Gypsy Creams

Jamie on 30 November 2010 @ 1pm

When was the last time *anyone* *anywhere* shallow-fried fish fingers? Well, 17 May 1969, clearly. But the very thought of all that fat dripping from the fingers and spreading across the plate… ugh.

Martin Fenton on 30 November 2010 @ 1pm

Oil? Lard, more like!

Tanya Jones on 30 November 2010 @ 4pm

Yeah, I wondered whether it was lard myself. Blegh.

Martin Fenton on 2 December 2010 @ 5pm

When I was a kid, we considered ourselves a cut above because we didn’t have lard in our chip pan. We had solid vegetable oil (Pura, or sometimes White Flora as advertised by Terry Wogan.)

25 years on, it turns out that hydrogenated (solid) vegetable oil – a synthetic product – was considerably more dangerous to body and soul than lard – a natural product – ever was. And we neither have nor miss a chip pan.

David L on 8 December 2010 @ 11am

They are Findus Lard Sponges, call them by their proper name.

Does anybody know whether freezing “within 12 hours” makes for freshness as they suggest? I’m genuinely wondering because to me it doesn’t sound immediate. I know they process the fish to dust anyway, and frying them will finish them off, but what are the freezing recommendations these days for fish that benefits from being “fresh”?

Tanya Jones on 21 January 2011 @ 7pm

Eh, I’m late. My guess is that freezing saves the need for adding sulphates, which will be added unless you’re lucky enough to live near a working harbour. I’ve yet to see any evidence that sulphates added to food will kill you, but I’m no expert.