Anchovy

Choking risk

Anchovies are a moderate choking risk for babies - the flakes are soft, but the small bones need managing.

Flake cooked anchovy finely, remove every bone, and serve it moist. See how to serve for age-by-age prep.

Allergens

Anchovy is a fish, and fish is a common food allergen. There's no reason to delay fish itself, though - waiting doesn't prevent allergies, and allergens can start alongside other solids from around 6 months.^[2]

Fish and shellfish are separate allergens, so doing fine with one doesn't tell you anything about the other - though fish do run together: a reaction to one fish usually means checking with your pediatrician before trying others.

If your baby has severe eczema or an existing food allergy, check with your pediatrician before starting allergens.

Introduce fish as a plain, mild one first - tilapia, trout, or salmon, well cooked and finely flaked - not as anchovy, which is a cured, salty food best kept for later.

Once fish is comfortably in the diet, anchovy counts as the same allergen - no separate introduction needed, just the trace amounts this card describes, from the age given below.^[3] Keep fish in the diet a few times a week.

If baby refuses

Anchovy is the strongest flavor in the fish family - salty, intense, a punch. If it's refused, don't fight it: sardines and mackerel carry the same omega-3s and calcium with far milder taste, and they're the better everyday fish anyway. Where anchovy earns its keep is dissolved - a tiny rinsed fragment melted into a tomato sauce disappears as fish and stays as savory depth.

Food safety

Anchovy comes two ways, and they're different foods. Fresh anchovies are small oily fish like sardines - cook them to 145°F, opaque and flaking, never raw or undercooked, and babies are more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults.

Tinned and cured anchovies are a salt product: the cure runs all the way through, so rinsing helps only a little, and they're too salty to be a food for a baby at all.^[5]

From 12 months, a tiny rinsed fragment dissolved into a family dish works as a flavor - one fillet seasons a whole pot of sauce. Anchovies are among the lowest-mercury fish you can buy, so the fresh kind can be a regular fish.^[6]