Fish and chips
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Although widely available, fish and chips have become particularly popular in seaside towns, for example here in Hunstanton, UK. |
Fish and chips or
fish 'n' chips (also in
Scotland,
northern England and
Northern Ireland: a
fish supper), a popular
take-away food, consists of deep-fried
fish in
batter or
bread-crumbs with deep-fried
potatoes. For decades fish and chips dominated the take-away food
sector in the
United Kingdom,
Australia, and
New Zealand. They also have considerable popularity in
Canada,
Ireland,
South Africa, and the
United States.
Denmark and some coastal towns in
Norway form another fish-and-chips stronghold, referring to the dish as
fiskefiletter ("fish filets").
Speakers from
Britain and many Commonwealth countries refer to fried potatoes as
chips, whereas most speakers from
North America call them "
French fries". The average British chip appears thicker and less salty than the 'French fry' (as popularised by certain major American hamburger-chains) and more like the fries typical of smaller American
diners. Despite the difference in terminology, the combination still has the name "fish and chips" in most American restaurants, which tend to serve fish and French fries on a plate. The food that Americans term "
potato chips" equates to "
crisps" in the UK, and a few American restaurants will offer "crisps" instead of "fries" when a consumer orders fish and chips, possibly due to confusion on the part of the management. Some also give the option of
curly fries.
The pronunciation of
fish and chips serves as a traditional method of distinguishing
Australians and
New Zealanders (a
Shibboleth. Australians hear New Zealanders speaking of "fush and chups"; New Zealanders hear Australians discussing "feesh and cheeps". (See also
New Zealand English).
In England, "fish and chips" sometimes appears as the
spoonerism "chish and fips".
Deep-fried
fish and deep-fried
chips have appeared separately on menus for many years â€" 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; one (sometimes disputed) claim records the first chip shop as existing on the present site of
Oldham's Tommyfield Market. It remains unclear exactly when and where these two trades combined to become the
fish and chip shop industry we know today, though
Joseph Malin opened the first
recorded combined
fish and chip shop in London in 1860.
The fish-and-chip shop originates in the UK, where it has usually become abbreviated to 'chippy', and occasionally 'chipper' or 'fishy'.
During
World War II, fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the UK not subject to
rationing.
The long-standing
Roman Catholic 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. This tradition also survives in schools in England.
Chips may have become associated with meals of fried fish because the fat in which the fish was fried often became too hot for good frying. To return the fat to an optimal temperature, chefs dunked cut-up potatoes into the fat. Legend has it that shops initially gave the resultant 'chips' away free with the fish.
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, in Scotland and in Northern Ireland) produce a product containing no skin at all.
Attitudes to
fishbones also vary. Some consumers expect
filets, others tolerate less processed fish.
The operation of frying
Traditional frying uses
dripping (
beef fat), however vegetable-oil now predominates. A minority of vendors in the north of
England and Scotland still use dripping, as it imparts a different flavour to the dish, but it has the side-effect of making the fried chips unsuitable for vegetarians (who would not normally eat fish in most case cases) and observant
Hindus.
The "chips" component of "Fish and chips"
American-style "French fries" typically have a slimmer shape than their British counterpart "chips"; thicker "fries" sometimes appear on menus as "steak fries" â€" much thicker than British "chips", which typically measure only 3/8 to 1/2 inches square in cross section.
Some maintain that
Lincolnshire Whites or
Maris Piper potatoes produce the best chips, although the
Belgians and
Swedes swear by the
Bintje variety.
Most traditional fish and chip shops in Britain will make the chips from fresh potatoes. Most Australian chips (or "hot chips") undergo pre-frying, then freezing before their final cooking.
Batter and its variants
The covering of the fish may also vary, with
bread-crumbs available alongside the traditional flour-based
batter. Fish and chip shops in northern
New South Wales and
Queensland serve fish in bread-crumbs by default, with batter available upon request. In
Scotland, batter normally comes standard, with breadcrumb-coated fish called "special fish" and sold at a premium.
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. In the United States of America, fish-and-chips aficionados refer to these as "cracklin's" (distinct from fried pork-rind
cracklins).
Originally consumers did not actually eat the batter. Instead, it served to encase the fish for steaming before getting discarded.
Choice of fish
In England,
cod appears most commonly as the fish used for fish and chips, but vendors also sell many other kinds of fish, especially other
white fish, such as
pollock,
haddock or
coley;
plaice,
skate; and
rock salmon (a term covering several species of
dogfish and similar fish). In some areas of northern England and Scotland
haddock predominates.
Australians prefer reef
cod (a different variety than that used in the UK) or
flake, a type of
shark meat, in their fish and chips.
Victorians tend to prefer flake, whereas Australians in the northern states generally favour reef fish. Increasing demand and the decline of shark stocks due to
overfishing has seen flake become more expensive and â€" as in the UK â€" other white fish (such as
barramundi) will often replace it.
New Zealanders prefer
snapper because of its superior taste, but
hoki offers an inexpensive alternative. The use of
lemonfish has encouraged the use of the popular local synonym for 'fish and chips' - 'shark 'n' taties'.
Canadians use a wide variety of fish, including
cod,
halibut,
haddock,
pollock and
bluefish; with shops usually letting the customer choose the particular fish for their dish. Fresh-water species such as
yellow perch,
walleye and
smelt have also become quite popular in
Ontario. In Vancouver, wild Pacific
salmon has become a popular choice of fish.
In the United States,
white fish occur most commonly by far. Salmon can, however, appear on occasion.
South Africans most commonly use
hake (
Merluccius capensis) for fish and chips.
Snoek (
Thyrsites atun) has also become 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
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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. American diners that offer fish and chips typically provide a side of
tartar sauce or vinegar (intended for the fish), with ketchup and mustard usually available on request free of charge (sometimes in bottles already on the table). 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.
Other popular
dressings, usually at an extra charge, include:
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Barbecue sauce*
Brown sauce*
Burger sauce
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Curry sauce
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Gravy*
Cheese*
Chili sauce*
Garlic sauce/mayonaise
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Ketchup*
Mayonnaise (in Europe / Asia)
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Soy sauce (in Australia)
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Tartare sauceOther accompaniments include:
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Baked beans*
Bun/Barmcake/Cob/Muffin/Teacake
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Coleslaw*
Mashed potatoes*
Mushy peas*
Pickled onions, pickled
eggs and/or
gherkins.
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. The inhabitants of the Wigan and St Helens areas refer to this product as "Pea Wet". "Pea Wet and Scraps" comprise a free meal of the pea water and pieces of batter and chip ends rescued from the frier. Wigan residents call meat puddings "Babby's 'ed" due to the soft pastry.
In
Sheffield, chip shops often supply free the locally-produced
Henderson's Relish - made of vinegar, sugar spices etc. and resembling
Worcestershire sauce.
In
Peterborough, and other selected places, chip shops sometimes offer a cajun seasoning as an accompaniment to fish and chips.
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.
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A fish and chip shop in Oxford. |
In the UK and Australia, fish and chips usually sell through independent restaurants and
take-aways, colloquially known as
chippies or as
chip shops in the UK
[Speakers of British English use the term chippy as a noun meaning a "fish-and-chip shop" or a "carpenter". Speakers of American English may use the word as a pejorative term for a prostitute.], or as
fish-and-chip[s] shops in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Occasionally, in these two countries, stores use the term "Fish and Chippery". Outlets range from small affairs to the likes of the famed Doyles at
Watsons Bay in
Sydney. Fish-and-chip outlets sell roughly 25% of all the
white fish consumed in the UK, and 10% of all
potatoes.
Fish-and-chip shops themselves vary enormously in the UK: from small back-street affairs to posh "Fish Restaurants" with seating and waiting-staff. The UK has a well-known chain called
Harry Ramsden's, which originated in
Guiseley near
Leeds, and now has 31 chain restaurants throughout the country (the company also opened an ill-fated restaurant in Hong Kong). UK fish-and-chip shops sometimes sell other take-away food products, such as kebabs, pies, 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.
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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 and
Skipper's. Most of these chains refer to fish and chips as "fish and fries" or as "combo baskets", as opposed to "platters" - which include
slaw. In the U.S., fish and chip shops traditionally serve fish and chips with
hushpuppies. 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.
Fish and chip shops occur commonly near the UK beach-side, where people commonly eat fish and chips.
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 Greek, Italian or Chinese owners.
The existence of numerous competitions and awards for "best fish-and-chip shop" testifies to the recognised status of this type of outlet in popular culture.
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, though a few shops continue to wrap their product in newspaper, especially in rural areas.
Chip vans
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.
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:
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Pies - in varieties such as
steak and kidney,
chicken and
mushroom,
mince and onion, or
cheese and onion.
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Sausages - usually pork, deep-fried plain or in batter, or
saveloys
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Fishcakes - Either a slice of fish between two potato slices battered and fried, or fish and potatoes minced together and dipped in bread-crumbs
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Scampi - in bread-crumbs
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Chicken - deep-fried, and sometimes available either plain or 'southern fried' in a flavoured, slightly spicy, batter-like coating
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Chip butty - chips served between two slices of
bread traditionally spread with
butter (
now more usually with
margarine). The bread most commonly takes the form of a
bun. Regional names for the bread bun create variations such as "chip
cob" in
Nottinghamshire and "chip
barm" in
Lancashire.
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Pineapple Fritter - a slice of tinned pineapple coated in fried batter
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Kebab meat - normally sliced, without a stick
Fish-and-chip shops sometimes sell other deep-fried foods (including
fruit), such as
bananas and sometimes even
mars bars. In Scotland the choice of alternatives further includes
haggis,
black pudding,
red pudding and
white pudding (all served thickly battered).
Australians tend to favour as an accompaniment the potato scallop (called a 'potato cake' in Victoria and a 'potato fritter' in South Australia). Quite distinct from the sea
scallop, it consists of a thick slice of potato, deep-fried in batter. Other common accompaniments in Australia include 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. The Döner Kebab has only recently become part of the fish-and-chip shop repertoire. Traditionally, Australians knew such kebabs as
souvlaki, as Greeks loomed large in the fish-and-chip-shop industry, and a döner kebab closely resembles a souvlaki.
Some fish-and-chip shops in Scotland sell a largely regional item, the
deep-fried Mars bar, which especially appeals to children. Scottish fish-and-chip shops also carry a deep-fried
pizza â€" a frozen cheese pizza folded in half, dipped in batter, and deep-fried.
In Scotland, Northern Ireland 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 comes without chips. As
sausages often sell in pairs, a
sausage supper may mean two sausages and chips, while a
single sausage can refer to two sausages (without chips).
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BBC News: Fish and chips invented in France?*
My plaice or yours? - Guardian article detailing some chippy terminology
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Far Flung Fish and Chips - historical article
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The Sea Fish Industry Authority on fish and chips *
UK Fish and Chip Takeaways! Fish'n'Chips2go
