Remove scales by brushing tail to head with finger and thumb under running water. Grill or barbecue after coating with olive oil and salt - eat hot or cold, or shallow fry after a thin coating of flour. Squeeze lemon over cooked fish and serve with crusty bread and tomato salad. Best eaten from the summer catch, they are delicious fresh, grilled like sardines. However, most pilchards are processed and canned.
Pilchards are a speciality in Cornwall where they swim to their northern limit.
Fresh anchovies are best prepared and eaten similarly to sardines - they also don t travel well so are best in the Mediterranean. Sprats are tiny, silver fish with very oily flesh best grilled. Whitebait are young herrings or sprat and are delicious. They are quite small so serve whole - dip in milk, shake in a bag with flour and deep fry until golden brown. Serve with lemon and brown bread and butter.