Burgess Anchovy essence, a thick, oily sauce, is a natural concentrate of anchovy that’s brilliant for adding a punch of fishy flavour to seafood meals or a savoury tang to meaty dishes. The product you mention is pinkish in colour and made in Britain by a company established in 1760. (The sauce was very popular in the late 19th century.)

Used sparingly, anchovy essence can substitute Asian fish sauce.

Find it at Thrupps in Johannesburg, tel: (011) 268-0298, www.thrupps.co.za;

or Giovanni’s Deliworld in Cape Town, tel: (021) 434-6893.