18th century English dish
Jellied eels
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/Eels_1385.JPG/220px-Eels_1385.JPG) A plate of jellied eels
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Place of origin
| England
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Main ingredients
| Eel
, spiced
stock
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Traditional pie, mash, and eel shop,
Walworth
, South East London
Jellied eels
are a traditional
English dish
that originated in the 18th century, primarily in the
East End of London
. The dish consists of chopped
eels
boiled in a spiced
stock
that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly. It is usually served cold.
History
[
edit
]
Manze's pie and mash shop in
Peckham
Eels were historically a cheap, nutritious, and readily available food source for the people of London;
European eels
were once so common in the
Thames
that nets were set as far upriver as London itself, and eels became a staple for London's poor. The earliest known eel, pie and mash houses opened in London in the 18th century, and the oldest surviving shop, M Manze, has been open since 1902.
[1]
At the end of the
Second World War
, there were around 100 eel, pie and mash houses in London.
[2]
In 1995, there were 87.
[3]
In the present day, there are relatively few eel, pie and mash shops still in existence, although jellied eels are sold in some of the capital's
delicatessen
shops and supermarkets. The water quality of the Thames, having improved greatly since the 1960s
[
citation needed
]
, has since become suitable once again for recolonisation by eels.
[4]
The
Environment Agency
supports a Thames fishery, allowing nets as far upriver as
Tower Bridge
.
[5]
Today, the European eel is critically endangered.
[6]
Preparation
[
edit
]
A bowl of eels set in jelly
Jellied eels are traditionally prepared using the
European eels
native to Britain. Typically, the eels are chopped (shucked) into rounds and boiled in water and vinegar to make a fish stock with nutmeg and lemon juice, before being allowed to cool. The eel is a naturally gelatinous fish, with the cooking process releasing proteins, like collagen, into the liquid, which solidify upon cooling to form a jelly, though
gelatin
may be added in order to aid this process.
Recipes for jellied eels are individual to particular London pie and mash shops, and also street sellers; however, traditional recipes for authentic Victorian jellied eels all have common ingredients and cooking methods, with variation only in the choice of herbs and spices used to flavour the dish.
Jellied eels are often sold with
pie and mash
, another traditional East End food, and eaten with
chilli
vinegar
or with
malt vinegar
and
white pepper
.
Outside the UK
[
edit
]
The dish is also consumed in other parts of Europe, including
Denmark
,
Sweden
,
France
,
Germany
,
Poland
,
Belgium
and the
Netherlands
.
[
citation needed
]
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Roman times
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Middle Ages
to 15th century
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16th century
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17th century
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18th century
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19th century
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20th century
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21st century
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Related
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