 Fried fish fingers | |
| Alternative names | Fish sticks |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Main ingredients | Whitefish, battered, or breaded |
Fish fingers (British English) or fish sticks (American English) are a processed food made using a whitefish, such as cod, hake, haddock, or pollock, which has been battered or breaded and formed into a rectangular shape. They are commonly available in the frozen food section of supermarkets. They can be baked in an oven, grilled, shallow fried, or deep-fried.
The term "fish finger" is first referenced in a recipe given in a popular British magazine in 1900, [1] and the dish is often considered symbolic of the United Kingdom. [2]
The food restrictions during and after WWII expanded the consumption of fish fingers, but companies struggled to maintain decent quality. [3] [4] The commercialization of fish fingers may be traced to 1953 when the American company Gorton-Pew Fisheries, now known as Gorton's, was the first company to introduce a frozen ready-to-cook fish finger; the product, named Gorton's Fish Sticks, won the Parents magazine Seal of Approval in 1956. [5] [6] The developer of those fish sticks was Aaron L. Brody.
There was an abundance of herring in the United Kingdom after World War II. Clarence Birdseye test-marketed herring fish fingers, a product he had discovered in the United States, [7] [8] under the name "herring savouries". These were tested in Southampton and South Wales against "cod fingers", a comparatively bland product used as a control. Shoppers, however, confounded expectations by showing an overwhelming preference for the cod. [9] The snack was nearly called Battered Cod Pieces, until a poll of Birds Eye workers opted for the snappier Fish Fingers. [10] [11]
Minced fish comes in industry standard 7.5 kg frozen blocks for further slicing and battering. [12] These are more commonly used in store brand economy products. They may have either batter or breadcrumbs around the outside as casing, although the coating is normally breadcrumbs. [13]
In addition to white fish, fish fingers are sometimes made with salmon. [14]
During the late 1980's and early 1990's, the Sweden frozen food brand Findus released a fish finger product with a coating of chips in place of breadcrumbs under the name "Crostinos." [15]
Tempura is a typical Japanese dish that usually consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep fried. Tempura has its origins dating back to the 16th century, when Portuguese Jesuits brought the Western-style cooking method of coating foods with flour and frying, via Nanban trade.
Roe, or hard roe, is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked ingredient in many dishes, and as a raw ingredient for delicacies such as caviar.
A chicken nugget is a food product consisting of a small piece of deboned chicken meat that is breaded or battered, then deep-fried or baked. Developed in the 1950s by finding a way to make a coating adhere, chicken nuggets have become a very popular fast food restaurant item, and are widely sold frozen for home use.
A corn dog is a wiener on a stick that has been coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep fried. It originated in the United States and is commonly found in American cuisine.
A rissole is "a ball or flattened cake of chopped meat, fish, or vegetables mixed with herbs or spices, then coated in breadcrumbs and fried."
Breadcrumbs, also known as breading, consist of crumbled bread of varying dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening stews, adding inexpensive bulk to soups, meatloaves and similar foods, and making a crisp and crunchy covering for fried foods, especially breaded cutlets like tonkatsu and schnitzel. The Japanese variety of breadcrumbs is called "panko".
Fried fish is any fish or shellfish that has been prepared by frying. Often, the fish is covered in batter, egg and breadcrumbs, flour, or herbs and spices before being fried and served, often with a slice of lemon.
Mozzarella sticks are elongated pieces of battered or breaded mozzarella, usually served as hors d'oeuvre.
Cutlet refers to:
Findus is a frozen food brand which was first sold in Sweden in 1945. Findus products include ready meals, peas and Crispy Pancakes, the latter of which were invented in the early 1970s.
A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shops may also sell other foods, including variations on their core offering such as battered sausage and burgers, to regional cuisine such as Indian food.
A fishcake is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden.
Fried chicken, also called Southern fried chicken, is a dish consisting of chicken pieces that have been coated with seasoned flour or batter and pan-fried, deep fried, pressure fried, or air fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior of the chicken while retaining juices in the meat. Broiler chickens are most commonly used.
A croquette is a deep-fried roll originating in the Mediterranean basin, consisting of a thick binder combined with a filling, which is then breaded. It is served as a side dish, a snack, or fast food worldwide.
Cod and other cod-like fish have been widely used as food through history. Other cod-like fish come from the same family (Gadidae) that cod belong to, such as haddock, pollock, and whiting.
Dinamita is a deep-fried Filipino snack consisting of stuffed siling haba wrapped in a thin egg crêpe. The stuffing is usually giniling, cheese, or a combination of both but it can also be adapted to use a wide variety of ingredients, including tocino, ham, bacon, tuna, and shredded chicken. Dinamita is also known as dynamite lumpia, among other names. It is a type of lumpia and it is commonly eaten as an appetizer or as a companion to beer.
Lumpiang keso is a Filipino deep-fried appetizer consisting of a stick of cheese wrapped in a thin egg crêpe. It is more commonly known as cheese sticks, cheese lumpia, or cheese turon. It is usually served warm and crispy, with a dipping sauce made from a mixture of banana ketchup and mayonnaise. It can also be served with garlic mayonnaise or sweet chili sauce.
Corn schnitzel is an Israeli fried corn dish and variant of Israeli schnitzel that is especially popular among vegetarians, vegans, Kashrut keepers and children.
Media related to Fish fingers at Wikimedia Commons| Fish | |
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| Shellfish | |
| Other seafood | |
| Processed seafood | |
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