Fish and chips

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 and South Africa. Denmark and some coastal towns in Norway form another fish-and-chips stronghold, referring to the dish as fiskefiletter ("fish filets").

In the United States, fish and chips (fries) have spread across the country as mainstays of chain resturants such as Long John Silver's and Captain D's. The southeastern states mostly use catfish instead of the whitefish traditional elsewhere.

Naming and terminology

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".

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; 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.

Fish and chips really took off as a cheap food for the working classes with the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea in the second half of the nineteenth century. Before this, fishermen had used long lines to target only large, high-quality demersal (bottom-dwelling) fish, especially valuable soles. Trawlers, on the other hand, landed a mixed catch of high quality "prime" and cheaper "offal" fish, most of which fishermen initially threw back into the water due to lack of a market. However, as railway charges fell, it became viable to transport this cheaper fish inland, and demersal fish became a mass-market commodity rather than a costly luxury.

The fish-and-chip shop originates in the UK, where it has usually become abbreviated to 'chippy', and occasionally 'chipper' or 'fishy'. Early fish and chip shops had only very basic facilities. Usually these consisted principally of a large cauldron of fat, heated by a coal fire. Unsanitary by modern standards, such establishments also emitted a smell associated with frying, which led to the authorities classifying fish-and-chips supply as an "offensive trade", a stigma retained until between the wars.

During World War II, fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the UK not subject to rationing.

Folkways

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.

Culinary variations

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 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" — much thicker than British "chips", which typically measure only ⅜ to ½ 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 — as in the UK — other white fish (such as barramundi) will often replace it. Australian fish-and-chip shops provide a wider range of fish (such as squid) than that commonly available in other countries.

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

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:

• Salt and vinegar (in the UK)
• Barbecue sauce
• Brown sauce
• Burger sauce
• Curry sauce
• Gravy
• Cheese
• Chili sauce
• Garlic sauce/mayonaise
• Ketchup
• Mayonnaise (in Belgium)
• Soy sauce (in Australia)
• Tartare sauce

Other accompaniments include:

• Baked beans
• Bun/Barmcake/Cob/Muffin/Teacake
• 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.

Fish and chip shops

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, or as fish-and-chip[s] shops in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Occasionally, in these 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.

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 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.

Fish and chip shops occur commonly near the UK in seaside resorts.

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, although they can also be found in urban areas. 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:

• 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. In South Africa, a Vienna sausage or simply a vienna (wiener), a frankfurter, a Russian sausage or simply a russian (spicy pork sausage) are all standard substitutes, all deep fried plain.
• Fishcakes/Fish Fritter - Either a slice of fish between two potato slices battered and fried, or fish and potatoes minced together and dipped in bread-crumbs
• Scampi - in bread-crumbs
• Chicken - deep-fried, and sometimes available either plain or 'southern fried' in a flavoured, slightly spicy, batter-like coating
• 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.
• Pineapple Fritter - a slice of tinned pineapple coated in fried batter
• Kebab meat - normally sliced
• Patty - mashed potato, deep-fried in batter, usually served with chips ("patty and chips") as a low-cost meal
• Scraps - leftover batter from the deep fat fryer, scooped into bags and served alone or as an accompaniment to fish and chips
• Spam fritter - a slice of Spam coated in fried batter
• Burger - a minced meat (usually beef) patty coated in fried batter

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 — 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).

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
• UK Fish and Chip Takeaways! Fish'n'Chips2go