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We are starting a new segment called Traveler’s Love on great food from the world over. So in case you drop into one of the destinations, you know what to eat. So today we will cover London and its famous “Fish n Chips”

Fish and chips (sometimes written “fish ‘n’ chips”) is a popular take-away food which originated in the United Kingdom. It consists of deep-fried fish (traditionally cod, haddock or flounder) in batter or breadcrumbs with deep-fried chipped (slab-cut) potatoes.

Popular tradition associates the dish with the United Kingdom; and fish and chips remains very popular in the United Kingdom and in areas colonised by people from the UK in the 19th century, such as Australia, New Zealand and parts of North America.

The Chips

American-style “french fries” typically have a slimmer shape than their British counterpart chips; thicker “fries” sometimes appear on US menus as “steak fries”. Thicker slabs of potato result in a lower fat content per portion than with French fries. Cooking fat penetrates a relatively shallow depth into the potato during cooking, thus the surface area reflects the fat content proportionally. Thick chips have a smaller surface area per unit weight than French fries and thus absorb less oil per weight of potato. Chips also require a somewhat longer cooking time than fries.

The Fish

In Britain, haddock and cod appear 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 or coley; plaice; skate; and huss or rock salmon (a term covering several species of now endangered dogfish and similar fish). In some areas of southwestern and northern England, and throughout the vast majority of Scotland, haddock predominates. Indeed, in one part of West Yorkshire, the area between Bradford, Halifax and Keighley known as the “Haddock Triangle”, very few shops offer cod on their menu. In Grimsby and the surrounding area, Haddock is preferred so much that the very word Cod is virtually swearing. In Northern Ireland, cod, plaice or whiting appear most commonly in “fish suppers”. Suppliers in Devon and Cornwall regularly offer pollock and coley as cheap alternatives to haddock due to their regular availability in a common catch. As a cheap, nutritious, savoury and common alternative to a whole piece of fish, fish-and-chips shops around the UK supply small battered rissoles of compressed cod roe.

The Accompaniments

In the United Kingdom, free salt and vinegar is traditionally sprinkled over fish and chips at the time it is served. Suppliers may use malt vinegar or onion vinegar (the vinegar used for pickling onions). A cheaper product called “non-brewed condiment” (actually a solution of acetic acid in water with caramel colour) substitutes for genuine malt vinegar in many fish-and-chip shops.

Where to get one

In the United Kingdom and in Australia and North America fish-and-chips usually sell through independent restaurants and take-aways. Outlets range from small affairs to chain restaurants. In the United Kingdom, punning names for the shops, such as “The Batter Plaice”, “Assault and Battery”, “The Codfather”, “Sir Crickets Fish n’ Chips” and “The Frying Scotsman” often occur. SO next time you are in the Land of “Propah English” do get one for yourself

Bon Apetite- Team Menublob