Where Did Fish and Chips Come From?
The method of battering fish was commonly used by Jewish people in Spain, members of the Western Sephardic Jewish Community in Holland, and by Portuguese Sephardic Jews as a part of the weekly Shabbat. Frying is an old and familiar method of cooking for Jews. Think about Hanukkah and all of those latkes! Fish was a good option for Shabbat, a time where Jews are not supposed to work, because it was good to eat without heating up during the later days. Olive oil, opposed to animal fat, was used so that the breading would not become hard.
As Portuguese Sephardic Jewish people fled the Spanish Inquisition and went to East London where they hid their identity, they ate fish on Shabbat to keep Jewish tradition. In some sects of Christianity, it is customary to not eat meat on Fridays, except fish, to practice the Friday Fast. Fish became a popular option for Christian people too. “Crypto-Jews,” who pretended to not be Jewish during the inquisition in order to stay alive, also kept this tradition.
In the early 16th century, fried fish made its way to England by Jewish European immigrants who would sell it on the streets. According to The Book of Jewish Food by Claudia Roden, Thomas Jefferson ate “fish in the Jewish Fashion” (p. 113) on a visit to England during his presidency (1801-1809). The cook who prepared the fish, Alexis Soyer, noted that “Jewish manner” uses oil rather than meat fat.
There is some debate about where the pairing of “fish and chips” originated. The most accepted theory is that it started from the first fish and chip shop in east London by an Ashkenazi Jewish immigrant, Joseph Malin in the 1860s. It is said that he started selling chips as a side dish during a fish shortage. Once customers ordered fish and chips together, he combined the two into one dish. The shop remained in business until the 1970s! By the late 19th century and early 20th century commercial fishing made fish and chips a staple meal for the working class in England.
In terms of Kosher laws, fish is pareve, meaning that it has no meat or dairy in it. Jewish laws forbid eating milk and meat together. Eating fish on Shabbat was a way for the Jewish people to easily keep these rules on Shabbat.
In the Torah, fish represents fertility and abundance, possibly because fish give birth to so many babies at a time. In today's world, we sadly can not associate fish with abundance due to overfishing. A more sustainable option for eating fish is by buying kosher fish, which are sustainably farmed.
Pictured above is a Nashville restaurant's, The Red Perch, take on fish and chips!
You can find their takeout menu here: https://redperch.com/
Sources:
Barr, Sabrina, and Chelsea Ritschel. “The Jewish History of British Fish and Chips.”
The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, September 4, 2020.
Fein, Ronnie. “Fish and Chips' Surprising Jewish History.” Jewish Telegraph Agency,
November 6, 2019. https://www.jta.org/2019/11/06/food/fish-and-chips-
Fein, Ronnie. “The Surprising Jewish History behind Fish n' Chips.” The Times of
Israel, November 13, 2019. https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-surprising-jewish-
Nachman, Candace. “An Abundance of Fish.” My Jewish Learning. Accessed November
“The Jewish Roots of Fish and Chips.” Christians United for Israel, June 7, 2019.
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