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Fish and Chips

Specialised

White fish in batter, deep fried, with thick-cut chips — the first great industrial working-class meal, made possible by steam trawling, the railways bringing iced fish inland, and cheap frying fat. ⚠ THE FRIED FISH HALF IS JEWISH: pescado frito, fish fried in batter and eaten cold, came with Sephardi Jews to London and is described there from the 18th century — Jefferson and Dickens both note it. The chip is separately French or Belgian. Their marriage is English and mid-19th-century, and both Joseph Malin in London and John Lees in Mossley claim the first shop. ⚠ NO INVENTOR IS ASSERTED. Fish and chips went unrationed in both wars by deliberate policy.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

Languages: English

What is recorded

  • The fried-fish half of fish and chips derives from Sephardi Jewish pescado frito, documented in London from the eighteenth century; the chip is separately claimed for France and Belgium. Their combination is English and mid-nineteenth-century, with competing first-shop claims for Joseph Malin in London and John Lees in Mossley. No inventor is asserted. disputed
  • Fried fish and chips combine into a single trade in industrial England, with competing first-shop claims in London and Mossley. documented

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • related to Belgian Fries and Friterie Culture disputed

    The chip’s origin is separately claimed for France and Belgium; the combination with fried fish is English.

  • related to British Jewish Foodways documented

    The fried fish in batter came with Sephardi Jews to London and is described there from the 18th century.

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.