by Mary Jo
Since I’m madly busy, I’m rerunning a classic blog of mine about fish and chips since I not only love to eat fish and chips, I like to read about them! This blog originally ran in October 2012, but fish and chips are eternal. <G>
I adore fish and chips. I grew up inland and fish were not a regular part of the diet, but on rare occasions, we’d go to a “fish fry.” That was a fundraiser dinner put on by a local fire department with fish and French fries and I don’t remember what else, but surely pies would have been there for dessert, this being Upstate New York.
The wonderful crunch of deep fried batter contrasted so beautifully with the mild white fish within. Fabulous! The experience was so far from the dreary fish sticks served regularly in the school cafeteria that I never considered them even remotely related.
Later I realized that fish and chips are the iconic food of the British Isles, which are bodies of land completely surrounded by fish. Potatoes grow really well there, too. Fish and chips as we know them required deep fat frying, and appeared in the Britain in the 1860s.
Both Lancashire and London claim to have invented fish and chips: here’s a sign 
commemorating the London location. There is also a theory that deep fried fish began in London and moved north while chip shops originated in Scotland and moved south, and they met and married in the Midlands. I’m not sure if that’s true—the facts are not entirely clear—but as a romance writer, I like it. <G>
The idea for this blog struck when Wench Jo Beverley had a birthday. Forget chocolate—she wanted fish and chips for her birthday treat.
I understood perfectly. Indeed, during my recent trip to Ireland, I ordered fish and chips several times and consumed them with great pleasure. Possibly the best fish and chips I’ve ever had were at the Crackpots restaurant in Kinsale. I think the fish leaped right out of the boat and into the deep fat fryer. (Traditionally beef drippings were used, but now it’s more likely to be something like peanut oil.)
Cod has been the traditional British favorite fish for deep frying, with haddock in second place. The discussion of fish and chips practically turned into an Ask A Wench blog.
Nicola Cornick: “I was brought up on fish and chips. It was a staple meal in the Yorkshire of my childhood and we were lucky enough to live just around the corner from a prizewinning fish and chip shop. The smell of fat was very pungent!
I particularly liked having a bag of chips in the evening with the little left over bits of batter sprinkled on top of the chips. These were called scraps in my part of the world but have different names in different parts of the UK. Cod wasn’t on the menu in those days. It was all haddock from the North Sea and deliciously fresh. I didn’t like vinegar but had lots of salt. My arteries are probably irreparably furred. These days I eat fish and chips much less frequently and my favourite fish and chip experience is sitting outside the Applecross Inn in the West Highlands of Scotland eating fish and chips and looking across the sea to Skye.”
I thought fish and chips would be popular in former parts of the Empire, and sure enough, weighing in from Australia:
Anne Gracie: “Mary Jo, fish and chips is still very popular here, though we don’t have British cod, which is delicious. Flake (or shark) is the most popular fish for fish and chips, mainly because there are no surprise bones, I suspect, not for the flavor, which is fairly bland. For me there’s nothing better than sitting on the beach or in a park, eating fish and chips straight from the paper — none of this plate or knife and fork nonsense. And it’s still a “first day of the holidays” ritual for many people. When my writers retreat group go on retreat, it’s usually our first meal of the retreat— fish and chips and champagne.”
Canada: another country heard from!:
Jo Beverley: “I had great fish and chips in Hobart, Tasmania. Dorado, maybe? I like haddock. Don’t much like cod. In Canada the choice was between halibut and cod and I went for halibut. I remember in Nova Scotia stopping by a van for fried clams and chips. The fish needs to be fresh. At a pinch it can be previously frozen, but days old fish is never, ever good. Morecambe, where I grew up, had been a fishing village and there were still fishermen bringing in the catch. The fish we ate was always really fresh.”
Traditionally, Americans have to work harder or travel farther for their fish and chips:
Susan King: “I didn’t have GOOD fish and chips until my first trip to England in college. Then I was totally, uh, hooked. As it were. I have tried them in several places in England and Scotland, and wherever I can find them over here. The best I’ve ever had — a small pub at the foot of the castle hill in Stirling, Scotland. Not only delicious battered fish and perfect chips, but the peas were garden fresh. Best ever. Not to mention great atmosphere.”
Fish and chips were a mainstay of the working class, and also a major part of British diet during the World Wars—in WWII, they were among the few foods that were never rationed. (Attempting to ration them might have caused revolution!)
I discovered this when I was researching my young adult novels, in which time traveling teens moved from Regency England to World War II. And they all loved fish and chips. The chippy in their town was called The Codfather.
Some Americans have yet to meet proper fish and chips:
“Cara/Andrea confesses that fish and chips is not part of her culinary experience, but after hearing the other Wenches wax poetic on its appeal, she promises to try it next time she is in England.”
“There is something about chippies that calls forth puns: A Salt and Battery, A Batter Plaice (plaice being a common British fish), Salmon to Watch Over Me, The Frying Scotsman, and Oh, My Cod. So you get not only food but entertainment.
Traditionally, fish and chips were served in a newspaper cone, and it’s said that the porosity of the newsprint was perfect for absorbing oil and preventing greasiness. Since newspaper inks might not have been as healthy, it’s not longer used, to the regret of some. Ideally, you’d eat them from a cone, piping hot and delicious on a cold, windy day, while walking home with your mates.I like that it’s now much more possible to get good fish and chips than used to be the
case. They’re not exactly health food, but in my research, I find that they’re significantly lower in fat and calories than a lot of the other standard American fast foods
Here’s are some fun facts from a British Food website:
“Deep-fried fish in a crispy batter with fat golden chips is still one of Britain and Ireland’s favorite meals. The love for them ranks alongside Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings, and the recently nominated Chicken Tikka Masala, as the English National Dish.”
Compared to other take-away foods Fish and chips have: 9.42 grams of fat per 100 grams. The average pizza has 11, Big Mac meal with medium fries has 12.1, Whopper meal with medium fries has 14.5, chicken korma 15.5 and doner kebab 16.2.
Fish and chips have 595 calories in the average portion – an average pizza has 871, Big Mac meal with medium fries has 888, Whopper meal with medium fries has 892, chicken korma 910 and doner kebab 924.
Statistics courtesy of Seafish UK.
Fish and chips are a good source of protein and vitamins, too. The discussion of fish and chips on the Wench loop sent half of us out to eat some. <G> Luckily, they’ve 
become easier to find in the US—there are a couple of Irish pubs near me that do a very decent job. So I went to the nearest pub for lunch. <G>
Have you had a chance to eat proper British-style fish and chips? If so, did you love or hate them? If not—would you like to give them a try?
Mary Jo
When my husband and I visited New Zealand back in 2011 or so, one of the must do items on our list was to have fish and chips. I hadn’t anticipated my dinner looking back at me, so my husband had to do some quick fixing before I was ready to try again!
Thanks for revisiting this fun post, Mary Jo. I particularly enjoyed those punny names.
Kareni, I also love the punny shop names! It was a tough call choosing the name for my fictional chippy. My Regency characters went nuts over fish and chips when they were in the WWII UK since that kind of deep frying didn’t exist in their home time period.
I’ve had really good fish and chips in Ketchikan, Alaska Fish House. It’s such an easy meal to enjoy.
Patricia, and if cooked properly, it’s magic to eat! It doesn’t surprise me that in Alaska they’d have lots of really fresh fish.
Fish fries are popular in NE USA, not only during the Fridays of Lent, but all year long. The fish is usually haddock or cod. Fish fries are often fundraisers, as well. Even though they comes from a chain restaurant, I have always loved the Long John Silver’s fish and chips, accompanied by “hush puppies, which are little balls of deep fried cornmeal.
Patricia, I’d be happy to sample the fish and chips at a Long John Silver restaurant, but I’m never lived near one. Hush puppies are more Southern, but if you’re in a mood for deep fried food, why not???
I love fish and growing up in a catholic household it was fish every Friday. My mam did lovely home made chips to go with it and we devoured it! We have quite a few chippers, as we call them, in the nearby town so can get them any time we like.
Mary Jo, Kinsale is a beautiful spot and is a real foody town. My husband and I spent a couple of weekends there over the years and the food was always the biggest draw for me.
I live close to the sea but there isn’t a lot of fishing here but down the coast is a place called Dunmore East and it’s all about fish there.
Very enjoyable post!
I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Teresa. Since you’re Irish, you qualify as a Fish and Chips Expert! We loved Kinsale–In my book Sometimes a Rogue, I used Kinsale as the port my hero and heroine were escaping through when being pursued by Very Bad Guys. On our own visit, a single American woman was checking into our B&B at the same time, just up the street from the restaurant, so we invited her to join us for dinner and we all had a lovely time. Memories…..!
What a lovely thing to do Mary Jo!!!
Teresa, we all benefited! Meeting new people is part of the fun of travel.
I love fish and chips, but because of the deep frying, it’s an occasional treat for me. On my part of the East Coast, we’re more likely to see deep fried clams or calamari(squid). I usually go for the calamari.
I think the best place to get fish and chips in the U.S. is near the Great Lakes. All-you-can-eat fish fry places can be found in Michigan and Ohio, and I’m sure on the Western side of the Great Lakes, although I haven’t been there. They use freshwater fish, usually either whitefish or perch, which is absolutely delicious. I also have fond memories of a well=known fish fry place in Skaneateles, New York, which is in the Finger Lakes region, another great area for freshwater fish.
Karin, I remember Skaneateles as a great little town. Since I went to college in Syracuse, it was an occasional visit. Sadly, if the fish fry place was there then, I never got to visit.
Karin, please tell me the name of the Skaneateles fish fry place.
It’s called Doug’s Fish Fry, and it gets really busy. You stand in line and place your order, then pick it up and eat outside at picnic tables. My sister-in-law’s family had a cabin on a nearby lake, so that’s how I got to visit Skaneateles. https://www.dougsfishfry.com/
I love a good crispy batter fried fish. Many of the churches and fire departments around here have fish fries during Lent, some better than others. I think the closest that I have come to British style was at a Molly Maguires. Before I retired I got to attend conferences in various parts of the country. I believe when I when to Boston, New Orleans and San Francisco, I only ate seafood. Love it.
Jan, the US is blessed with many waterside cities, and they’re all great places for conferences!
Well I love the Wisconsin fish fry! It’s generally haddock or cod, but many in my family like the perch. Most of the fish n chips we have found in the rest of the USA are closer to this with the beer batter than a British Isles thing.
Jeanne, it’s not health food, but I do love the crispy beer batter!
My favorite fish and chips experience was in Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, in Scotland. Can’t recall the name of the shop, but it had won awards – understandably so! It was right across from the harbor and we sat on the sea wall in the sun while gulls gathered around, hoping for a share.
But my favorite fish and chips story is my husband’s – I dropped him and his best friend off in Scrabster one morning and they took the ferry to the Orkneys. They were there for several days and have wonderful stories to tell, but ask either of them what they liked best, and they will tell you of buying fish and chips at the harbor, enjoying them so much that they went right back in and had a second order each!
LOL, Constance! Yes, fish and chips are great Guy Food! In my book Once a Laird, the hero and a friend he hadn’t seen in years unite over harbor food on my Orkney inspired island. Fish and chips at the harbor sounds wonderful to me.