Imho Americans are WAY too obsessed with expiration dates. Anchovy paste will keep until it is used up. So will anchovies. Keep the unused portion in the fridge and you can keep it forever.
Thanks C. June , confirmation I needed as my mother LOVED anchovy paste, so after she died 10 years ago and after Mother's Day yesterday I thought I would try the tube she had left in her fridge ( and storing in my freezer for 9yrs/ then my fridge for another year).After initial "testing" small dab on tip of a knife , smelled it and then the taste test and immediately crunched into a grain of salt (good sign). Then full on with butter and toast ...a small wonderful memory of Mom !
If your anchovy paste comes in a metallic tube, there's pretty much no air getting into it at any point. This, combined with the salt content, assures that it'll last a very, very long time.
In my experience, if tightly capped it lasts a long time. I've used anchovy paste for many years. Occasionally a tube will "disappear" (or maybe it's just hiding?) in the fridge. I've never had a problem with using an opened tube that's been around for even five or six months. As Mr. Hirshfeld astutely pointed out, it's mostly salt, which for centuries (millennia, actually) has been used to preserve foods for months and even years. ;o)
that is why I don't buy anchovy paste. LOL. I have never seen an expiration date on a tube of the paste but I think it has a lot of salt in it and if is kept refrigerated it will last a while but I think good common sense it always in order.
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