chips old newspapers

[tali122]

were chips ever wrapped up in old newspaper?-if they were ,when did this practice stop and was it because of ink leakage?

[dot.hawkes]

yes, always, I know it seemed to die out, probably due to hygiene and food safety but certainly up to around 10 years ago they would be, so would fish from a fish stall, uncooked like i mean

[chasbo]

Yes, fish & chips were certainly wrapped in newspaper. Much better, kept the package nicely insulated for the walk home! Can't remember exactly when it stopped though. Must be within the last 5 years. My mumand me always delivered our old newspapers to the local chippy. Never saw any signs of ink leakage, the vinegar must have neutralised it!!!

[Brend-O-Tron]

Yeah I remember as a kid our local chippy used to, and I'm only 24, so I guess about 10 years ago would be about right that it stopped - a real shame, but these days you can't get away with anything can you?

[Mikeyd2]

If you still get your chips etc in paper and not those awful Polystyrene containers , it is still (or used to be ) is a type of newsprint paper , obviously without any printing on....

[tictactoe]

The chippies alway put them in greaseproof bags first, then the newspaper. Much better method as the fish & chips would still be hot and the chips would not be soggy by the time you got home, like they are today. We use to take our old papers in, and get a bag (greaseproof) of batter chippings for our trouble! Crackling they used to call it - crikey the food police would come down on the shop if they gave that away now! As dot said, fresh fish was always wrapped straight on the n'paper - never did us any harm - but then newsprint is different today.

[Ethel]

tictactoe - we used to call them scratchings and the chip shop used to give them away to us kids. Luverly.

[tictactoe]

Weren't they just Ethel? Nobody but nobody ever said They're not good for you, you know!" in that supercilious way, that would be the norm today.
There's no way I'm gonna change from eating what I want - dripping on toast etc etc.

Miss the ol' fish & chips in newspaper - it just doesn't taste the same in polystyrene.

Rant over....
n00dles xxx

[Grunty]

But they weren't allowed to use the News of the World because it was a dirty paper.

[Rock'n'Roll]

Used to be impressed by the way they made a "bag" out of the paper before cramming the chips in. We could also get butter beans but don't see em at chippies these days.

[Octavius]

Britain banned the use of real newspaper in the late 1980s.

[Tatty Rollox]

..... newspapers were all very well but there is a lot to be said for the current Markyate Fish and Chip Shop as can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/plb3h ...

[violetblue]

Yes they were wrapped in newspaper but that was around the outside with an inner bag like you get now. Much better than those disgusting conical things.

[tali122]

i asked because in some 25 years i cant recall chips being wrapped in newspaper from my local chippies

[heathfield]

As a kid I used to save up newspapers and take a great bundle down to the local chippie, so as to get a free bag of chips!

[Tatty Rollox]

I think that your 25 years or more is right, tali. I returned to England for a brief spell in 1986 in circumstances that meant frequent fish and chips and in London they certainly were not wrapped in newspapers then.

[mycats]

some of the chips shops round here still use newspaper, makes them taste much better to me lol.
and why do I suddenly feel VERY old at this question??

[Solarjunkie]

Not only kept the chips warm & less greasy, but the next day it was great for lighting the fire too!

[mike b]

crackling, scratchings etc... down Exeter, us used to call them scraps... Any more regional variations?

[curiosity]

Scraps in Middlesbrough, and still get them now. In fact it was embarrassing on an open night at school reading my daughters work when the question was Favourite Food and she'd wrote Scraps! Made it look like we were living like Henry VIII with big chicken legs throwing her the remains. We love scraps on our fish & chips, at Torquay when we asked for "fish & chips open with scraps on please" a lad from Liverpool behind the counter had to explain to the server what we meant.

[rossminster]

In the northeast it's just called "batter".

ANyway, let's not get carried away with nostalgia. Wrapping tightly in newspaper (or any other paper) WILL make chips (and especially fish) go soggy. A polystyrene box, on the other hand keeps everything crisp and luvverly.