# In England, can you still get fish wrapped in newspaper? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 23, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836 "2014-07-23T14:57:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/21 "2014-07-24T00:29:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Yep, and that is why I said outside wrapping in my original post. It did have a wax paper inside. Still, the ends of the fish touched the newspaper and got ink on them. A First world problem right there. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/22 "2014-07-24T01:54:07Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Every civilised man must live in London at least once in his life.🙂 … Quite so. It was my semester abroad, and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Even met my wife (another American) there! ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/23 "2014-07-24T02:16:19Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > I get the impression that the move to boxes is driven by portion control, it being a lot harder for the old dear who’s taken a bit of a shine to you to give you an extra large serving – ooh, no, don’t > [/ Frankie Howerd] I noticed lately that Burdoch’s in Dublin (perhaps its most famous chain of chippers) uses a measuring tin for portions. IIRC before they used to just pile as many chips into the paper as they thought you’d want. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/24 "2014-07-24T02:32:40Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > No - It’s just the quite sensible idea that secondhand newspapers are not really hygienic. I remember that we used to recycle our papers to the local chippy when I was a kid. My dad talks about going around the neighborhood collecting everyone’s old newspapers and then selling them to the butcher or the fish and chippie. Hygiene was just a greeting in those days. The blank pieces of newsprint are referred to as “butcher’s paper” here. I’ve never seen fish and chips wrapped in actual newspaper, just plain butcher’s paper, but cups of chips have come in packaging printed to look like newspaper: [https://www.packagingpluscleaning.co.nz/images/products/hot-chip-cup%201.jpg](https://www.packagingpluscleaning.co.nz/images/products/hot-chip-cup%201.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/25 "2014-07-24T06:26:04Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > My dad talks about going around the neighborhood collecting everyone’s old newspapers and then selling them to the butcher or the fish and chippie. Hygiene was just a greeting in those days. > > The blank pieces of newsprint are referred to as “butcher’s paper” here. I’ve never seen fish and chips wrapped in actual newspaper, just plain butcher’s paper, but cups of chips have come in packaging printed to look like newspaper: [https://www.packagingpluscleaning.co.nz/images/products/hot-chip-cup%201.jpg](https://www.packagingpluscleaning.co.nz/images/products/hot-chip-cup%201.jpg) In a similar vein, in the UK you can sometimes get [chip cones](http://www.greenmanpackaging.com/uploads/3d3387f8647c6190542eb44d17a8c716.jpg) with fake newsprint on them. Tend to be in tourist/seaside locales. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/26 "2014-07-24T07:03:22Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > …Doner Kebabs seem to have taken over from fish and chips … Interesting. They’re known as shwarmas here. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/27 "2014-07-24T07:41:04Z")
Some time ago, the Union of Seamen was holding their conference in the same town as the National Union of Journalists, so they sent the following message: “Fraternal greetings; our work is wrapped in yours.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/28 "2014-07-24T07:49:28Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > My dad talks about going around the neighborhood collecting everyone’s old newspapers and then selling them to the butcher or the fish and chippie. Hygiene was just a greeting in those days. When I was in the Cub Scouts (late 70s), we used to collect newspapers and they would be sold on for recycling/re-use. I don’t suppose it was really all that unhygienic by standards of the day - the food itself was (notionally) separated from the paper by a layer of waxed paper or polythene. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/29 "2014-07-24T08:57:20Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > FME, Doner Kebabs seem to have taken over from fish and chips as the street side takeaway. My parents who were in London at the same timeframe as you were quite surprised at the relative paucity of Chippies compared to Doners when they went there in 2010. I think it fits with a general trend towards people liking spicey food over traditional British. Also, fish and chips is seen as very fattening, so just isn’t part of people’s weekly diet like it used to be. An occasional treat rather than a regular Friday night supper. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/30 "2014-07-24T09:10:02Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Every civilised man must live in London at least once in his life.🙂 I agree, living there really helps you appreciate how good it is in other cities. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/31 "2014-07-24T09:56:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I do remember some of the ink making contact and rubbing off on the fish. > > Uh…we ate it anyway. Only about 3 times in 1989 and never again since…so I assume I am OK. No worries, chap. It takes the ink at least 25 years to reach the brain. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/32 "2014-07-24T10:10:14Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > I get the impression that the move to boxes is driven by portion control, it being a lot harder for the old dear who’s taken a bit of a shine to you to give you an extra large serving – ooh, no, don’t > [/ Frankie Howerd] You don’t go to the same Chinese takeouts that I do, I gather. The way the lady at la Morea packs things up, you’d think she’s trying to prove that two noodles can occupy the same space at the same time. And the paper may be unprinted, but you still have to be careful what you do with your liberally-vinegared chicken, that one tends to be a lot more drippy than the fish IME (plus, between fat, salt and vinegar, you have most of the makings of a salad). ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/33 "2014-07-24T13:02:11Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Chippies in Birmingham weren’t using newspaper even in 1995. ☹ I worked in one in smalltown Warwickshire around 1990-1991 and we weren’t using it then. We were using the blank paper mentioned upthread. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/34 "2014-07-24T17:24:52Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Every civilised man must live in London at least once in his life.🙂 > > FME, Doner Kebabs seem to have taken over from fish and chips as the street side takeaway. My parents who were in London at the same timeframe as you were quite surprised at the relative paucity of Chippies compared to Doners when they went there in 2010. According to the Wiki on [Doner Kebabs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab), they seem to be what we in NY call Gyros, except in NY Gyros are almost always served in flatbeard (maybe in a pita, usually not) - otherwise it seems to be the same concept of spiced slices of meat hacked from a meat-cone, served in bread with tomatoes, lettuce, etc. What differs between a NY Gyro and a London Kebab? Is it less common to be flatbread/pita in London? No cucumber sauce? What? The Wiki article, as is common with these things, is a bit blurry… ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/35 "2014-07-24T17:31:13Z")
> [@SirRay](#): > > According to the Wiki on [Doner Kebabs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab), they seem to be what we in NY call Gyros, except in NY Gyros are almost always served in flatbeard (maybe in a pita, usually not) - otherwise it seems to be the same concept of spiced slices of meat hacked from a meat-cone, served in bread with tomatoes, lettuce, etc. > What differs between a NY Gyro and a London Kebab? Is it less common to be flatbread/pita in London? No cucumber sauce? What? The Wiki article, as is common with these things, is a bit blurry… Every doner I have ever had in London comes in a pita, usually grilled. Stuffed into that alongside the meat is usually a choice of basic salad (onion, cucumber, lettuce, shredded cabbage). Optional extras offered usually include pickled green chillies and red chilli sauce. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/36 "2014-07-24T17:34:04Z")
Oh, and of course, chips. Many many many chips. Usually not thd thick-cut traditional British fish and chip shop chips, but the thin-cut American fries type chips. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/37 "2014-07-25T10:34:27Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Every doner I have ever had in London comes in a pita, usually grilled. Stuffed into that alongside the meat is usually a choice of basic salad (onion, cucumber, lettuce, shredded cabbage). > > Optional extras offered usually include pickled green chillies and red chilli sauce. If you’re not having the chilli sauce you are doing it wrong. Most people would have it, not having it is what you’d need to ask for. There’s a garlicy sauce too. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/38 "2014-07-25T11:51:08Z")
I’m 29 and just about old enough to remember getting fish and chips wrapped in newspaper - it went out about 25 years ago, as has been said. The phrase “it’s just tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapper” (or similar) is still used when referring to newspapers though. I can confirm Gyros/Giros = Doner Kebab, essentially, in most places. I don’t like chilli sauce so I usually ask for lots of ketchup instead. However, a couple of years ago I went to a kebab house where they liberally coated the kebab in lemon juice before I could stop them. I’m not that keen on lemon normally, but it was the best kebab I’ve ever had and I actually make a point of going back to that place when I can. Give it a try if you haven’t before. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/39 "2014-07-25T12:09:28Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I do remember some of the ink making contact and rubbing off on the fish. It seeps with the fishes. I had sole in Dover back in '80 that was served that way. Gave you something to read while you finished your meal. Kinda sad to hear the practice is no more. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2014, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836/40 "2014-07-25T12:11:41Z")
UK Doner kebabs are typically made from lamb/mutton (that has been finely ground and reformed into the big rotating cylinder thing) - dominant spice is probably cumin. Does that hold true for gyros? Other kebab options are nearly always available from the same outlets - including various things on skewers, sausages, and a doner-like chicken cylinder (actually made from a big stak of impaled boned cuts of chicken). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-england-can-you-still-get-fish-wrapped-in-newspaper/693836.md?page=3)