Fish and chips | Learning more about this traditional English dish
Fish and chips is a hot dish of English origin consisting of fried battered fish and hot potato chips. It is a common take-away foodand an early example of culinary fusion. Fish and chips first appeared in the 1860s; by 1910 there were more than 25,000 fish and chip shops across the UK, and by the 1930s there were over 35,000. Fish and chips are now a staple takeaway meal in numerous countries, particularly in English-speaking commonwealth countries including Australia and New Zealand.
Fried fish as a culinary trend may have begun in Sheffield or it may have come from London's Western Sephardic Jews. Originally, Western Sephardic Jews settling in England in the 17th century would have prepared fried fish in a manner similar to pescado frito, which is coated in a flour. Battered fish is first coated in flour then dipped into a batter consisting of flour mixed with liquid, usually water but sometimes beer. Some newer modifications to the recipe may have cornflour added, and instead of beer sometimes soda water is added. Charles Dickens mentions "fried fish warehouses" in Oliver Twist and in 1845 Alexis Soyer in his first edition of A Shilling cookery for the People, gives a recipe for "Fried fish, Jewish fashion".
In 1860, the first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin who sold "fish fried in the Jewish fashion".
Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in England as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea, and the development of railways which connected the ports to major industrial cities during the second half of the 19th century, so that fresh fish could be rapidly transported to the heavily populated áreas.
Deep-fried chips (slices or pieces of potato) as a dish may have first appeared in England in about the same period: the Oxford English Dictionarynotes as its earliest usage of "chips" in this sense the mention in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (1859): "Husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil".
The modern fish-and-chip shop ("chippy" or "chipper" in modern British slang) originated in the United Kingdom, although outlets selling fried food occurred commonly throughout Europe. Early fish-and-chip shops had only very basic facilities. Usually these consisted principally of a large cauldron of cooking fat, heated by a coal fire. The fish-and-chip shop later evolved into a fairly standard format, with the food served, in paper wrappings, to queuing customers, over a counter in front of the fryers. By 1910, there were more than 25,000 fish and chip shops across the country, and in the 1920s there were more than 35,000 shops. As a boy Alfred Hitchcock lived above a fish and chip shop in London, which was the family business. According to Professor John Walton, author of Fish and Chips and the British Working Class, the British government made safeguarding supplies of fish and chips during World War I a priority: "The cabinet knew it was vital to keep families on the home front in good heart, unlike the German regime that failed to keep its people well fed". In 1928, Harry Ramsden opened his fish and chip shop in Guiseley, West Yorkshire.
On a single day in 1952, the shop served 10,000 portions of fish and chips, earning a place in the Guinness Book Of Records. In George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working class life in the north of England, the author considered fish and chips chief among the 'home comforts' which acted as a panacea to the working classes. During World War II, fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the United Kingdom not subject to rationing. Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to the combination of fish and chips as "the good companions". John Lennon enjoyed his fish and chips—a staple of the working class—smothered in ketchup.
British fish and chips were originally served in a wrapping of old newspapers but this practice has now largely ceased, with plain paper, cardboard, or plastic being used instead. In the United Kingdom, the Fish Labelling Regulations 2003 and in Ireland the European Communities (Labelling of Fishery and Aquaculture Products) Regulations 2003 respectively enact directive 2065/2001/EC, and generally mean that "fish" must be sold with the particular commercial name or species named; so, for example, "cod and chips" now appears on menus rather than the more vague "fish and chips". In the United Kingdom the Food Standards Agency guidance excludes caterers from this; but several local Trading Standards authorities and others do say it cannot be sold merely as "fish and chips".
