Fishstick

Fish sticks, or fish fingers, are a processed food made using a whitefish such as cod which have been battered and/or breaded. They are commonly available in the frozen food section of Western supermarkets, and on children's menus in family-oriented restaurants.

Varieties include different types of fish, such as haddock or sole; flavoring in the breading, such as peppercorn, garlic or lemon; and special shapes that appeal to children and fish stick enthusiasts alike. Premium fish fingers are also available, made from cuts of fish fillet instead of reconstituted fish.

Prominent brands in the U.S. include Gorton's of Gloucester and Van de Kamp's. Birds Eye is a prominent brand in the United Kingdom which claims to have produced the first fish fingers.

"Fish fingers" are popular with children and their parents as an easy-to-prepare finger food that is somewhat healthy for kids, as fish contains many nutrients including Omega-3, and small amounts of fried foods are not incompatible with an over-all healthy diet.

Fish fingers are often eaten with Tartar sauce or Ketchup.

History

FishFinger first came about as a result of Clarence Birdseye's invention of the plate froster in 1929, the first quick freezer. To ensure rapid freezing, food needed to be in slim rectangular slabs. A suitable candidate for this freezing method was fishsticks, slivers cut from large fish then dipped in bread crumbs for frying. However, it was Gorton's who introduced the snack initially. Fact|date=June 2008

In Britain in the 1950s, most of the herring catch was pickled and exported to other Northern European countries. In an attempt to make herring more appealing on the home market, companies tried to present it in a new way, creating herring fishfingers called “herring savouries” and were tested on the market against a bland control product of cod sticks, sold as “fish fingers.” Shoppers in Southampton and South Wales, where the test was conducted, confounded expectations by showing an overwhelming preference for the cod. Cod fishsticks were first produced in Great Yarmouth, by a H A J Scott. [http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2005/09/26/50-years-of-the-fish-finger--89520-16174019/ 50 YEARS OF THE FISH FINGER - mirror.co.uk ] ] and introduced in Britain on 26 September 1955. They became immensely popular after television advertising began in 1958.Fact|date=June 2008

Production

On modern production lines, headless fish are processed through a machine that removes a fillet from each side of the backbone. The fillets then pass over a wheel and a blade that separates the skin from the flesh. Machine filleting leaves a few pin-like bones in the fillet, so the flesh containing the bones is cut out.Fact|date=June 2008

Fillets are formed into frozen blocks. A conveyor sends the blanks through batter and breadcrumbs, doubling the thickness of the fishstick. Then each is passed through a hot vegetable oil bath for about one minute to seal the coating and allow the fishstick to be grilled or fried. Then the fishstick is frozen again, with the center reaching -4°F/-20°C in less than 20 minutes. After packaging, it is stored at -18°F/-28°C, ready for distribution. Fact|date=June 2008

References

Bibliography

* "How in the World? A Fascinating Journey Through the World of Human Ingenuity" (The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. Pleasantville, NY, 1990) ISBN 0895773538.
* H.S Dey, "Fish Fingers and Ketchup, My Happy Eating" (Turnstone Press, 2003).

ee also

* Crab stick