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Fish and Chips


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*thumbup*Whitby Woof *thumbup*

 

Sadly, for so many coastal villages the world over, the advent of long distance, high capacity deisel fuelled trawlers, gave a boom to catches in the middle of the 20th century, followed closely by a fall in value (S&D market forces), then a steady decrease in catch volume as all the Mature Cod and Haddock are taken, shortly leading to no mature Cod as those left are below breeding size. ☹️

 

For one living in such a community the consumption of our most famous export (apart from sending fat blokes to Cam7 meetings), provides an ethical (as well as choice) dilemma:

 

Eat it *arrowright* The fishermen enjoy income and it keeps some of our indigenous industry alive.

Don't eat it *arrowright* Immature cod may grow to breeding weight and repopulate the sea.

 

I try to balance my moral dilemma by sharing my love of Battered Fish with my fondness for the more sustainable resource of Offal in Pastry, which is equally at home with Chips, mushy peas and gravy. (Incidentally, a Large traditional pasty is around £1.20 in Cornwall and £2.70 is Covent garden *eek* ).

 

Few people realise how the humble cod shaped the modern world...

 

Without the seemingly endless reserve of this easily caught fish, and the longevity given by salting and drying, the Early settlers in America would have had nothing to trade for european guns, boats and other essentials not yet in production in their New World.

On the breakdown in relations when the English crown insisted on taxing the Americans, the Salted Cod trade continued with the Basque regions where it was considered a delicacy, most-commonly rehydrated by breaking into boiling water with spices and lard in.

 

But, in the spirit of optimism, I shall end on a piece written by Alexander Dumas back in 1873:

 

It has been calculated that if no accident prevented the hatching of the eggs, and if each egg reached maturty, it would take only 3 years to fill the sea so that you could walk across the atlantic dryshod on the backs of cod.

 

 

 

 

Mark

 

My Caterham Silver Jubilee No. 7 is here with Mavis, under 'Mark's Cars'.

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Bizzarely, Fish and chips are unavailible in Whitby beyond about 10pm on a Satda Neet ☹️

 

Chicken Dupiaza, Vegetable Pilau and Pashwari Nan are thankfully a little more nocturnal *tongue*

 

Night all *thumbup*

 

 

 

Mark

 

My Caterham Silver Jubilee No. 7 is here with Mavis, under 'Mark's Cars'.

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