Fish and chips

{{Main|English cuisine}}

The British tradition of eating fish battered and fried in oil may have been introduced to the country by the Chuts, Spanish and Portuguese Jews who lived in the Netherlands before settling in the UK. These immigrants arrived as early as the 16th century, the main immigration to London being during the 1850s.{{cite book|first1=Claudia|last1=Roden|title=The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIgrAAAAYAAJ|publisher=Knopf|date=1996 |isbn=0-394-53258-9|via=Google Books}}{{cite book|last1=Hosking|first1=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cfP6jHmSLnMC&pg=PT183 |title=Eggs in Cookery:Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium of Food and Cookery 2006|date=2007|publisher=Prospect Books|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1-903018-54-5|page=183}}{{cite book | last = Marks | first = Gil | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ux2lGKCKVPYC&pg=PA82 |title = The world of Jewish cooking: more than 500 traditional recipes from Alsace to Yemen | publisher = Simon & Schuster | year = 1999 | isbn = 0-684-83559-2}} They prepared fried fish in a manner similar to pescado frito, which is coated in flour then fried in oil. Fish fried for Shabbat for dinner on Friday evenings could be eaten cold the following afternoon for shalosh seudot, palatable this way as liquid vegetable oil was used rather than a hard fat, such as butter.{{cite web|last=Majumdar |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Majumdar |access-date=27 December 2019|title=The Good Companions: The True Story of Fish & Chips|url=https://www.eatmyglobe.com/fish-and-chips|website=Eat My Globe}} Charles Dickens mentions "fried fish warehouses" in Oliver Twist (1838), and in 1845 Alexis Soyer in his first edition of A Shilling Cookery for the People, gives a recipe for "fried fish, Jewish fashion", which is dipped in a batter mix of flour and water before frying.{{cite web |title=Chip-Shop Fried Fish |url=https://www.foodsofengland.info/chipshopfriedfish.html |access-date=17 April 2025 |website=The Foods of England Project}} However, "fish the Jews' way" in most English cookery books usually refer not to plain fried fish, but to escabeche, fish fried then pickled in vinegar.{{Cite web |last=Kirshenblatt-Gimblett |first=Barbara |date=2023-06-22 |title=No, British fish and chips is not a Jewish invention |url=https://forward.com/forverts-in-english/551553/no-british-fish-and-chips-is-not-a-jewish-invention/?fbclid=IwAR2-NSlAQSSCgUednkYy4w69uwhQIP0CI05ZgKdb4TcFXPSKEp-NptRk0MU |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=The Forward |language=en}}

File:BCLM fish+chips.jpg inner and ordinary paper outer), as a takeaway]]

The location of the first fish and chip shop is unclear. The earliest known shops were opened in London during the 1860s by Eastern European Jewish immigrant Joseph Malin,{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2003/jan/19/foodanddrink.restaurants|title=Enduring Love |access-date=19 January 2003 | work=The Guardian | location=London | first=Jay | last=Rayner | date=3 November 2005 | quote=In 1860 a Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe called Joseph Malin opened the first business in London's East End selling fried fish alongside chipped potatoes which, until then, had been found only in the Irish potato shops.}} and by John Lees in Mossley, Lancashire.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10410058/Potted-histories-fish-and-chips.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10410058/Potted-histories-fish-and-chips.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Potted histories: fish and chips|last=Hyslop|first=Leah|journal=Daily Telegraph|date=30 October 2013|access-date=4 September 2018|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.federationoffishfriers.co.uk/pages/history--599.htm|title=Federation of Fish Friers - Serving the Fish and Chips Industry - History|website=www.federationoffishfriers.co.uk|access-date=4 September 2018}} Fried fish and chips had existed separately for at least 50 years prior to this, so the possibility that they had been combined at an earlier time cannot be ruled out.{{cite book|first1=Alan|last1=Davidson|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIIeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA310|publisher=OUP Oxford|date=21 August 2014|isbn=978-0-19-104072-6|via=Google Books}} Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working class in England as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea,{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p039pr7c?intc_type=promo&intc_location=sport&intc_campaign=fishandchips&intc_linkname=radio4_fac_audioclip1|title=Did fish and chips come from the north of England?|date=30 November 2015 |publisher=BBC Radio 4}} 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 cities.{{cite web|url=http://www.niagara.co.uk/fish_and_chips.htm |title=Fish and chips - A great English tradition |access-date=22 June 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080116221706/http://www.niagara.co.uk/fish_and_chips.htm |archive-date = 16 January 2008}}

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 Dictionary notes as its earliest usage of "chips" in this sense the mention in Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (1859): "husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil".{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/98/98-h/98-h.htm#link2H_4_0002|title=A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens|website=www.gutenberg.org}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16391511|title=The master of the snippet|first=Matthew|last=Davis|work=BBC News |date=4 January 2012}}{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c54xAQAAMAAJ&q=tale+of+two+cities|title=A Tale of Two Cities|first=Charles|last=Dickens|date=24 January 1866|publisher=Chapman and Hall|via=Google Books}}

The modern fish-and-chip shop ("chippy" in modern British slang) originated in the UK, although outlets selling fried food occurred commonly throughout Europe.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6126476.stm |title=Chippy smells of chips complaint|work=BBC News |date=7 November 2006 |access-date=22 June 2009}}{{Cite news

| last=Hegarty | first=Shane | title=How fish and chips enriched a nation | newspaper=The Irish Times | location=Dublin, Ireland

| date=3 November 2009 | page=17

| url=http://www.irishtimes.com

}} 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. 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 the First World War 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".

File:Harry Ramsden's, Marine Parade, Brighton (July 2020).JPG in Brighton, one of its 35 outlets in the UK and Ireland]]

In 1928, Harry Ramsden opened his first 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.{{cite news |title=Having a Whaler of a time |url=https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/opinion/latest/10213308.whaler-time/ |access-date=22 June 2022 |work=Northern Echo|quote = "Fish 'n' chips (the "sixpenny supper") sustained national morale through two world wars, helped turn fishing ports into holiday resorts and made Friday night suppers the culinary highlight of the week for generations. George Orwell reckoned they were essential for keeping the masses happy – and he was right. More than 150 years after Joseph Malin opened his first shop, fish and chips are a British institution."}} In George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), which documents 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.{{cite book|last=Dewey|first=Peter |date=2014|title=War and Progress: Britain 1914–1945|page= 325|publisher= Routledge|isbn=978-0-582-04586-6}}

During the Second World War, fish and chips—a staple of the working class—remained one of the few foods in the United Kingdom not subject to rationing.{{cite web|url=http://www.rls.org.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-001-467-L |title=Resources for Learning, Scotland: Rationing |publisher=Rls.org.uk |date=5 January 1998 |access-date=22 June 2009}} Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to the combination of fish and chips as "the good companions".

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 UK, the Fish Labelling Regulations 2003,{{Cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20030461.htm|publisher=The Stationery Office|year=2003|access-date=4 April 2009|title=Fish Labelling Regulations (England) 2003}} (equivalent similarly-named legislation applies in other countries of the UK) and in the Republic of Ireland the European Communities (Labelling of Fishery and Aquaculture Products) Regulations 2003,{{cite web|url=http://www.fsai.ie/uploadedFiles/S.I_No_320_of_2003.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100705023219/http://www.fsai.ie/uploadedFiles/S.I_No_320_of_2003.pdf |archive-date=5 July 2010 |url-status=live |title=European Communities (Fish Labelling) Regulations, 2003 |access-date=16 October 2012}} 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 UK the Food Standards Agency guidance excludes caterers from this;{{Cite web

|url=http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/fish_lab_reg2003gn.pdf

|year=2003

|access-date=4 April 2009 |publisher=Office of Public Sector Information

|title=Guidance Notes for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019221532/http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/fish_lab_reg2003gn.pdf

|archive-date=19 October 2010 }} (Section A.2) but several local Trading Standards authorities and others do say it cannot be sold merely as "fish and chips".{{Cite web|url=http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9DA031F1-E2EA-4198-8CC6-23644A89D6B1/0/FOODLABELLINGFORCATERINGESTABLISHMENTS.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716141422/http://www.blackpool.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/9DA031F1-E2EA-4198-8CC6-23644A89D6B1/0/FOODLABELLINGFORCATERINGESTABLISHMENTS.pdf |archive-date=16 July 2011 |url-status=live

|publisher=Blackpool Council|title=Food Labelling For Catering Establishments|access-date=4 April 2009}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/NCC048357.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120803162106/http://www.norfolk.gov.uk/consumption/groups/public/documents/general_resources/NCC048357.pdf |archive-date=3 August 2012 |url-status=live|access-date=4 April 2009|title=Business Advice Fact Sheet|publisher=Norfolk County Council}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.ncass.org.uk/default.aspx?id=1039|publisher=Nationwide Caterers Association|access-date=4 April 2009|title=Labelling & Pricing}}

File:Fish and chips.jpg, Norfolk. In the UK, fish and chips are particularly associated with seaside resorts.]]

File:The Rock & Sole Plaice.jpg

A prominent meal in British culture, fish and chips became popular in wider circles in London and South East England in the middle of the 19th century: Charles Dickens mentions a "fried fish warehouse" in Oliver Twist, first published in 1838, while in the north of England a trade in deep-fried chipped potatoes developed. It remains unclear exactly when and where these two trades combined to become the modern fish and chip shop industry. A Jewish immigrant, Joseph Malin, opened the first recorded combined fish-and-chip shop in Bow, East London, circa 1860; a Mr Lees pioneered the concept in the North of England, in Mossley, in 1863.{{cite news |title=Chipping away at the history of fish and chips |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20130409-chipping-away-at-the-history-of-fish-and-chips |access-date=19 June 2022 |work=BBC}}{{cite web|author=Historic uk - the heritage accommodation guide |url=http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/FishandChips.htm |title=Tradition Historic UK, Fish and Chips |publisher=Historic-uk.com |access-date=22 June 2009}} A century later, the National Federation of Fish Friers, which made Malin's its first member, presented a plaque to Malin's as being the world's first fish and chip shop.{{cite news |title=Fish & chips: Drinks & dishes you might not have realised were invented in London |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/united-kingdom/galleries/drinks-and-dishes-invented-in-london/fish-and-chips/ |access-date=19 June 2022 |work=The Telegraph|quote=It was, the Federation declared, one Joseph Malin, a Jewish émigré of Cleveland Way, Whitechapel, who opened the first chippie around 1860.}} A blue plaque is located at the other main contender for the first fish and chip shop, the present site of Oldham's Tommyfield Market.{{cite book|last1=Chaloner|first1=W. H.|last2=Henderson|first2=W. O.|title=Industry and Innovation: Selected Essays|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1990|isbn=0-7146-3335-6}} Located in Covent Garden, The Rock & Sole Plaice, dating from 1871, is London's oldest fish and chip shop still in operation.

The concept of a sit-down fish restaurant—as opposed to takeaway—was introduced by Samuel Isaacs, an entrepreneur from Whitechapel, East London who ran a thriving wholesale and retail fish business. Dubbed the 'Fish Restaurant King', Isaacs' first restaurant opened in Lambeth, South London in 1896 serving fish and chips, bread and butter, and tea for nine pence.England Eats Out by John Burnett - Published by Pearson Education, 2004 {{ISBN|0-582-47266-0}} It became instantly popular and led to a chain which comprised 22 restaurants.{{cite book |last1=Walton |first1=John K. |title=Fish and Chips, and the British Working Class, 1870-1940 |date=24 July 1998 |publisher=A&C Black |page=34 |isbn=0-7185-2120-X}} Isaacs' trademark was the phrase "This is the Plaice", combined with a picture of the punned-upon fish in question, which appeared in all of his restaurants.{{cite book |last1=Jolles |first1=Michael A. |last2=Rubinstein |first2=W. |title=The Palgrave Dictionary of Anglo-Jewish History |date=2011 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-30466-6 |pages=457}} Isaacs' restaurants were carpeted, had table service, tablecloths, flowers, china and cutlery, and made the trappings of upmarket dining affordable to the working classes. They were located in the Strand and other London locations, as well as Brighton, Ramsgate, Margate and other seaside resorts in southern England. Menus were expanded in the early 20th century to include meat dishes and other variations. A glimpse of the old Brighton restaurant at No.1 Marine Parade can be seen in the background of Norman Wisdom's 1955 film One Good Turn just as Pitkin runs onto the seafront; this is now the site of a Harry Ramsden's fish and chips restaurant.

From their first appearance on the British High Street in the early 1860s, fish and chip shops spread rapidly in order to satisfy the needs of the growing industrial population.{{cite news |title=The History of Fish and Chips |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Fish-Chips/ |access-date=17 June 2024 |publisher=Historic England |archive-date=June 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608152727/https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Fish-Chips/ |url-status=live }} By 1910, there were over 25,000 fish and chip shops across the UK, a figure that grew to over 35,000 shops by the 1930s. Since then the trend has reversed, and in 2009 there were approximately 10,000 shops.

Dundee City Council claims that chips were first sold by a Belgian immigrant, Edward De Gernier, in the city's Greenmarket in the 1870s.{{cite web|title=Dundee Fact File |publisher=Dundee City Council |url=http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/departments/fact.htm |access-date=20 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070408055244/http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/departments/fact.htm |archive-date=8 April 2007 }} In Edinburgh and the surrounding area, a combination of Gold Star brown sauce and water or malt vinegar, known as "sauce", or more specifically as "chippy sauce", has great popularity;{{cite web |url=http://www.federationoffishfriers.co.uk/pages/81.htm |title=Did You Know? |publisher=Federation of Fish Friers |access-date=22 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923220940/http://www.federationoffishfriers.co.uk/pages/81.htm |archive-date=23 September 2008 }} salt and vinegar is preferred elsewhere in Scotland.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/scotlands-sauce-wars-charge-for-ketchup-in-edinburgh-leaves-customer-from-glasgow-with-chip-on-8786768.html |title=Scotland's sauce wars: Charge for ketchup in Edinburgh leaves customer from Glasgow with chip on shoulder |newspaper=The Independent |date=27 August 2013 |access-date=22 March 2019 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/glasgow-chippies-get-ready-for-the-salt-and-sauce-1119494.amp|title=Glasgow chippies get ready for the 'salt and sauce' Scottish Cup Final|newspaper=Daily Record |date=18 April 2012|access-date=22 March 2019 }}{{cite news|url=https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/salt-n-sauce-capital-chippy-sauce-export-bid-1-2880928/amp |title=Salt 'n' sauce? Capital chippy sauce export bid|newspaper=Edinburgh Evening News|date=6 April 2013|access-date=22 March 2019 }}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-06-18/karen-gillan-wants-scottish-chip-sauce-so-what-is-it/amp/|title=Karen Gillan wants Scottish chip sauce – so, what is it? |magazine=Radio Times |date=18 June 2015|access-date=22 March 2019 }}

The annual National Fish & Chips Awards were set up in the UK in 1988.{{cite web|url=http://www.seafish.org/promoting-seafood/the-national-fish-chip-awards/|title=The National Fish & Chips Awards|access-date=23 February 2022}} The 30th Annual Fish & Chips Awards ceremony was attended by Norwegian ambassador to the UK Mona Juul.{{cite web|url=http://www.ikonlondonmagazine.com/chip-chip-hooray-the-national-fish-chip-awards-named-the-uks-best-chippy/|title=Chip Chip Hooray! The National Fish & Chip Awards Names The UK's Best Chippy|publisher=Ikon London Magazine| last2 = Alvarez | first2 = Joe| last1 = A Orlova | first1 = Tamara| date=25 January 2018|access-date=2 February 2018}}

{{Main|Australian cuisine}}

File:Australian Hotel, St George, Queensland, 2021, 03.jpg

The first recorded owner of an Australian fish and chip shop is Greek migrant Athanasias Comino, who opened his shop in 1879 on Sydney's Oxford Street, though Comino's shop was inspired by an unknown Welshman's pre-existing fish and chip shop.{{cite web |title=The History of Fish and Chips |url=http://fishandchipsawards.com.au/Information/The-History-of-Fish-and-Chips |website=Australian Fish and Chips Awards |publisher=Fisheries Research and Development Corporation |access-date=11 June 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731155148/http://fishandchipsawards.com.au/Information/The-History-of-Fish-and-Chips |url-status=dead }} In Australia today, there are an estimated 4000 fish and chip shops, as well as fish and chips being an essential menu offering in many Australian pubs and restaurants.

{{Main|Canadian cuisine}}

Fish and chips is a widely popular dish in Canada, sometimes using haddock or local lake-caught fish like perch or walleye. Most shops also sell poutine and other fried items. In the province of Newfoundland & Labrador, fish and chips made with cod are a staple food and the most common takeout meal.

{{Main|Irish cuisine}}

In Ireland, the first fish and chips were sold by an Italian immigrant, Giuseppe Cervi, who mistakenly stepped off a North America-bound ship at Queenstown (now Cobh) in County Cork in the 1880s and walked all the way to Dublin.{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/food-drink/national-fish-and-chips-day-thank-cod-for-giuseppe-2656484.html |title=National Fish and Chips Day: Thank cod for Giuseppe |work=Irish Independent |access-date=23 August 2012 |archive-date=3 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703065529/http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/food-drink/national-fish-and-chips-day-thank-cod-for-giuseppe-2656484.html |url-status=dead }} He started by selling fish and chips outside Dublin pubs from a handcart. He then found a permanent spot in Great Brunswick Street (now Pearse Street). His wife Palma would ask customers "Uno di questa, uno di quella?" This phrase (meaning "one of this, one of that") entered the vernacular in Dublin as "one and one", which is still a way of referring to fish and chips in the city.

{{Main|New Zealand cuisine}}

Fish and chips is the most popular takeaway food in New Zealand. Food historians have not been able to pinpoint exactly when the meal became an established part of New Zealand cuisine, but all recognise that the first fish and chips shops were introduced by British settlers before World War I.{{cite web|last1=Wassilieff|first1=Maggy|title=Seafood - Favourite Kiwi fare|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/seafood/page-2|publisher=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=15 December 2017|date=12 June 2006}} During the 20th century, nearly every small town and suburb in New Zealand had at least one fish-and-chip shop. As in Britain, Friday night has been the traditional night to eat fish.

Traditionally, fish and chips were served in wrappings of greaseproof paper and then newspaper as insulation. With the decline of the newspaper industry, this has become less common although plain, unprinted paper is still popular.

In 1980, four up-and-coming New Zealand Labour Party politicians, including David Lange, were nicknamed the "Fish and Chip Brigade" due to a picture published at the time with the group eating fish and chips.{{cite web|title=Seafood - Favourite Kiwi fare: The Fish and Chip Brigade|url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5099/the-fish-and-chip-brigade|publisher=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |access-date=14 December 2017}}

{{Main|American cuisine}}

In the United States, the dish is most commonly sold as fish and chips, except in Upstate New York and Wisconsin and other parts of the Northeast and Upper Midwest, where this dish would be called a fish fry.{{cite web|title=Shore Lunch: More Than the World's Finest Fish and Chips – New West|url=https://newwest.net/topic/article/shore_lunch_more_than_the_worlds_finest_fish_and_chips/C41/L41/|website=newwest.net|publisher=New West Publications|access-date=15 December 2017}} While in the United States chips refers to potato chips ("crisps" in British English), the dish retains its native name. In the Southern United States, a common form of cuisine is fried catfish with French fries, accompanied by coleslaw, pickles, raw onion slices and lemon slices.

The western Norwegian town of Kristiansund has had a tradition with fish and chips as street food since the 1940s. It is known locally as fishan.{{cite news |title=Kristiansund |url=https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/northwest/kristiansund/ |access-date=2 September 2023 |agency=Visit Norway}}

In Britain and Ireland, cod and haddock appear most commonly as the fish used for fish and chips,{{cite web|first=Alan|last=Masterson|url=http://www.seafish.org/plate/fishandchips.asp |title="Seafish. On Plate. Fish & chips" (UK Sea Fish Industry Authority website) |publisher=Seafish.org |access-date=22 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011050658/http://www.seafish.org/plate/fishandchips.asp |archive-date=11 October 2008 }} but vendors also sell many other kinds of fish, especially other white fish, such as pollock, hake or coley, plaice, skate, ray, and huss or rock salmon (a term covering several species of dogfish and similar fish). In traditional fish and chip shops several varieties of fish are offered by name ("haddock and chips"), but in some restaurants and stalls "fish and chips", unspecified, is offered; it is increasingly likely to be the much cheaper basa.{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/3348646/It-s-basa-and-chips-as-shoppers-choose-sustainable-fish.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/3348646/It-s-basa-and-chips-as-shoppers-choose-sustainable-fish.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=It-s basa-and-chips as shoppers choose sustainable fish |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date= 3 August 2008 |first=Jasper|last=Copping |access-date= 18 May 2019}}{{cbignore}} In Northern Ireland, cod, plaice or whiting appear most commonly in 'fish suppers'—'supper' being Scottish and Northern Irish terminology for a food item accompanied by chips.[https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/aug/19/stonehaven-bay-best-fish-and-chips-food-award "Yes, this really is the best fish supper money can buy"]. The Guardian. 19 August 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2019 Suppliers in Devon and Cornwall often offer pollock and coley as cheap alternatives to haddock.{{cite book|last1=Nunn|first1=Ian|title=My Family's Other Recipes: I Didn't Wanna Do It|date=2011|publisher=Author House|isbn=978-1-4670-0232-5|page=121|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PbGsCgVTFhAC&pg=PA121|language=en}}

File:Fish-and-chips-horseshoe-bay.jpg and chips, served with a lemon wedge and tartar sauce]]

In Australia, reef cod and rock cod (a variety different from that used in the United Kingdom), barramundi or flathead (more expensive options), flake (a type of shark meat), King George whiting (little more expensive than other fish, but cheaper than barramundi or flathead) or snapper (cheaper options), are commonly used. From the early 21st century, farmed basa imported from Vietnam and hoki have become common in Australian fish and chip shops. Other types of fish are also used based on regional availability.

In New Zealand, snapper or gurnard was originally the preferred species for battered fillets in the North Island. As catches of this fish declined, it was replaced by hoki, shark (particularly rig) – marketed as lemon fish – and tarakihi. Bluefin gurnard and blue cod predominate in South Island fish and chips.

In the United States, the type of fish used depends on availability in a given region. Some common types are cod, halibut, flounder, tilapia or, in New England, Atlantic cod or haddock.{{cite news |title=Goodbye, fish and chips? New England haddock imperiled by overfishing |url=https://www.ctpublic.org/news/2023-05-17/goodbye-fish-and-chips-new-england-haddock-imperiled-by-overfishing |access-date=26 April 2024 |work=Connecticut Public}}

In India, the dish is usually based on beckti or pomfret and uses chilli paste, and more pepper than would be used in Britain.{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food/food-reviews/Fish-n-chips-a-great-Indian-delicacy/articleshow/10065191.cms|title=Fish n' chips, a great Indian delicacy|date=9 February 2012|newspaper=Times of India}}

In South Africa, hake and snoek are common choices.{{cite news|url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-07-30-hooked-on-hake-and-slap-chips|title=Hooked on hake and slap chips|date=30 July 2021|newspaper=Daily Maverick}}

File:Frying range.JPG in 2007]]

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) {{As of|2007|alt= now}} predominate, in part because it makes fried chips suitable for vegetarians and for adherents of certain faiths.{{cite news |last1=Grant |first1=Katie |title=Fish and chips is a beloved national dish, but Britain can't agree on the best way to cook it |url=https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/food-and-drink/fish-chips-beloved-national-dish-britain-best-way-cook-1599166 |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=I |date=28 April 2022 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Fort |first1=Matthew |title=The best fish and chips |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2009/jan/22/best-fish-and-chip-shop |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=22 January 2009}}

There is a longstanding debate among vendors in the UK on whether beef dripping or vegetable oil is the best way to fry fish and chips. The traditional method of dripping or lard are used in some living industrial history museums, such as the Black Country and Beamish Living Museums in England.{{cite news |last1=Vukmirovic |first1=James |title=Landmark former chip shop rebuilt at museum is a nod to the culinary past of the Black Country |url=https://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/food-and-drink/2024/07/12/a-popular-part-of-heritage-museum-and-a-nod-to-the-culinary-past-of-black-country/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Express and Star |date=12 July 2024 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Would you queue over an hour for these fish and chips? |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/davys-fried-fish-shop-beamish-16203687 |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Chronicle Live |date=3 May 2019 |language=en}}

The fish part of the dish is filleted, and no bones should be found in the fish.{{cite news |title='Posh' fish and chips recipe |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/posh_fish_and_chips_17532 |access-date=2 September 2023 |agency=BBC}}

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{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/deepfriedfishinbeerb_67776.shtml|title=Deep fried fish in beer|access-date=23 March 2009}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/gurnard-in-beer-batter-772989.html|title=Gurnard in beer batter|date=26 January 2008|access-date=23 March 2009 | work=The Independent | location=London | first=Mark | last=Hix}} whereas others use stout or bitter.

British chips are usually considerably thicker than American-style French fries.{{cite news |title=Chips, fries or crisps? The internet is divided over potato snack names |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/chips-fries-crisps-debate-twitter-potato-snacks-names-worldwide-a8523486.html |access-date=23 March 2019 |work=The Independent|quote=In line with British terminology, the chunky, thick, fried and floury variety should be called chips. Meanwhile, the slimmer and crispier options - a staple in fast food restaurants and American diners - are fries.}} Some US restaurants and some people in their home cooking may use a thick type of chip, similar to the British variant, sometimes referred to as steak fries.

File:Fish and Chips 2.jpg and tartar sauce in an iron bowl]]

In chip shops in most parts of Britain and Ireland, salt and vinegar are traditionally sprinkled over fish and chips at the time it is served. Suppliers use malt vinegar, onion vinegar (used for pickling onions), or the cheaper non-brewed condiment. In a few places, notably Edinburgh, 'sauce' (as in 'salt and sauce') is more traditional than vinegar—with 'sauce' meaning a brown sauce. In England, a portion of mushy peas is a popular side dish,{{cite web|work=BBC |url=http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3411/crispy-fish-and-chips-with-mushy-peas |title=Crispy fish & chips with mushy peas recipe |access-date=7 March 2010}} as are a range of pickles that typically include gherkins, onions and eggs.{{cite web|url=http://britishfoodhistory.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/pickled-eggs/ |title=British Food: A History |publisher=Britishfoodhistory.wordpress.com |date=23 September 2012 |access-date=16 July 2013}} In table-service restaurants and pubs, the dish is usually served with a slice of lemon for squeezing over the fish and without any sauces or condiments, with salt, vinegar and sauces available at the customer's leisure.{{cite web |url=http://voices.yahoo.com/how-eat-fish-chips-like-british-1640767.html |title=How to Eat Fish and Chips like the British |publisher=voices.yahoo.com |date=16 July 2008 |access-date=16 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130615163952/http://voices.yahoo.com/how-eat-fish-chips-like-british-1640767.html |archive-date=15 June 2013 }} Ketchup is also a popular addition (a 2020 YouGov poll in the UK saw ketchup, curry sauce and mushy peas as the top three toppings after salt and vinegar).{{cite news |title=What do Britons like most on their chips? |url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/consumer/articles-reports/2020/08/14/what-do-britons-most-their-chips |access-date=12 May 2022 |agency=YouGov}}

In Ireland, Wales and England, many takeaways serve warm side portions of sauces such as curry sauce or gravy, if requested and normally for a small extra fee (curry sauce topped the poll in Wales with one in three using it as a topping). The sauces are usually poured over the chips. In the Midlands especially, chips with mushy peas or baked beans are known as a "pea mix" or a "bean mix".

Other fried products include 'scraps' (also known as 'bits' in Southern England and "scrumps" in South Wales), originally a by-product of fish frying. Still popular in Northern England, they were given as treats to the children of customers. Portions prepared and sold today consist of loose blobs of batter, deep-fried to a crunchy golden crisp in the cooking fat. The potato scallop or potato cake consists of slices of potato dipped in fish batter and deep-fried until golden brown. These are often accompanied for dipping by the warm sauces listed above.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2007/jul/13/doyouknowwhatscrapsarean |title=Do you know what scraps are? And why they should be free |date=13 July 2007 |access-date=24 November 2010 |location=London |work=The Guardian }}

In Sheffield, Yorkshire fishcakes are made by sandwiching a piece of fish between two slices of potato and deep frying it in batter. This is commonly sold in a bread bun and known as a Fishcake Butty.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.co.uk/lifestyle/food-and-drink/what-is-a-yorkshire-fishcake-sheffields-oldest-fish-and-chip-shop-two-steps-settles-debate-4056840|title=What is a Yorkshire fishcake? Sheffield's oldest fish and chip shop Two Steps settles debate|last=Cumber|first=Robert|date=11 March 2023|work=The Star|access-date=28 December 2024}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.keighleynews.co.uk/leisure/13379350.fishcake-the-traditional-way-but-definitely-no-ketchup/|title=Fishcake the traditional way – but definitely no ketchup!|last=Knights|first=David|date=9 July 2015|publisher=Keighley News|access-date=28 December 2024}}

An average serving of fish and chips consisting of {{convert|6|oz|g|order=flip}} of fried fish with {{convert|10|oz|g|order=flip}} of fried chips has approximately {{cvt|1000|kcal}} calories and contains approximately {{convert|52|g|oz|frac=5}} of fat.{{cite web | title=Serving the Fish and Chips Industry - Nutritional info | publisher=National Federation of Fish Friers | date=29 March 2018 | url=http://www.federationoffishfriers.co.uk/pages/nutritional-info-605.htm | access-date=31 March 2018}} The use of tartar sauce as a condiment adds more calories and fat to the dish.

{{Main|Fish and chip shop}}

File:Mobile Fish and Chips.JPG

File:Fish & Chip Routemaster (2).jpg (classic London double-decker bus) converted into a mobile "chip van". Conventional vans are often used to sell fish and chips.]]

In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa, fish and chips are usually sold by independent restaurants and take-aways known as fish and chip shops. Outlets range from small affairs to chain restaurants. Locally owned seafood restaurants are also popular in many places, as are mobile "chip vans".{{cite web |url=http://www.mobilecateringuk.co.uk/how-to-start-up-mobile-catering-business.htm |title=Starting a Mobile Catering Business in UK |publisher=Mobilecateringuk.co.uk |access-date=16 October 2012 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126014516/http://www.mobilecateringuk.co.uk/how-to-start-up-mobile-catering-business.htm |url-status=dead }} In Canada, the outlets may be referred to as "chip wagons".

In Ireland, the majority of traditional vendors are migrants or the descendants of migrants from southern Italy. A trade organisation exists to represent this tradition.{{cite web|url=http://www.itica.ie/ |title=ITICA - Irish Traditional Italian Chipper Association, chippers in Ireland, Irish chippers, Fish and Chip Day — ITICA |publisher=Itica.ie |access-date=2 June 2013}} In New Zealand and Australia, fish-and-chip vendors are a popular business and source of income among the Asian community, particularly Chinese migrants.{{cite book|last=Swillingham|first=Guy|title=Shop Horror|publisher=Fourth Estate|location=London|year=2005|isbn=0-00-719813-2}} In Indonesia, fish and chips are commonly found in western and seafood restaurants in large cities, as well as chain restaurants like The Manhattan Fish Market, Fish & Chips, etc.{{cite web |title=Jakarta Eats: Fish n Chips Shop |publisher=Diplomatic wife |url=http://thediplomaticwife.com/blog/2010/11/02/fish-chips-shop-kemang/ |date=2 November 2010 |access-date=30 January 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415000519/http://thediplomaticwife.com/blog/2010/11/02/fish-chips-shop-kemang/ |archive-date=15 April 2012 }}

Many British establishments have humorous or pun-based names, such as, "A Salt and Battery", "The Codfather", "The Frying Scotsman", "Oh My Cod", "Frying Nemo", "Rock and Sole" and "Jack the Chipper".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2012/jan/15/chip-shop-names-my-cod |title=Chip shops: oh my cod, the plaices I've seen |work=The Guardian |date=15 January 2012 |access-date=2 June 2013 |location=London}}{{cite news |title=A 'traditional' fish and chip shop is opening in Swansea's Wind Street |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/jack-murphys-gaming-bar-chippy-23265358 |access-date=30 June 2022 |website=Wales Online}} The numerous competitions and awards for "best fish-and-chip shop"{{Cite web|url=https://seafish.org/promoting-seafood|title=Promoting Seafood|website=Seafish}} testify to the recognised status of this type of outlet in popular culture.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4670504.stm|title=Couple scoop best chip shop award|access-date=4 January 2007|work=BBC News | date=1 February 2006}}

File:Yaiza Playa Blanca - Avenida Papagayo 07 ies.jpg, Spain)]]

Fish and chips is a popular lunch meal eaten by families travelling to seaside resorts for day trips who do not bring their own picnic meals.

Fish-and-chip outlets sell roughly 25% of all the white fish consumed in the United Kingdom, and 10% of all potatoes.{{cite web|url=http://bartonsfishandchips.co.uk/FishAndChipFacts.aspx |title=Fish and Chip Facts |access-date=30 January 2012 |website=Barton's Fish and Chips |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120130032436/http://bartonsfishandchips.co.uk/FishAndChipFacts.aspx |archive-date=30 January 2012 }}

Fish-and-chip shops traditionally wrapped their product in newspaper, or with an inner layer of white paper (for hygiene) and an outer layer of newspaper or blank newsprint (for insulation and to absorb grease), though the use of newspaper for wrapping has almost ceased on grounds of hygiene. {{As of|2007|alt= Nowadays}}, establishments usually use food-quality wrapping paper, or recyclable cardboard boxes.

The British National Federation of Fish Friers was founded in 1913. It promotes fish and chips and offers training courses. It has about 8,500 members from around the UK.{{cite web|url=http://www.federationoffishfriers.co.uk/|title=NFFF home page|access-date=26 June 2019}}

A previous world record for the "largest serving of fish and chips" was held by Gadaleto's Seafood Market in New Paltz, New York.Guinness World Record Claim ID# 45775{{cite web|url=http://www.gadaletos.com |title=Hudson Valleys Freshest Seafood and Lobster, retail market, restaurant |publisher=Gadaletos.com |date=16 April 2013 |access-date=2 June 2013}} This 2004 record was broken by Yorkshire pub Wensleydale Heifer in July 2011.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14003627 |title=Giant fish and chip supper breaks world record |work=BBC News |date=2 July 2011 |access-date=16 July 2013}} An attempt to break this record was made by Doncaster fish and chip shop Scawsby Fisheries in August 2012, which served {{cvt|33|lb|kg|order=flip}} of battered cod alongside {{cvt|64|lb|kg|order=flip}} of chips.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-19412343|title=Cod and chips world record battered in Doncaster|access-date=29 August 2012|work=BBC News | date=29 August 2012}} Current record is held by Resorts World Birmingham which served a fish and chips weighing {{cvt|54.99|kg|lboz}} from a {{convert|27.83|kg|lboz|adj=on}} raw filet of halibut on 9 February 2018.{{cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-serving-of-fish-and-chips|title=Largest serving of fish and chips|website=Guinness World Records|date=9 February 2018|access-date=4 July 2024}}

The long-standing Roman Catholic tradition of not eating meat on Fridays, especially during Lent, and of substituting fish for meat on that day continues to influence habits even in predominantly Protestant, semi-secular and secular societies. Friday night remains a traditional occasion for eating fish and chips; many cafeterias and similar establishments, while varying their menus on other days of the week, habitually offer fish and chips every Friday.{{cite book | title = Frying tonight: the saga of fish & chips | first= Gerald |last=Priestland |publisher = Gentry Books |url =https://books.google.com/books?id=VsDfAAAAMAAJ | year = 1972 | isbn = 0-85614-014-7 | page = 28 }}

In 1967, inspired by the use of salt and vinegar as condiments for fish and chips in the UK, the Smiths Potato Crisps Company created Salt & Vinegar flavour crisps.{{cite news |title=Channel 4 documentary tells dramatic story of how Corby's huge crisp factory changed the world of snacks - and how it exploded|url=https://www.northantslive.news/whats-on/channel-4-documentary-tells-dramatic-5771498 |access-date=21 April 2022 |work=Northampton Chronicle|quote=This is when Smith's hit back with their own revolutionary flavour — salt and vinegar, inspired by the country's love for fish & chips.}}{{cite news |title=From salt and vinegar crisps to the offside rule: 12 gifts the North East gave the world |newspaper=Evening Chronicle |url=https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/salt-vinegar-crisps-offside-rule-12380648 |access-date=23 April 2022}}

In Australia and New Zealand, the words "fish and chips" are often used as a shibboleth to highlight the difference in each country's short-i vowel sound {{IPA|/ɪ/}}. Australian English has a higher forward sound {{IPAblink|i}}, close to the ee in see (but shorter), while New Zealand English has a lower backward sound {{IPAblink|ɘ}} akin to the a in Rosa's (but not in Rosa, which is typically lower {{IPAblink|ɐ}}). Thus, New Zealanders hear Australians say "feesh and cheeps," while Australians hear New Zealanders say "fush and chups."{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10441472 |title=I'll just have me fush and chups and then I'm off to bid |work=The New Zealand Herald |date=24 May 2007 |access-date=3 April 2018}}

In the UK, waste oil from fish and chip shops has become a useful source of biodiesel. The German biodiesel company Petrotec has outlined plans to produce biodiesel in the UK using waste oil from the British fish-and-chip industry.{{cite web |url=http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/47581/story.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320134445/http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/47581/story.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=20 March 2008 |title=German Biodiesel Firm To Use Chip Fat In UK, US |first=Michael |last=Hogan |date=19 March 2008 |website=planetark.com |access-date=1 October 2010}}

{{Portal|Food|United Kingdom}}

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Fried potatoes
• List of deep fried foods
• List of fish and chip restaurants
• List of fish dishes
• Kibbeling
• Lekkerbekje
• Moules-frites
• Scampi

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book|last1=Priestland|first1=Gerald|title=Frying tonight: the saga of fish & chips.|date=1972|publisher=Gentry Books|location=London|isbn=0-85614-014-7}}
• {{cite journal|last=Walton|first=John K.|title=Fish and Chips and the British Working Class, 1870–1930|journal=Journal of Social History|date=1989|volume=23|issue=2|pages=243–266|doi=10.1353/jsh/23.2.243|jstor=3787879}}
• {{cite book|last=Walton|first=John K.|title=Fish and Chips, and the British Working Class, 1870–1940|date=1994|publisher=Leicester University Press|location=Leicester|isbn=0-567-21232-7|edition=1}}

{{sisterlinks|d=Q203925|c=Category:Fish and chips|n=no|b=Fish and Chips|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|s=no|wikt=no|species=no}}

• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3380151.stm "Top UK dish 'hooked French first'"]: BBC News: Fish and chips invented in France? Retrieved 2008-05-27
• [https://www.theguardian.com/g2/story/0,,492211,00.html "My plaice or yours?"] - article from The Guardian detailing some chippy terminology. Retrieved 2008-05-27
• [http://www.greatbritishkitchen.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=70&Itemid=52 Far Flung Fish and Chips] - historical article
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081011050658/http://www.seafish.org/plate/fishandchips.asp "Fish and chips"]: the (UK) Sea Fish Industry Authority's views. Retrieved 2008-05-27

{{Deep fried foods}}

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