Chips and us - a real love affair
It's often referred to as the humble potato. But there's nothing low-key about your average maris piper or King Edward when it's turned into fluffy-on-the-inside and golden-on-the-outside chips.
Fish and chips are a British icon. Together they are the nation's traditional seaside meal and a staple of Friday night comfort dining in front of the box.
Times may change, but we still love our chips in this country – and the spud-promoting Potato Council is shouting about it because it's National Chip Week.
Jennifer John, a consultant home economist for the Potato Council, says: 'It's the ultimate icon, isn't it?' she says.
'There's nothing quite as British as the great British chip. And it's the ultimate comfort food too. When the weather's as cold and miserable as this, it's something that's guaranteed to cheer you up.'
Chippies are still part and parcel of our high streets after almost 150 years – and Syrian-born Wisam Albaden is delighted that our love affair with the chip shows no signs of cooling.
Wisam and his brother Hussam run popular chip shop Kingfisher, in Albert Road, Southsea, and have learned everything there is to know about UK fish and chip eating habits.
'We're very busy between 5pm and 8pm and our busiest times are Friday night and Saturday lunchtime,' says Wisam.
He adds: 'Every nation cooks its chips differently and fish and chips are a very British thing, but it's becoming more popular in other countries too. There are now some shops in Damascus which do fish and chips.'
Wisam has been a chef in top fish restaurants and Hussam has run chip shops in the past, so they're well-equipped to operate a hectic seaside chippie.
Wisam says it's a far more laid-back than life as a restaurant chef, but the pair still get through six 25kg sacks of potatoes a day. They sell between 100 and 150 of their freshly-made battered fishcakes a day and are also kept busy producing their two other top sellers, fish and mushy peas.
But gone are the days when you'd be pulling your chips out of yesterday's newspaper. 'That isn't allowed. It's because of the ink, there are health and safety issues,' says Hussam.
Of course people are more concerned with health these days and no-one advises eating chips every day. But Jennifer John insists that in moderation they can be less harmful than we're led to believe and have plenty of nutritional value.
She says: 'A portion of chip shop chips has less fat than a prawn and mayonnaise sandwich and is a lower fat option than many Chinese and Indian takeaways. Plus chips contain all the goodness of potatoes – vitamin C, B6, B1 and folate, for example.'
But she admits that home cooking chips allows for the draining away of more oil and says that potato wedges cooked in the oven can be a healthier option.
Dennis Spencer, chef lecturer at South Downs College, Waterlooville, advises on the best way to cook potato wedges. He says: 'The best way to cook them is cut the potatoes into wedges, blanche them in boiling water and put them on a pre-heated tray in the oven for about 20 minutes on Gas Mark 6 or about 200.'
And he has some down-to-earth advice for anyone planning on dining out.
'If you're ordering chips in a pub or restaurant, make sure the person you're with orders some too. Because you can guarantee they'll be dipping into yours if they don't.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
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