Why has Britain banned the use of newsprint to wrap fish n' chips? (1 Viewer)

[Mark Schermerhorn]

Peter, what restaraunt in Minneapolis were you at? I know Brit's Pub downtown doesn't serve it that way. I've never seen it wrapped in newspaper.

 

[John Watson]

Another step in creating a rubber-lined idiot-proof society?
Yes, Sir Humphrey would have seen the merits in that!

 

[andrew markworthy]

Sir Humphrey would have seen the merits in that!

Actually, if the 'biographies' are right, then no he wouldn't! If memory serves me correctly, the writers once thought up what would happen to the principal characters. Bernard eventually becomes head of the civil service. Hacker, after his stint as Prime Minister becomes head of an Oxford college (which of course is the post Sir Humphrey always wanted). Sir Humphrey goes barking mad and ends his days repeating beaurocratic [sp?] gibberish.

Anyway, back on topic. Fish and chips, although still quintissentially a Brit dish, has been superceded in Brit's affections by Indian food. Strange but true.

 

[Peter Kim]

Mark, it was Aquavit. Very tony restaurant located on the street level of the IDS Center that I took my wife to for an anniversary lunch.

The fish and chips were delicious...a gourmet take on the traditional experience. However, I distinctly don't recall any wax paper separating the contents of the wrap from newsprint itself. Didn't really bother me, but if I ate it on a regular basis, I'd be more discerning. How does Brit's serve their fish n' chips? BTW, I have a lot of fond memories of Brit's when I was at the peak of my singlehood. Damn fun and addictive place.

Anyway, back on topic. Fish and chips, although still quintissentially a Brit dish, has been superceded in Brit's affections by Indian food. Strange but true.

Yes, I've heard this too. I'm a closet foodie, so I watch a lot of the Food Channel, a cooking and dining show here in the states. I'll catch an episode here and there of Jamie(sp?) Oliver's show and other shows helmed by British cooks.

Recently, a lot of the attention on these shows that purportedly display the dishes of Britain is cast toward Indian cuisine. Per the window offerred by these shows, it seems like people in Britain currently love to cook and eat Indian food. Particularly curry dishes. I had a small chuckle when Jamie cooked Indian curry and served it up to his construction worker acquaintences...not that they are too handicapped to appreciate the delicacies of India, but at least my more burly friends in Wisconsin and Minnesota would never be caught dead outside of their meat and potatoes comfort zone. Anyway, Jamie's friends seemed to like it - they gobbled it up, of course with a pint.

Also...somehow, I've had a strange craving for mushy peas and trifle ever since I saw it being made on Oliver's show. Seems like great comfort food.

 

[Mark Schermerhorn]

Ahhh, Aquavit. I haven't been there as of yet, I'll probably take a girl there sometime, when I find one...hehe
Brit's just serves it on a regular plate. It's almost odd that they don't serve it in the traditional way, being that they took the time to bother hiring half their staff from Britian. Either that or they fake the accent really well.
It is a cool place to go drink. The smallish, overpacked bar does turn me off though. I only go there to eat, of course I still have beer with the food

 

[Peter Kim]

The smallish, overpacked bar does turn me off though.

This coupled with our 3-year old son put an end to our evenings out at the pub.

Do check out Aquavit. While they initially turned some people off with their prices and chi chi atmosphere, they've become much more customer oriented in the last couple of years.

In fact, their lunch specials are great. For $10, you can indulge in a variety of meals to satisfy your gourmet cravings. Odd as it may sound, Scandanavian and Minnesotan fusion results in some pretty tasty and creative dishes.

 

[Steve Enemark]

no, the fish and chips weren't put directly onto newsprint. They were wrapped up in clean and (supposedly) greaseproof paper, and *then* the newsprint was wrapped around this.

Thanks for setting me straight. Crikey!

 

[Yee-Ming]

Paul said:-

but I don't remember the last time I ate fish and chips, so my participation has been completely worthless.

ironic, first time I was back in the UK after leaving years ago, I made it a point to sample "traditional fish and chips".
also reminds me of when I was speaking to a Londoner friend, I'd just seen a musical which was supposed to be the latest and hottest, and asked him if he'd seen it. he said no, "locals don't go, only tourists go to the West End"

 

[Wes]

I lived in England (the Midlands) back in 1982-83 and remember it was then that they implemented the no News paper rule. Just think about it, would you go to Wendy's if they wrapped your food in a news paper some Joe had read and dropped off? I must admit I never thought of it like that when I was over there cuz I eat chips almost every day from news paper. If I remember correctly a bag of chips were .34 pence and Fish and chips were .62 pence. How much are they today??
I still crave real British Fish and Chips, Nothing here in the US compares!

Wes

If I am not mistacken the samll .20pence coin was introduced at that same time!

 

[andrew markworthy]

A couple of things:

(a) price depends on the part of the country, but around 3 pounds for fish and chips is probably accurate for most places

(b) it should be stressed that 'Indian' food in the UK is often nothing like food served in restaurants in India. The reasons for this are complex, but basically it boils down to a deliberate simplifying of the cooking techniques, more suitable to mass catering and fast turnover. Thus, the taste of the curries often approximates the real thing. Another offshoot of this was the creation of new dishes for the Brit palate, such as chicken tikka massala, which is unknown in India.

(c) yes, it's true - tourists dominate the West End.

 

[Michael*K]

I still crave real British Fish and Chips, Nothing here in the US compares!

Not even Arthur Treacher's?

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

I'm a fan of the Good Eats show too and the fish & chips episode is great.

The newspaper industry is always working on ways to improve the formulas of both the ink and the paper for various reasons, and one of them is to eliminate smudging so you don't end up with ink on your hands. My local newspaper uses a relatively smudge-resistant ink that contains white kaolin clay, something they're quite proud of because the clay is mined in this area. (Kaolin is also one of the namesake ingredients in Kaopectate.)

I would think that the fish & chips industry would make wrappers that look like newsprint (with bogus writing) but are food-safe.

 

[Peter Kim]

The guy, Alton(sp?) Brown must be a food scientist or he's got a crack team of researchers. Each episode is chock full of fun (and helpful) food info. I believe this weekend (or upcoming soon) will be a marathon of the best of Good Eats.

And Wayne, your idea is a good one. I also thought that many more newspapers converted to some type of smudgeproof ink - I recall that when the USA Today first arrived on the scene, one of its heralded benefits was that it wouldn't smudge on your hand. And it doesn't.