As we all know, British cuisine is known all over the world for its "dark cuisine". But even if it is "dark cuisine", the Uk has its own so-called "national dish", that is, fish and chips. However, what is less known is that fish and chips have long been the food of the British underclass, and are not the British "national dish". So how did the fish and chips eaten by the people at the bottom become the "national dish" of the United Kingdom?
During the Age of Discovery, the potatoes of the Americas were brought to the British Isles by colonists, gradually replacing wheat as the main crop on the British Isles. However, potatoes were eaten by people of lower status at that time, such as the colonized Irish, who basically only ate potatoes. Fried fish was brought to the British Isles by Jews from continental Europe, and Jews were also less popular with the English.
Because of this, fish and chips have long been British food that has not been on the table, and the "old Londoners of the cross flag" do not treat these two foods very well. However, with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the cost of making fish and chips became lower and lower, and the scope of dissemination in Britain became wider and wider. But the British upper class is the so-called "gentleman", and still does not look down on these two bottom foods.
On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and World War II broke out. On 22 June 1940, France surrendered and Britain fell into isolation. After the beginning of the Battle of Britain, Nazi Germany imposed a naval blockade on Britain, using its air force and submarine advantages to constantly attack the lines of communication between Britain and its overseas colonies in an attempt to strangle Britain.
Due to the blockade of Nazi Germany, there was a serious food shortage in Britain, and it was necessary to implement a strict food ration system. At that time, each adult man in the United Kingdom could only get enough meat per week for Prime Minister Winston Churchill to eat for one day, and the United Kingdom also had special legislation stipulating that British restaurants were forbidden to serve fish and meat to customers at the same time, and it was forbidden for customers to order more than three dishes (only one dish could be meat dishes).
However, french fries and fish are not on the list of food regulations for two reasons: first, potatoes are the only crop grown on a large scale in the United Kingdom and do not require overseas imports; second, because the British Navy has surface control, the British offshore fishing industry is not threatened. As a result, french fries and fish became the only two unregulated foods in the UK.
So the British opened up to fries and fish during World War II, and the "Old Londoners of the Cross Flag" were no exception. French fries and fried fish also completely got rid of the stereotype of the bottom people eating in World War II, and became the "national dish" of the United Kingdom and continue to this day.