Fish & chips

Fish and chips

Fish and chips in a polystyrene take-away container
Alternative names	Fish supper
Course	Main dish
Place of origin	England
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Battered and fried fish with deep-fried chips

Fish and chips is a hot dish of English origin consisting of fried battered fish and hot chips. It is a common take-away food and an early example of culinary fusion. First appearing in the 1860s, in 1910 there were more than 25,000 fish and chip shops across the UK, and by the 1930s it increased to over 35,000.

Fried fish was first brought to England by Western Sephardic Jews, and is considered the model for the fish element of the dish. Originally, Western Sephardic Jews settling in England in the 17th century would have prepared fried fish in a manner similar to Pescado frito, which is coated in a flour. Battered fish is first coated in flour then dipped into a batter consisting of flour mixed with liquid, usually water but sometimes beer. Some newer modifications to the recipe may have cornflour added, and instead of beer sometimes soda water is added. In 1860, the first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin who sold "fish fried in the Jewish fashion".

Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in England as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea, 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 heavily populated areas.

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 potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil".

The modern fish-and-chip shop ("chippy" or "chipper" in modern British slang) originated in the United Kingdom, although outlets selling fried food occurred commonly throughout Europe. 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 behind which the fryers were located. By 1910, there were more than 25,000 fish and chip shops across the country, and in the 1920s there were more than 35,000 shops. 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". In 1928, Harry Ramsden's fast food restaurant chain opened in the UK. On a single day in 1952, his fish and chip shop in Guiseley, West Yorkshire served 10,000 portions of fish and chips, earning itself a place in The Guinness Book Of Records. In George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting 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. During the Second World War, fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the United Kingdom not subject to rationing. Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to the combination of fish and chips as "the good companions".