This article is part of a series that will uncover the secrets of the food processing industry and share with you the secrets of how your favorite food is made.

The first article in this series begins with the humble fish stick or fish finger. A childhood gift and an adult favorite, whether on a plate with peas and chips or between slices of white bread. BUT it is always served with tomato sauce.

Fish

The first component is the Fish, this is a frozen block about 2 feet by 1 foot by 3 inches. It is made with minced fish meat (cheapest part of the market), which is usually all that is left over from the pieces of fish. Or it can be made from whole fillets that are layered on top of each other (the most expensive end on the market).

To be nutritionally honest, there is not much difference between the two. The type of fish can be COD for the expensive end or haddock for the cheaper sticks. These blocks are made a few hours after disembarking the ship, which means that the fish is approximately 6 hours old when frozen.

Making the stick

Using a food processing band saw, the trained operators cut the block into slabs and then cut it again on the fingers. The more expensive, the thicker the finger, the cheaper and thinner. Typically, a good fish finger will be about 1 cm thick, while the cheapest can be 0.5 cm. These bars are then separated and passed to the coating stage.

Add the bread crumbs

Similar to what you see in restaurants or television shows, the fish is coated in batter and then the bread is grated. PURPOSE this is really where the cheapness is added. If you are buying cheap fish sticks, they will add a layer of water, a layer of flour, a layer of dough, a layer of crumb. In trade, this is called a step 4 and you can add up to 70% breadcrumbs to the stick. This type can often be identified because it is extra crispy and has almost no fish in it. High-end fish sticks will have a 3-pass system and will often have a fish content of around 60%.

So in your 300g package of fish sticks you could have 90g of fish (cheap) or 210g (expensive)

This whole process is carried out through an automatic coating machine food processing production line. Typically a line can produce 100 to 200 fish sticks per minute.

Fry time

Up to this point the fish stick is quite healthy, with almost no fat … However, the stick goes through an industrial fryer that has hot oil. This makes the coating crispier, as the water in the coating is replaced by very hot oil. Normally, all the water in the coating is replaced with grease.

This means that the more coating, the more fat, now food processors often use vegetable oil or rapeseed oil. None of which have saturated fat

Frozen and sent to the freezer.

Within 30 minutes of frying, the product is frozen and bundled, then placed in the food processing packaging machine before shipping to stores.

Considering the speed of the fish freezing process and the packaging process, you can’t make a fish stick any fresher if you try.

Final verdict

Fish sticks or fish sticks, compared to other coated products like chicken strips, are healthier, fresher, and have fewer additives. So I would definitely put fish sticks first before other coated products.

If I choose a fish stick, try to get one that is high in fish, this is usually shown as a% on the Ingredient Declaration. This often means that it is made with whole fish, not minced, and has a lower fat content.

The type of fish doesn’t really matter, some will say a cod finger is the best, but be honest, you will dip it in tomato sauce. Once you’ve done that, I doubt you can tell the difference, except that your wallet is a little less crowded.

Each week I plan to reveal how everyday food products are made.