 Fried fish fingers | |
| Alternative names | Fish sticks |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Main ingredients | Whitefish,battered, orbreaded |
Fish fingers (British English) orfish sticks (American English andCanadian English) are aprocessed food made using awhitefish, such ascod,hake,haddock, orpollock, which has beenbattered orbreaded and formed into a rectangular shape. They are commonly available in thefrozen food section ofsupermarkets. They can bebaked in an oven,grilled,shallow fried, ordeep-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 theUnited Kingdom by British people.[2]
The food restrictions during and afterWWII 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 asGorton's, was the first company to introduce a frozen ready-to-cook fish finger; the product, namedGorton's Fish Sticks, won theParents magazine Seal of Approval in 1956.[5][6] The developer of those fish sticks wasAaron L. Brody.
There was an abundance ofherring 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 inSouthampton 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 (17 lb) frozen blocks for further slicing and battering.[12] These are more commonly used instore brand economy products. They may have eitherbatter orbreadcrumbs around the outside as casing, although the coating is normally breadcrumbs.[13]
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Sweden frozen food brandFindus released a fish finger product with a coating ofchips in place of breadcrumbs under the name "Crostinos".[14]
Media related toFish fingers at Wikimedia Commons| Fish | |
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| Shellfish | |
| Other seafood | |
| Processed seafood | |
| Seafood dishes | |
| Health hazards | |
| Advisory services | |
| Animal welfare | |
| Related topics | |
