Akipper is a wholeherring (a small,oily fish[1]) that has been split in abutterfly fashion from tail to head along the dorsal ridge, gutted, salted orpickled, andcold-smoked over smouldering wood chips (typicallyoak).
In theUnited Kingdom,Ireland and some regions ofNorth America, kippers are most commonly eaten for breakfast. In the United Kingdom, kippers, along with other preserved smoked or salted fish such as thebloater andbuckling, were also once commonly enjoyed as ahigh tea orsupper treat, most popularly with inland and urban working-class populations before World War II.
The word is thought to derive from theOld Englishcypera, or copper, based on the colour of the fish.[2] The word has various possible parallels, such asIcelandickippa which means "to pull, snatch" and the Germanic wordkippen which means "to tilt, to incline". Similarly, the Middle Englishkipe denotes a basket used to catch fish. Another theory traces the word kipper to thekip, or small beak, that malesalmon develop during the breeding season.[citation needed][3]
As a verb,kippering ("to kipper") means to preserve by rubbing with salt or other spices before drying in the open air or in smoke. Originally applied to the preservation of surplus fish (particularly those known as "kips," harvested during spawning runs),kippering has come to mean the preservation of any fish, poultry, beef or other meat in like manner. The process is usually enhanced by cleaning, filleting,butterflying or slicing the food to expose maximum surface area to the drying and preservative agents.[citation needed][4]
All three are types of smoked herring. Kippers are split, gutted and then cold-smoked;bloaters are cold-smoked whole;bucklings are hot-smoked whole.[5][6][7]
Although the exact origin of the kipper is unknown, this process of slitting, gutting, and smoke-curing fish iswell documented.[note 1] According toMark Kurlansky, "Smoked foods almost always carry with them legends about their having been created by accident—usually the peasant hung the food too close to the fire, and then, imagine his surprise the next morning when …".[8] For instanceThomas Nashe wrote in 1599 about a fisherman fromLothingland in theGreat Yarmouth area who discovered smoking herring by accident.[9] Another story of the accidental invention of kipper is set in 1843, with John Woodger ofSeahouses inNorthumberland, when fish for processing was left overnight in a room with a smoking stove.[10][11]
A kipper is also sometimes referred to as ared herring, although particularly strong curing is required to produce a truly red kipper.[12]The term appears ina mid-13th century poem by the Anglo-Norman poetWalter of Bibbesworth, "He eteþ no ffyssh But heryng red."[13]Samuel Pepys used it in his diary entry of 28 February 1660: "Up in the morning, and had some red herrings to our breakfast, while my boot-heel was a-mending, by the same token the boy left the hole as big as it was before."[14]
The dyeing of kippers was introduced as an economy measure in theFirst World War by avoiding the need for the long smoking processes. This allowed the kippers to be sold quickly, easily and for a substantially greater profit. Kippers were originally dyed using a coal tar dye calledbrown FK (the FK is an abbreviation of "for kippers"), kipper brown or kipper dye. Today, kippers are usually brine-dyed using a naturalannatto dye, giving the fish a deeper orange/yellow colour. European Community legislation limits the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of Brown FK to 0.15 mg/kg. Not all fish caught are suitable for the dyeing process, with mature fish more readily sought, because the density of their flesh improves the absorption of the dye. Anorange kipper is a kipper that has been dyed orange.[citation needed]
Kippers from theIsle of Man and someScottish producers are not dyed; instead, the smoking time is extended in the traditional manner.[15]
"Cold-smoked" fish that have not been salted for preservation must be cooked before being eaten safely (they can be boiled, fried, grilled,jugged or roasted, for instance). In general, oily fish are preferred for smoking as the heat is evenly dispersed by the oil, and the flesh resists flaking apart like drier species.[citation needed]
In the UK, kippers are usually served at breakfast, although their popularity has declined since the Victorian and Edwardian eras.[16][17][18]
In the United States, where kippers are much less commonly eaten than in the UK, they are almost always sold as either canned "kipper snacks" or in jars found in the refrigerated foods section. These are precooked and may be eaten without further preparation.[19][better source needed]
Kippers produced in theIsle of Man are exported around the world.[20] Thousands are produced annually in the town ofPeel, where two kipper houses, Moore's Kipper Yard (founded 1882)[20] and Devereau and Son (founded 1884),[20] smoke and exportherring.[citation needed]
Mallaig, once the busiest herring port in Europe,[21] is famous for its traditionally smoked kippers, as areStornoway kippers andLoch Fyne kippers. The harbour village ofCraster inNorthumberland is famed forCraster kippers, which are prepared in a local smokehouse, sold in the village shop and exported around the world.[citation needed]
TheManx word for kipper isskeddan jiarg, literallyred herring; the Irish term isscadán dearg with the same meaning.[citation needed]
Kipper time is the season in which fishing for salmon in theRiver Thames in the United Kingdom is forbidden by anAct of Parliament; this period was originally the period 3 May to 6 January but has changed since.[22]Kipper season refers (particularly among fairground workers, market workers, taxi drivers and the like) to any lean period in trade, particularly the first three or four months of the year.[citation needed]
Members of the Canadian military referred to English people askippers because they were believed to frequently eat kippers for breakfast.[23]
The English (UK)idiom [to be] "stitched (or "done") up like a kipper" is commonly used to describe a situation where a person has (depending on context) been "fitted up" or "framed"; "used", unfairly treated or betrayed; or cheated out of something, with no possibility of correcting the "wrong" done.[citation needed]
In the children's booksThe Railway Series, and in the television showThomas the Tank Engine and Friends, The Flying Kipper is a nickname for a fast fish train usually pulled by Henry the Green Engine.[24]
TheUnited States Department of Agriculture defines "Kippered Beef" as a cured dry product similar to beef jerky but not as dry.[25]
When cooking a special breakfast, we often have kippers
Kippers were the quintessential British breakfast food [...] of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.
an iconic British breakfast dish
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