I’d like to tell you about one of our most famous dishes here in the UK, you’ve probably heard of it.  Fish and Chips. Basically this is battered fish, deep fried and served with fried potatoes.  I think this dish is popular all over the UK but I’d like to tell you the best way to enjoy it here in Scotland and a little about it’s history too. So let’s start with its origin, is it actually from Scotland or England? Well, there are conflicting reports so we can’t be sure, but it is believed that chips or fries as they are known in the United States date from 17th century France or Belgium.  The story goes that when rivers froze over in the winter time and nothing could be caught, enterprising housewives cut potatoes into fishy shapes and fried them as an alternative to fish. As for fried fish, it’s said that this was first introduced to the UK by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain.  We will never be certain who first thought to put the two together, some say it was a man called John Lees who sold fish and chips from a wooden hut in Lancashire in the North of England but others say the first fish and chip shop was opened in East London by Joseph Malin around 1860. So where was the first fish and chip shop in Scotland? Well the city of Dundee claims this honour, and apparently the first shop was run by a Belgian immigrant in the 1870s.  So that’s how it started but many would say it was the Italian community in Scotland that played a major role in popularising Fish and Chips. Many Italian immigrants opened fish and chip shops in Scotland from the 1890s onwards and to this day many fish and chip shops, especially around Glasgow, have Italian origins or are owned by Italian Scots. So what’s the best way to enjoy this national dish?  Well, most towns will have a fish and chip shop which we call a chippy.  Most of these chippys are takeaway This is the traditional way to enjoy the dish. but some do have limited seating areas. Lots of restaurants and pubs will have fish and chips on the menu but I’d highly recommend going to a chippy for a more authentic experience. Next you’ll need to know what to ask for.  We never ask for fish and chips in a chippy.  Fish with chips is called a fish supper,  if you would like fish on its own, this is called a single fish. Chippy fish is almost always battered haddock or cod.  If you want breadcrumbs instead this is a special fish. Now, when your order is ready, you’ll be asked “Salt and vinegar?”  If you are in the west of Scotland, if you are in Edinburgh though, it’s likely you’ll be asked “salt and sauce? The sauce is a mix of vinegar and brown sauce there.  It’s entirely up to you what you’d like to have. I’m not personally a fan of vinegar or sauce but many people are. You could also ask for ketchup if you wish and another sauce that’s often available is tartare. It’s also good to have a wedge of lemon for squeezing onto your fish. Your order will then be wrapped up in paper or placed in a box which seems to be more popular now.  These days if it’s wrapped in paper,  it’s plain paper, but when I was  child it was actually old newspaper they wrapped the food in! It’s then slapped down on the counter for you to takeaway, there’s another accompaniment you may wish to try: mushy peas, perhaps a bit of an acquired taste but extremely popular, so go on, be brave! So what to drink with your order?  I wonder if you’ve heard of Irn Bru?  That’s our famous homegrown soft drink, it’s bright orange in colour and goes amazingly well with a fish supper. I nearly always have this and you should definitely try it.  I’ll probably talk about this drink in more detail in a future episode. The best place to enjoy a chippy is by the seaside, and for us it’s the perfect way to end a day out, if the weather’s good we’ll sit at the seafront......  Thanks for listening.