Foodie Friday: Traditional English Fish and Chips

Let’s talk about traditional English ‘Fish ‘n Chips’. When we were back in Blighty, Mr. Piglet had a craving for real English fish and chips bought from a proper Chippy (slang for Fish and Chip shop). When I was growing up, fish and chips used to be bundled up in sheets of old newspaper–fancy wrapping food in newspaper! Today, the ‘Health and Safety’ boffins would probably have a conniption. How unhygienic, but by some miracle us Boomers survived.

So what’s with ‘fish and chips? Cod and Haddock used to be the most popular choice but according to Wiki cheaper options are sometimes used if the fish isn’t specified.

What makes typical British ‘fish and chips’ so special?

The fish is dipped in a batter mixture and then deep-fried to create a crispy batter. AS per Wikipedia

Batter

In Britain and Ireland, fish and chip shops traditionally use a simple water and flour batter, adding a little sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and a little vinegar to create lightness, as they react to create bubbles in the batter. Other recipes may use beer or milk batter, where these liquids are often substitutes for water. The carbon dioxide in the beer lends a lighter texture to the batter. Beer also results in an orange-brown colour. A simple beer batter might consist of a 2:3 ratio of flour to beer by volume. The type of beer alters the taste of the batter; some prefer lager^[65][66] whereas others use stout or bitter.

Cooking – This is is worrying!

Traditional frying uses beef dripping or lard; however, vegetable oils, such as palm oil, rapeseed or peanut oil (used because of its relatively high smoke point) now predominate, in part because it makes fried chips suitable for vegetarians and for adherents of certain faiths.^[60][61]

Who knew they would use peanut oil? Hello – anyone out there with a peanut allergy?

Today, fish and chips are served in cardboard boxes and we can also order mushy peas, gravy or curry sauce, all served in cartons. Gravy on Fish and Chips? sacre bleu!

I don’t remember having mushy peas when I was a kid OR the option of curry sauce yet alone served in twee little cups.

It was probably the most unhealthy meal I ate while we were there. Ho hum … I enjoyed it.

Yes, we can get fish and chips in tourist restaurants in the Algarve but it’s not in the same league!

I wonder what type of fish this is?

Interesting article

The History of Fish and Chips

Foodie Friday – Let’s talk about food. Diets, recipes, growing fruit and vegetables, food pictures etc.

How to Join the Foodie Friday Challenge Blog Hop

Let’s talk about food, whether it’s sharing your favourite recipes, growing fruit and vegetables, your harvest ups and downs, hints and tips, or pictures of plates of food – even diets. If it’s food-related, why not post it on your blog and add it to the Foodie Friday Blog Hop

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Other Foodie Friday Posts include:

Soup from a Stone! – Piglet’s “Foodie Friday” recipe challenge

Delicious Low Fat Fish Pie – One Pot Meal

I have just hooked up with What’s on Your Plate. Who knew Sauteed carrots, onion and celery was called Mirepoix?