Crap Weather For December!

[Marco]

Yeah, the ONLY (other than whiting) fish to use for fish and chips. Cod is pish in comparison, and sadly all you get down here. Finding a chippy that serves haddock is rare.

Marco.

[walpurgis]

The best chippie I've ever tried is down in Cornwall at the Lizard village. It's Britains southernmost chip shop. They fry a variety of locally caught and very fresh fish. Last time I was in there, I tried Gurnod and chips, it was delicious! One can always opt for the regular Cod or Haddock of course.

[struth]

usually haddock here... whiting is a little bland, but better than cod when in batter. good chips are harder to get tho.

[Macca]

Don't mind cod or haddock as long as they get the batter right.

[Marco]

The best chippie I've ever tried is down in Cornwall at the Lizard village. It's Britains southernmost chip shop. They fry a variety of locally caught and very fresh fish. Last time I was in there, I tried Gurnod and chips, it was delicious! One can always opt for the regular Cod or Haddock of course.

Yeah, seaside locations (no surprises there), all over the UK, are usually the places to find the best chippies, especially long established family-run establishments that take a real pride in the products they sell.

Marco.

[Marco]

usually haddock here... whiting is a little bland, but better than cod when in batter. good chips are harder to get tho.

Totally agree... The norm now, even when they're decent, is still for them to be on the mushy and greasy side, so that they all stick together, rather than being fully separated, nicely firm, dry (slightly golden), and properly 'chip-shaped'. The worst sin of all, is to serve them still with 'eyes' in!

When my dad had his shop, after the potatoes had been put through the cutting machine, he'd go through the baskets of cut chips, take out any that he noticed with 'eyes' still in, and cut them out with a knife, so that every chip that went into the fryer was perfect, even in terms of being a uniform size, so that they all cooked evenly...

Labour intensive, yes, but he had very high standards, which earned him a fantastic reputation, meaning that folks would travel for miles to go to his shop - even football supporters buses would make a detour, on the way home from matches, to call in for their fish suppers! He had a great business

He even made his own malt vinegar, from a secret recipe, which gave the chips a unique flavour, and which his customers loved. I think him having those sorts of standards is partly the reason why I have the same now with food, even on a basic level with fish and chips. It doesn't matter *what* it is being cooked, if it's done, it has to be done RIGHT!

Nowadays, so many chippies buy their chips in, already cut, so they're not fresh and NEVER taste the same. They don't even fry right, and indeed often aren't even made from the right type of potato. My dad would always use Maris Pipers or Kerr's Pinks.

And with fish, it was always fresh (haddock or line-caught whiting), never frozen. He even closed his shop on Mondays, because fishing boats didn't go out on a Sunday, so there was no fresh fish available for the following day.

Then on Tuesday, when the shop reopened, and for the rest of the week, he had a good relationship with the fishmonger in the village, who used to bring him down all the fish he needed from the fish market in Glasgow, fresh every morning, when he went there himself to get stuff for his shop, and in turn we always bought our fish (for the house) from him, especially when we wanted something really nice, such as lemon sole or sea bass.

That's how small communities used to work together and help each other. Great days!

Marco.

[antonio]

Have to agree, good chips are harder to get. The best chips I've had were fried by my Grandad, my Mum, a good traditional cook herself, told me he always made excellent chips.

[Marco]

Don't mind cod or haddock as long as they get the batter right.

Yup, I agree. On balance, soggy/stodgy batter is what's liable to spoil things most, unless the fish is really rank (which can indeed happen often these days)!

I also preferred chippies, when they were *chippies*, and only sold traditional stuff, and none of yer kebabs, pizzas and curry bollocks. Concentrate on doing ONE thing well, than many things simply with mediocrity!

Marco.

[Macca]

The chips are almost always undercooked now. I think that's why they all stick together.

No really good chippys round here, too far from the sea.

[Marco]

Yup, same here. It's one of the things I miss from living in Glasgow. The chippies up there were (and still are) in a different league, compared with down here.

As for chips sticking together, yes not being properly cooked (or fat not hot enough) is one reason, but more importantly not being made from the right type of potato (ones that go greasy when fried), or not being soaked and washed properly, to remove the starch, then dried thoroughly enough before frying - yes that stage is vital for making the best chips!

Even the type of oil used is crucial, especially in terms of the flavour it imparts on the chips. One of my pet hates too are reheats or stuff cooked well in advance and left lying under lights... Proper chippies cook EVERYTHING (apart from chips) fresh to order!!

Marco.