Posted on 04/25/2021 5:39:34 AM PDT by mylife
There are many curious facts about fish sticks. The invention of this frozen food warranted a U.S. patent number, for instance: US2724651A. The record number of them stacked into a tower is 74. And, every year, a factory in Germany reportedly produces enough fish sticks to circle Earth four times.
But the most peculiar thing about fish sticks may be their mere existence. They debuted on October 2, 1953, when General Foods released them under the Birds Eye label. The breaded curiosities were part of a lineup of newly introduced rectangular foods, which included chicken sticks, ham sticks, veal sticks, eggplant sticks, and dried-lima-bean sticks. Only the fish stick survived. More than that, it thrived. In a world in which many people are wary of seafood, the fish stick spread even behind the Cold War’s Iron Curtain.
(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...
Beloved by some, merely tolerated by others, the fish stick became ubiquitous—as much an inevitable food rite of passage for kids as a Western cultural icon. There’s an entire South Park episode devoted to riffing off the term fish stick, and the artist Banksy featured the food in a 2008 exhibit. When Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 90th birthday, in 2016, Birds Eye presented her with a sandwich that included blanched asparagus, saffron mayonnaise, edible flowers, caviar, and—most prominently—gold-leaf-encrusted fish sticks.
20 years later, they would not have gone anywhere—but with the old Catholic abstinence on Friday, and ultra-cheap way of having fish on hand for fast food restaurants as well as convenience for those going pre-processed food found a ready market.
...I was the guy in high school that actually looked forward to fish stick Fridays...
I recommend the Ultimate Fish Stick, available at Costco.
I have also discovered that after frying a Turkey, fill up a basket with tator tots drop it in and that’s right up there on the comfort list... next up would be the badket of fish sticks, in the turkey oil... ain’t nothin’ better.
Fish sticks...known in England as fish fingers.
Chicken finger and fish sticks = kid’s food
I love them. I remember fish sticks being served in the school cafeteria every Friday - didn’t know why at the time, but it didn’t matter.
I begged my mother to buy them for us at home...to no avail.
“You like putting fish sticks in your mouth?”
WTF would ever try to sell dried lima bean sticks??
Seems to be the most appropriate orifice.
“...saffron mayonnaise...”
Oh my!
I didn’t know what a fish stick was until a friend invited me for dinner with her family in 5th grade. I thought they were the best thing I’d ever had. We didn’t have a lot of money at my house, so all my begging never worked. Had a lot of meatloaf though. 1/4 hamburger 3/4 oatmeal! Now, I can buy what I want and one of my favorite treats is the fish filet sandwich at McDonalds....Delicious. I am quite the ‘foodie’ now, but I swear the McDonalds fish sandwich is sooooo good.
tom cruise is a dick
If folks knew of the snotty, gelatinous bottom feeding trash, hauled out of the ocean in dragline nets, they might reconsider.
“White fish” ain’t Whitefish.
It’s Pollack. Like roaches of the ocean.
Nasty crapola.
I “fasted” on fish stick days.
Got a good family laugh about it many years later.
and gold encrusted fish sticks!
The only fish my Mother would cook when we were kids . She , for some reason , hated fish , Ironically , grew up a minute from Peconic Bay on Long Island .
When I was in high school I worked for my dad’s company. Among the employees was a father and two of his sons. His son’s were hardcore bodybuilders.
One night I was at their house hanging out and was invited for dinner. Their mom was out so Norm, the dad made dinner. Boxes and boxes of fish sticks. Bodybuilders need massive calories. I’ll bet we ate 200-300 fish sticks that night.
I don’t have any hatred if fish sticks but can’t recall if I’ve had them since.
Yep, our family was not Catholic but followed the no meat on Fridays during lent. Sure to have fish sticks on Friday except the occasional 5 lb box of shrimp when the budget could afford it.
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