A blue plaque at Oldham's Tommyfield Market in England marks the 1860s origin of the fish and chip shop and fast food industries. By 1910, there were more than 25,000 fish and chip shops across the UK, and in the 1920s there were more than 35,000 shops. In 1928, Harry Ramsden'sfast food restaurant chain opened in the UK. On a single day in 1952, his fish and chip shop in Guiseley, West Yorkshire, served 10,000 portions of fish and chips, earning itself a place in the Guinness Book Of Records. Now the "corner fish-n-chip shop" has become staple throughout the western world, as well as making inroads into the middle- and far-east.
Etymology
The word "chip-shop" is first recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary in 1953. "Chippy" or "chippie" was first recorded in 1961. Occasionally the type of fish will be specified, as in 'Cod-n-Chips'.
Operations
Many British villages, suburbs, towns and cities have fish and chip shops, especially near coastal regions. Fish and chip outlets sell roughly 30% of all the white fish consumed in the United Kingdom, and use 10% of the UK potato crop. . In Ireland, many "chippers" are operated by Italian immigrant families, all native to the Province of Frosinone in Lazio. The Italian chip shop tradition began with Giuseppe Cervi, who took a boat to America in the 1880s but instead disembarked at Cobh, County Cork and walked to Dublin, establishing a takeaway at 22 Great Brunswick Street.
Regional differences
In Scotland, the fish tends to be haddock, where in England it tends to be cod. This is because both fish tend to be sourced from Scottish waters in the North Sea, and then shipped around the UK. Haddock was thought to taste better than cod when fresh, while cod tasted better a few days later. In the days before refrigerated haulage this meant that haddock would taste bad by the time it made it out of Scotland, while the cod would still taste good if it took a few days to reach its destination. Hake, pollock, whiting, and plaice are also seen at many chip shops. In Scotland, 'special fish' is a variant where the haddock is breadcrumbed instead of battered. A number of fish and chip shop condiments exist, including salt and vinegar across the UK, mushy peas and curry sauce in various parts of the UK, chip spice in Hull, chippy sauce in Edinburgh, gravy in Derby, mushy pea and mint sauce in Nottingham, and gravy and cheese in Yorkshire. There are also variations with the oil used to cook the fish and chips. Traditional frying uses beef dripping or lard, and are still used in the Midlands and the North; however, vegetable oils, such as palm oil, rapeseed or peanut oil now predominate, particularly in the South. There are also a number of other offerings at fish and chip shops that do not involve fish, such as the battered sausage. There are also regional variations across the UK including:
