difference between white vs. other varieties? I've just lately been getting in to these little salty fish type things, so colour me ignorant, but interested!

You're not ignorant. Not exactly a well known food too far outside of the mediterranean (so far as I know).

The anchovies that you are likely more familiar with (often used in italian cooking, brownish colour) are cured and packed in oil. White ones are packed in vinegar and are more commonly eaten in areas of Spain.

I'm no expert myself, but I like them.

en.wikipedia.org

I think this is what this thread was initially referring to (rather than some specific sub-species of fish).