Fish and Chips - essential British food

Some people may say that the traditional British meat is beef. The beef meat in Britain is of very good quality, and its crown is Sunday lunch - roasted beef, mash and roasted potatoes, seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire puddings and gravy. But, for many people the quintessential British food would be a good old deep-fried meal of fish and chips.

The word "chips" Charles Dickens first mentioned in "A Tale of Two Cities" in 1859. Henry Mayhew, 19th century social  researcher, journalists and reformer, called fish and chips the food of the poor in 1861. And it was, for long time, a food of working-class.

Historians think that battered fish came to England with Portuguese Jews, Marranos, in 16th century. Though they were officially Christians, they were secretly practising Judaism. Friday is the Christian world's fish day, so they prepared their fish meals on Friday, but have eaten it cold on Sabbath.  The written source from 1544 tells us “that the favourite diet of Marrano refugees” [from the Inquisition in Portugal] was fried fish, sprinkled with flour, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs".

We know it was in 19th century when chipped potatoes became the invariable accompaniment to battered fish. The combo of fish and chips was created in time. Except for the aristocracy and those living on the coast or near inland rivers and lakes, people in Britain didn’t eat much fresh fish anyway. It changed gradually with the development of the railway and quicker trade of goods.

The potatoes originated from South America and arrived in Britain by 1560. However, it stayed luxurious food until 17th century. Fried battered fish and chipped (or sometimes jacket) potatoes were for a long time sold separately. The first chip shop stood on the present site of Oldham's Tommyfield Market. Joseph Malin, an Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant, is known for being first to sell them together, in his shop in London in 1860 or in 1865. After Second World War, Chinese, Italian or Greek Cypriot took over fish and chip business. Today, many of the 'chippy' shops are owned by Indian families.

Traditionally, cod and haddock appear most commonly as the fish used for fish and chips. Some suppliers offer pollock and coley as cheap alternatives to haddock due to their regular availability in a common catch. UK 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 create bubbles in the batter. Other recipes may use beer or milk batter, where these liquids are often substitutes for water. Nowadays, 'chippy' shops offer various sauces to accompany your fish, as well as mashed peas, and the portion is usually sprinkled with malt vinegar. The food used to be packed in the thick layered newspapers, but, for health and safety reasons, today the polystyrene dishes are in use.

As eating and liking hotdogs made you a good American, one may say that eating and liking fish and chips can make you British. Not sure if it is completely true, but it is a meal that everyone in Britain has in their veins - actually, it seems more loved and appreciated today than in the past.

The average price of the fish and chips portion is about £5. The price may vary because of the type of the fish, size of the portion or place where you buy it.