Chocolate fish

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Chocolate fish
Twochocolatefish.JPG
Two chocolate fish
Type Confectionery
Place of origin New Zealand
Main ingredientsPink or white marshmallow, milk chocolate

A chocolate fish or choccy fish is a traditional confectionery item in New Zealand. In New Zealand culture, it is a common reward for a job done well ("Give that kid a chocolate fish"). [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Chocolate fish have a conventional fish-shape and a length of 5 to 8 centimetres (2.0 to 3.1 in). They are made of pink or white marshmallow covered in a thin layer of milk chocolate. The ripples or "scales" on the fish are created simply by the fish moving under a blower; this slides the unset chocolate back, creating the illusion of scales on the fish.

Several manufacturers make the fish; the most well-recognised is Cadbury. [6] Smaller, or "fun-sized" variants of the chocolate fish are colloquially referred to as "sprats". Variants of the traditional item exist; a common version is made of solid orange-flavoured milk chocolate.

History

Chocolate fish have been made since at least 1903, [7] though early varieties may not have included marshmallow. Marshmallow-based chocolate fish were being produced in Dunedin in 1937. [8] For a short period in the late 1990s to early 2000s, Tip Top sold a chocolate fish ice-cream. [9] In 2019, the chocolate fish was added to the Cadbury Favourites box. [10]

In 1970, Ron Barclay, Member of Parliament for New Plymouth, asked a question in Parliament about the price of chocolate fish. [11] [12]

Cadbury stopped producing 20g chocolate fish in 2023, stating that they had become less popular with consumers. They continued to include 'sprats' in Favourites boxes. [13] As of 2024, local company Queen Anne produces a 50g fish [13] and 14g fish that it calls 'fish bites', [14] and other companies also sell variations.

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References

  1. ↑ "...each presented with a large chocolate fish", 1933, Evening Post
  2. ↑ "I'll Buy You A Chocolate Fish If...", 1973
  3. ↑ "The food we love – the tastes of New Zealanders". my.christchurchcitylibraries.com. October 13, 2014.
  4. ↑ "...for many years a brand of chocolate fish was known as “Pelorus Jack”.", 1966, A Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
  5. ↑ "...Sir Geoffrey Palmer offered the audience a chocolate fish for anyone who could define privacy.", Privacy Commissioner
  6. ↑ "Chocfishtory". The Chocolate Fish Company. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
  7. ↑ "The latest novelty [advertisement]". Auckland Star. 7 April 1903. p. 2.
  8. ↑ Booth, Peggy (18 September 1937). "The postie's bag". Evening Star. Upstairs I saw the pink mixture of the chocolate fish. In big boxes there was French chalk, with the shapes of the fish in them.
  9. ↑ "Marshmallow ice-cream conquered", 04/06/2010, stuff.co.nz
  10. ↑ Ramsey, Teresa (October 11, 2019). "Chocolate fish added to Cadbury Favourites - how does it rate?" . Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  11. ↑ "The price of chocolate fish". Press. 7 November 1970. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  12. ↑ "Chocolate fish prices". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).House of Representatives: v. 1970.
  13. 1 2 "Cadbury stops making chocolate fish, supplies almost gone". RNZ . 2024-06-27. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  14. ↑ "Chocolate Fish". Queen Anne Chocolates. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
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