Fish & Chips

[PureBasS]

Hi everyone. Do fish and chips from a chippy contain any dairy products? and would they know if i asked?

Mike

[Copper]

I am not sure what they make the batter with in a chippy. The chips should be ok.

They should know if you ask.

[PureBasS]

was thinking the same but u never know these days. i just phoned up 2 of my local chippys and they both didnt sound very sure about it and said no without checking which isnt very reasuring.

[jill]

I suppose you need to be asking if they use cows milk in the batter - that should be easier for them.

[Copper]

Yes sometimes you have to keep it simple for these people.
It is more worrying when you have to tell a chef in a pub that butter is dairy :eek:

[Steve]

The problem with a lot of the pub meals are they are pre-packaged foods which are just heated up. The people cooking them often don't know what ingredients are in them.

I know in my local chip shop they are pretty good, if you ask them then they know what's in the foods.

[Copper]

Ah now Steve you should know me better than that :D I always choose to eat in pubs which have their own chefs and rave on about how fresh and local the ingredients are in said establishments.

These pubs tend to be in rural areas. The pub up the road has no idea what they are serving you as it comes in a package to be microwaved.

[milkymum]

My local chippy is amazing. We had chippy last night and when I aske dthem about the batter around th esausage they said that it did contain milk but they would be happy to quickly make up a small amount of batter using sparkling water. I adviced them put a notice up saying that there batter contains milk but they would be more than happy to make up a small amoun tof milk-free batter up-on request. I only go to one pub with my children as they are traditional and all there food is made on site from fresh ingredients. They do prepare the food in advance but the chef is really good. But then I am bound to say that we have been friends since school and because we go in once a week for a pub meal with a few other parents who also have children with the same problems as our children the chef on the day we go in makes all the food dairy free so that we don't have to panic to much about what is on the menu and what is suitable for our sensitive children

[Lisa M]

I was suprised when I went to the Hilton, I asked the man on the snack bar bit if they had anything vegan, like biscuits or something and I got such a blank look and was asked "what is vegan?" it was rather worrying that someone in such a big hotel has no idea about their customers or their requirements!

[Copper]

Oh dear. In my limited experience the posher the restaurant the less I can eat.

[Acid_fairy]

Most chip shops do indeed put milk in their batter. But if they use beer batter instead then there shouldn't be a problem.

[kiffy]

i love fish'n'chips but have avoided it now for a few years not just because of the milk in the batter but the potatoes as im also intolerant to them, thankfully not as bad as milk so i do have a sneeky pack of crisps or small cottage pie but i wouldnt risk a bag of chips....

one thing i have thougnt of though, and its stopped me having anything else from the chippy is if they make non dairy batter and cook the battered products in the same fryer as they use for normal battered products would there be any cross contamination between the two batters or would the hot fat stop that? my worry over that is also why i dont have any other fried products incase the fat is full of whatever im intolerant to in the potatoes

[Copper]

A good question about cross contamination and sadly I don't know the answer.

I once went to a pub for a meal with friends and one is coeliac. The chef came out and said he could not offer my friend something (I think it was chips) as he had not got a separate cooking vessel and he was concerned about contamination.

That chef was very good and it is a pity that he left that pub.

[kiffy]

it is nice that chefs and cooks realise the problems some people have... i havent eaten out or eaten take away since i found out about my intolerance... im scared to

[Copper]

I always ring first and if I don't think the chef (usually you end up speaking to the chef) understands then I don't go there to eat.

I have never been ill yet when eating out. It is a worry though.

The hardest (well impossible) thing to do is eat out at lunch time when you would normally eat sandwiches. Eating a roll with the wrong margarine on is enough to make me ill.

[kiffy]

the centre shopping area of the village i live in (tonyrefail (http://www.tonyrefail.org)) is now due to close by shopping centres just full of food places (and hairdressers) and we have a couple of nice ones that make rolls to order so im ok buying from them, but i do tend to make my own these days as i love making my own bread.

as for resturants im going out next month for my 40th and we have already checked with the place were going (LONGBOW - LLANTRISANT (http://www.beefeater.co.uk/ourRestaurants/locator/details/?id=156&q=CF72+8TX)) and they said ring the day before to remind them and they can take care of me

[whatallergy?]

I have a dairy allergy and my local fish and chip shop will do fish in rice cones, which contains no dairy. I've always been OK, but is there any chance of dairy from the other batter coming into contact with my rice cones fish? Or is the oil just so hot it solidifies on contact with the oil so it's not problem?

[Copper]

Welcome to the site.

Sadly I don't know the answer to your question.

Last year before I developed a wheat and gluten intolerance I had fish in beer batter. I am totally lactose intolerant and I was not ill after this fish. I don't know if the fish was cooked in the same oil as ordinary batter.

[kntjcq]

You would need to check with the chip shop what they use for cooking and if any milk has been used in any batter cooked in the same batch. I have discovered that i can have chinese as cantonese batter contains no milk.

[Bookworm_25]

Your fish and chip shop sounds fab, whereabouts is it? My local will happily cook it without batter!

I go to local pubs and restaurants that cook from fresh and happily make the effort for me, that makes me go back and also to leave tips!

I would travel more for places that cook for me and also ones that would do puddings that I can have, often take day trips to a place that will make me a crumble with custard, definately worth it!!

[kntjcq]

Also try fish cooked in breadcrumbs, I buy this from Tesco and it has no dairy.

[paolom]

I do not think they are preparing the batter on their stores so they would not really know the ingredients of the mixture. But generally speaking, the batter would contain some traces of butter, which in common terms would translate to a dairy product. The chips would be no issue though as they are basically just potatoes with some spices and oil. If you are unsure, subject one for testing so that you would know which ones to frequent to.