[1] An anchovy pizza with Picholine olives (photo © Gordon Ramsay Group).

[2] A top-quality anchovy is plump and jarred in real olive oil (photo © Vital Choice).

[3] This anchovy pizza is also topped with Picholine olives and banana peppers. Here’s the recipe (photo © DeLallo).

[4] A white pizza with anchovies. Here’s the recipe (photo © Craft Beering)

November 12th is National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day. To some, it’s a reason to celebrate all of the classic pizza toppings (except anchovies): bell peppers, meatballs, mushrooms, olives, onions, pepperoni, sausage, and of course, extra cheese*.

Others, lovers of anchovies, disdain the holiday and celebrate by being contrarian: ordering a pie with anchovies.

According to Stagwell Global, a marketing firm, 50% of Americans dislike anchovies†.

 
But anchovies are a better-for-you food, and if one can try top-quality anchovies (as opposed to the cheap brands that we describe as cat food), the haters may cease to hate.

Additionally, anchovies contain body-beneficial vitamins and minerals that can help our bodies: calcium, iron, selenium, and vitamin A.

A good brand will use olive oil, not safflower oil, and keep the salt levels down (although most people would not consume enough anchovies per meal to make salt a huge deal).

As a fatty fish‡‡, anchovies are packed with omega-3 fatty acids, very beneficial in terms of healthy joints, mental health, and maintaining good cholesterol levels.

That’s the end of the rant, but consider starting with a jar of Ortiz anchovies, one of the better supermarket brands.

If you find them to be OK, treat yourself to the premium Spanish Cantabrian anchovies, fished sustainably in the Bay of Biscay in the Cantabrian Sea, along the northern coast of Spain.

Cantabrian anchovies are renowned for being the best: meaty, flavorsome, and firm textured.

The best of the best might be Don Bocarte, but it’s very pricey.

We’ve listed them all, below, so mark your calendars.
 
 
IT’S PIZZA TIME!

We started out by announcing that it’s National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day. Continuing along the theme, we have the year in pizza holidays in the next section. But first:

> 40 ways to top your slice.

> 50 pizza recipes.

> Pizza trends.

> The history of pizza.

> The top pizza toppings in the U.S., the top pizza-eating states, and most pizza-per-capita countries.
 
 
THE YEAR IN PIZZA HOLIDAYS

According to CNET, “Roughly 3 billion pizza pies are sold in the US each year, equal to about 350 slices a second.” So dig in!

Whether you get takeout pizza or make your own, mark your calendars for:

*Feel free to add your favorites to the list. Others include arugula, bacon, basil, bbq chicken, broccoli, ham, jalapeño, pesto, pineapple, spinach, tomatoes (fresh or sundried), and on and on. As for additional ingredients, one of our favorite pies is a white pizza topped with sliced potato, smoked salmon, salmon caviar, and red onion.

†Next on the hated foods list are black licorice (45%) and oysters are at the top, according to the Stagwell Harris Poll survey with Instacart. Black licorice is most disliked by young people (48% among those 18 to 54 versus 37% for those ages 65 and older) and women (54% versus 35% for men). Rounding out the top 10: beets, blue cheese, okra, capers, Brussels sprouts, fennel, and olives.

‡A calzone is a pocket pizza; the toppings are used as a filling inside a hand-held crust.

‡‡Fatty fish include anchovies, black cod, bluefin tuna, cobia, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, striped bass, and whitefish.