Along with London buses, bowler hats and cricket, few things are considered more British than fish and chips. In this book, Panikos Panayi unwraps the origins, history and identity of Britains most popular take-away. Fish and Chips investigates the origins of fish and potato eating in Britain, describes the meals creation during the nineteenth century and explores the series of technological and economic developments that changed its component foods into items of mass consumption. It describes the height of the dishs popularity in the early twentieth century, and how it has come to remain a favourite today despite new contenders for the title of Britains national dish.
Fish and Chips also explores the connection with issues of class and identity; despite being a notable culinary symbol of Britain, the dish has far more extensive ethnic affiliations. Fried fish was widely consumed by immigrant Jews before spreading to the English working classes in the early nineteenth century, and by the twentieth century other migrant communities such as Italians played a leading role in the fish-and-chip trade.
Brimming with facts, anecdotes and historical and modern images, Fish and Chips will appeal to all interested in the story behind one of the worlds most iconic and popular meals.
Deep-fried in facts and cultural insight, a mouth-watering history of this briny staple--complete with salt and vinegar, mushy peas, and tartar sauce. <p/> Double-decker buses, bowler hats, and cricket may be synonymous with British culture, but when it comes to their cuisine, nothing comes to mind faster than fish and chips. Sprinkled with salt and vinegar and often accompanied by mushy peas, fish and chips were the original British fast food. In this innovative book, Panikos Panayi unwraps the history of Britain's most popular takeout, relating a story that brings up complicated issues of class, identity, and development. <p/> Investigating the origins of eating fish and potatoes in Britain, Panayi describes the birth of the meal itself, telling how fried fish was first introduced and sold by immigrant Jews before it spread to the British working classes in the early nineteenth century. He then moves on to the technological and economic advances that led to its mass consumption and explores the height of fish and chips' popularity in the first half of the twentieth century and how it has remained a favorite today, despite the arrival of new contenders for the title of Britain's national dish. Revealing its wider ethnic affiliations within the country, he examines how migrant communities such as Italians came to dominate the fish and chip trade in the twentieth century. <p/> Brimming with facts, anecdotes, and images of historical and modern examples of this batter-dipped meal, Fish and Chips will appeal to all foodies who love this quintessentially British dish.
