Fish and chips in wrapping paper
Fish and chips or fish'n'chips, a popular take-away food, consists of deep-fried fish in batter with deep-fried potatoes. Fish and chips have great popularity in the United Kingdom , Australia, and New Zealand, considerable popularity in Canada, Ireland, South Africa, some coastal towns of the Netherlands and Norway, and increasing popularity in the United States and elsewhere. Fish and chips also have great popularity in Denmark, where it appears as "fish fillets" (Danish, fiskefiletter) - always accompanied by deep-fried potatoes (french fries).
For decades fish and chips dominated the take-away food sector in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
British and international usage refers to the fried potatoes as chips; and while American English calls them "french fries" the combination still has the name "fish and chips". American-style french fries typically have a slimmer shape than their English counterparts "chips"; marketers sometimes market thicker fries as "steak fries"). (The American term "potato chips" refers to a different potato-derived food - one roughly equivalent to crisps in the United Kingdom.)
Traditional frying uses dripping (beef fat), and the north of England and Scotland tends to retain this practice. In the south of Britain vegetable oil predominates. This does impart a different flavour to the dish and makes the chips acceptable to vegetarians. Some maintain that 'Lincolnshire Whites' or 'Maris Piper' potatoes produce the best chips.
The pronunciation of fish and chips serves as a traditional method of distinguishing Australians and New Zealanders (a Shibboleth; see also New Zealand English). In England, "Fish and Chips" sometimes appears as the spoonerism "Chish and Fips".
Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Folkways
- 3 Choice of fish
- 4 Accompaniments
- 5 Fish and chip shops
- 5.1 Other dishes
- 5.2 Packaging and wrapping
- 6 Chip Van
- 7 Footnote
- 8 External links
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History
Deep-fried fish and deep-fried chips have appeared separately on menus for many years – though potatoes did not reach Europe until the 17th century. The originally Sephardi dish Pescado frito, or deep-fried fish, came to the Netherlands and England with the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in the 17th and 18th centuries. The dish became popular in wider circles in London and the south-east in the middle of the 19th century (Charles Dickens mentions a "fried fish warehouse" in Oliver Twist - first published in 1838) whilst in the north of England a trade in deep-fried "chipped" potatoes developed. It remains unclear when and where these two trades combined to become the fish and chip shop industry we know today. Joseph Malin opened the first recorded combined fish and chip shop in London in 1860.
During World War II, fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the UK not subject to rationing.
Folkways
The long-standing Christian tradition of not eating meat on Fridays (and of substituting fish for meat on that day) continues to influence habits even in semi-secular and in secular societies. Thus Friday night remains a traditional occasion for patronising fish-and-chip shops, and many cafeterias and similar establishments, while varying their menus on other days of the week, habitually offer fish and chips every Friday.
Regional differences exist in the UK for preparing the fish before battering. Some outlets (mainly southern) leave the skin on one or both sides of the fish, while others (mainly in the North of England and in Scotland) produce a product containing no skin at all.
Choice of fish
In England, cod appears most commonly as the fish used for fish and chips, but many kinds of fish can substitute, especially other white fish, such as pollock or haddock; plaice, skate; and rock salmon (dogfish). In northern England and Scotland haddock predominates.
Australians preferred cod (though of a different variety than that used in the UK) or flake, a type of shark meat in their fish and chips. Increasing demand and the decline of shark stocks due to overfishing has seen flake become more expensive and, as in the UK, other white fish, such as barramundi, will often substitute.
New Zealanders prefer snapper because of its superior taste, but hoki offers an inexpensive alternative.
In South Africa hake (Merluccius capensis) is the most commonly used fish for fish and chips. Snoek (Thyrsites atun) is also popular in Cape coastal areas. Kingklip (Xiphiurus capensis, known as cuskeel internationally) offers a less common and generally more expensive alternative.
In Denmark, deep-fried, breaded plaice fish fillets served with french fries (Danish, pomfritter) probably outsells other cooked fish - just about every restaurant in the country serves this dish. Traditionally, it has an accompaniment of remoulade sauce and lemon wedges.
Accompaniments
A British student enjoying fish and chips, tomato ketchup and peas.
In the UK, fish and chips usually have an accompaniment of free salt and vinegar ("salt & vinegar"). Suppliers may use malt vinegar or onion vinegar (the vinegar used for storing pickled onions). Often something called "non-brewed condiment" (actually a solution of acetic acid in water with caramel added for colour) substitutes for genuine malt vinegar. In the US, malt vinegar (or, in some establishments, red-wine or cider vinegar) often comes with fish and chips as well. A common Canadian preference involves white vinegar on the chips and squeezed lemon on the fish. Scots also tend to prefer white vinegar to malt vinegar. In Australia the use of chicken-flavoured salt (known as chicken salt) on chips has become quite widespread; so much so that even fast-food chains like KFC no longer carry regular salt and use chicken salt by default.
Fish and chip suppliers usually include scraps of batter that fall into the fat and cook (also known as "batter", scrumps or bits) free on request.
Other popular dressings, usually at an extra charge, include:
- Barbecue sauce
- Brown sauce
- Burger Sauce
- Curry sauce
- Gravy
- Ketchup
- Mayonnaise (in Europe)
- Mushy peas
- Pickled onions, pickled eggs and/or gherkins.
- Tartare sauce
- Baked beans
Around Central Scotland and specifically Edinburgh a combination of spirit vinegar and brown sauce, known either simply as "sauce", or more specifically "chippie sauce" has great popularity. Many Scottish comedians have made light of the difference in condiment choice between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with Glaswegians generally preferring salt and vinegar, and Edinburghers preferring salt and sauce.
In Holyhead in North Wales, all of the six current chip shops serve 'Peas Water' free of charge - water strained from the mushy peas. This practice allegedly occurs only in Holyhead.
Around North America's Great Lakes (for example, in Buffalo, New York), the popular tradition of Catholics eating fish on Fridays (especially during Lent) has resulted in a codifying of a particular sort of "Fish Fry", which includes a piece of whitefish (often haddock), a plentiful amount of french fries (generally thicker-cut "steak" fries), potato salad and/or macaroni salad, and coleslaw. This is so ubiquitous that some supermarkets in the area sell it from their seafood departments, and many local bars serve fish fries every week. In Ontario, Canada, a popular variant consists of freshwater perch or pickerel (walleye) - typically sold at lakeside resort towns.
Fish and chip shops
A fish and chip shop in Oxford.
In the UK and Australia, fish and chips are usually sold by independent restaurants and take-aways, colloquially known as chippies or chip shops in the UK1, or fish and chips shops in Australia and New Zealand. Occasionally, in these two countries, the term "Fish and Chippery" is used by stores, and outlets likewise range from small affairs to the likes of the famed Doyles at Watson's bay in Sydney. Roughly 25% of all the white fish consumed in the UK, and 10% of all potatoes, are sold through fish and chip outlets.
Fish and chip shops themselves vary enormously in the UK, from little back-street affairs to posh "Fish Restaurants" with seating and waitresses. The North of England has one well-known chain called Harry Ramsden's, which originated in Guiseley near Leeds, but chains do not occur commonly in the UK. UK fish-and-chip shops sometimes sell other takeaway food products, such as burgers, Chinese food and pizzas. In fishing towns fish-and-chip shops also commonly sell uncooked fish. Some fishing-town chip shops also offer to fry customers' own fresh fish, charging a fee dependent on the weight of the fish processed.
Fried fish and french fries on the waterfront in San Diego.
US fast-food restaurant chains that sell fish and chips include Long John Silver's, Captain D's, H. Salt Fish and Chips, Arthur Treacher's, and (in the Pacific Northwest) Ivar's. In the 1990s, the perception within the United States of fish and chips as unhealthy led to a decline in consumption and the financial problems of Long John Silver's and Arthur Treacher's. Other restaurants have acquired these two brands and the current strategy of both of these chains appears to aim at combining fish-and-chips with other brands to create the concept of "fun food". In Canada, Joey's Only Seafood Restaurants dominate prominently in "fish and chips" with over 100 locations. The Harvey's and La Belle Province fast-food chains sell fish and chips as a minor item in their menus.
Depending on local ethnic mixes, fishing-industry make-up and class structures, fish-and-chip shops in some places may appear as ethnic enclaves, run predominently by (for example) Greek, Italian or Chinese owners.
Pauline Hanson, arguably Australia's most famous fish-and-chip shop owner, had a meteoric political career during the 1990s.
Other dishes
Fish-and-chip shops typically offer other fast food which customers may eat in place of the traditional battered fish. Typical alternatives offered in most English "chippies" include:
- Pies - in varieties such as steak and kidney, chicken and mushroom, mince and onion, or cheese and onion.
- Sausages - usually pork, deep-fried plain or in batter, or saveloys
- Fishcakes - usually fish and potatoes minced together and dipped in bread crumbs
- Scampi - in breadcrumbs
- Chicken - deep-fried, and sometimes available either plain or 'southern fried' in a flavoured, slightly spicy, batter-like coating
Fish-and-chip shops sometimes sell other deep-fried foods, including fruit such as banana and pineapple. In Scotland the choice of alternatives further includes haggis, black pudding, red pudding, and white pudding (all served thickly battered). In Australia, perhaps the most popular accompaniment is the potato scallop (called the 'potato cake' in Victoria, 'potato fritter' in South Australia and not to be confused with the sea scallop), a thick slice of potato deep-fried in batter. Another common accompaniment is an Australian version of Chinese dumplings known locally as a dim sim and an Australian version of a spring roll called the Chiko Roll. An increasing number of stores in Australia may also deal in Döner kebabs.
Another largely regional item available is the deep fried Deep fried Mars bar. Sold in almost a quarter of fish-and-chip shops in Scotland, the deep fried Mars bar especially appeals to children, with some shops selling up to 200 a week.
In Scotland and Northern England the inhabitants speak of a meal of fish and chips as a fish supper. Similarly, in Scotland one can order a haggis supper, a steak pie supper, and so on; supper means "with chips", in this context. A "single" order is one without chips. As sausages are often sold in pairs, a sausage supper may mean two sausages and chips, while a single sausage can refer to two sausages (without chips).
Packaging and wrapping
Fish-and-chips shops traditionally wrapped their product in an inner white paper wrapping and an outer insulating and grease-absorbing layer of newspaper or blank newsprint, though nowadays the use of newspaper has largely ceased on grounds of hygiene, and establishments often use food-quality wrapping paper instead - occasionally printed on the outside to emulate newspaper. The hot food and the steam it produces cause the paper wrapping to emit a characteristic smell, and the close wrapping prevents evaporation, giving the food a moist texture which can last for some time if the parcel remains unopened. Polystyrene packing, usual in many other kinds of take-away outlet, sometimes appears. Even when the fish get wrapped in paper, an open polystyrene container often holds the chips. Purists maintain that it "doesn't taste the same" in polystyrene or cardboard, lacking the smell and moist, steamed texture. Britain banned the use of real newspaper in the late 1980s. Australian fish-and-chip shops, faced with a ban on the use of actual newspaper in the 1970s, substituted butcher's paper as the external wrapping.
A city-centre chip shop in Oxford.
Chip Van
Mobile fish-and-chip shops serve rural areas in the UK. For vans, the choice between beef dripping and oil is influenced by the fact that cold dripping forms a solid mass and won't slosh around when on the move.
Footnote
- The term chippy as a noun is, depending upon the language; a "fish-and-chip shop" or a "carpenter" (British English) or a pejorative term for a prostitute in American English.
External links
- BBC News: Fish and chips invented in France?
- My plaice or yours? - Guardian article detailing some chippy terminology
- Far Flung Fish and Chips - historical article
- The Sea Fish Industry Authority on fish and chips
Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject:
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