1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,000 They're a childhood favourite. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:05,760 Over the next week, 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:12,240 we'll munch our way through 600,000 kg of fish fingers. 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,680 That's the equivalent of more than 1 billion of them a year. 5 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,400 Tonight, we're going to follow the journey of fish finger production. 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,240 From the depths of the Atlantic Ocean... 7 00:00:23,240 --> 00:00:25,840 ..To the meal on your plate. 8 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:29,680 It's a process that relies on dozens of skilled hands. 9 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:32,160 And they're all working away in here. 10 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,640 I'm Gregg Wallace. 11 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:39,360 That is somebody's tea. 12 00:00:39,360 --> 00:00:42,840 And I'll be finding out how the fingers are formed. 13 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,680 Oh, it's really hot on the outside and it's frozen in the middle. 14 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,160 I'm Cherry Healey, 15 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:52,600 and I'll be getting stuck in at the start of the production line. 16 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:55,480 This is a real biology lesson. 17 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,520 And I'll be discovering the secrets of smoked fish. 18 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:05,120 And historian Ruth Goodman reveals the origin of this traditional tea-time food. 19 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:07,160 This isn't quite what I was expecting. 20 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,600 In the next 24 hours, 21 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:15,400 80,000 frozen fish fingers will fly out of this factory. 22 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,160 Heading to a freezer near you. 23 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,800 Welcome to Inside The Factory. 24 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:46,120 This is the Caistor seafood factory near Grimsby in Lincolnshire. 25 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:52,120 It employs 200 skilled workers across a 26,000 square metre site. 26 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:58,960 They work around the clock to process 165 tonnes of fish every week... 27 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,640 ..from whole fish, to smoked fillets and fishcakes. 28 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:11,240 Tonight, we're focusing on Waitrose's frozen chunky fish fingers. 29 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,080 Whether you like your fingers breaded or battered, 30 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,400 it's all about starting with the right fish. 31 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:18,160 And here, that's cod. 32 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:22,880 Cherry's been to see where it comes from. 33 00:02:25,080 --> 00:02:29,360 I'm in Grindavik, one of the largest fishing harbours in Iceland. 34 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:35,520 Boats dock here every day, bringing in more than 100 tonnes of fish. 35 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:37,880 And almost half of that is cod. 36 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,160 I'm waiting for a fishing boat that has been at sea for about 20 hours, 37 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,600 it's freezing cold, even here in the port, 38 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,440 so goodness knows how they've been. 39 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,080 Oh, I think I can see the boat coming in now. 40 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:58,320 This boat goes to sea six days a week, 41 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:02,000 and the crew catch about eight tonnes of cod each time. 42 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,080 The captain has been fishing here for 28 years. 43 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,760 This is cod. Wow, wow. 44 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:18,720 I had no idea it was so huge. 45 00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:20,320 Yeah. It's beautiful. 46 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,400 Yeah, it is. So, how long ago did you catch this, do you think? 47 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:27,040 This one was about two hours ago. 48 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:28,560 Two hours? 49 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:32,040 That's the freshest caught fish I've ever seen. Yeah. 50 00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:38,200 The cod are caught using a responsible technique called long line fishing. 51 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:43,640 14 miles of fishing line with 20,000 baited hooks 52 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:45,880 is placed on the sea bed. 53 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,440 This method is sustainable and has a low impact on the ocean floor. 54 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,600 Will these cod make good fish fingers? 55 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:00,400 Yeah, this is the best size for fish fingers. 56 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:03,480 The fish are between four and six years old. 57 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,320 Any older and they're too big to handle. 58 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:08,600 So you're helping with your catch. 59 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:10,360 Yeah... You've got a lot of work on your hands. 60 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:11,920 Yeah. I'll step aside and let you get on with it. 61 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:16,160 Thank you. Thank you very much. OK. 62 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,760 His haul is loaded onto a truck and driven less than a mile to a fish 63 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:23,440 factory for processing. 64 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:28,160 Factory manager Alda is showing me how the whole fish begin their 65 00:04:28,160 --> 00:04:30,280 transformation into fish fingers. 66 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:32,680 Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. 67 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:35,760 So, here's the cod. Yeah. What happens now? 68 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:41,240 Now, we will gut it and grade it and get it ready for production. 69 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:49,720 First stop, fish gutting. 70 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:52,040 I'm feeling a bit nervous. 71 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,640 But expert filleter Eli makes it looks easy. 72 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:58,160 Hi. Hi. 73 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:00,640 Hi, Eli. Hi, hi. Wow. 74 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:03,920 I'm just going to say, that I'm a real city girl, 75 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,120 and this is the first time I've ever seen this. 76 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,440 OK. This is a real biology lesson. 77 00:05:08,440 --> 00:05:10,960 Wowee. 78 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:12,840 You want to try? Yeah, definitely. 79 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:17,840 I don't think I've ever touched a raw fish like this in my life. 80 00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:22,720 Professional filleters like Eli gut up to ten cod a minute. 81 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,280 You don't want any of the insides? 82 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:28,480 I'm struggling with just one. 83 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:35,560 I am learning. 84 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:40,680 Right, now what happens with the fish? 85 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,040 I put that down there. Next to the production area. 86 00:05:43,040 --> 00:05:44,080 OK. I'll show you. 87 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:51,240 Next, the gutted fish are sorted by size. 88 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,120 And their heads cut off. 89 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:57,760 There are so many fish heads coming out of that machine. 90 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,160 How many fish go through this factory in one day? 91 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:02,680 5,000 and more. 92 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:03,720 And more? Yeah. 93 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,320 The headless fish are filleted by a machine. 94 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:09,360 And the skin is removed. 95 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,480 Just 12 hours since they were pulled from the sea, 96 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:16,680 the fillets arrive at one of 12 trimming stations. 97 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:18,600 This is the trimming area. 98 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:20,840 So, we have our lovely fillet of fish. 99 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:24,840 So, which is the bit that goes into fish fingers? 100 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:28,080 I'll show you. Like this fillet here, we take out the bones first. 101 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,000 OK, take out the bones. We take the line, we separate the line. 102 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,520 And the rest goes to the fish fingers. 103 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:38,600 So, the fish that goes into a fish finger is almost exactly the same as 104 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:41,840 the fish you get in a prime cut of cod? 105 00:06:41,840 --> 00:06:44,080 It is exactly the same. It's just a different shape. 106 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,760 It's not ALMOST exactly, it IS exactly the same. 107 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:48,800 Exactly the same. 108 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:53,160 We only need the prime cuts, but nothing goes to waste. 109 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:55,520 The livers have their oil extracted, 110 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,160 the skeleton and head are dried for soup, 111 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:00,640 and the skin is turned into animal feed. 112 00:07:02,840 --> 00:07:06,560 The fillets for the fish fingers are packed tightly into 113 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:08,520 rectangular cardboard boxes. 114 00:07:08,520 --> 00:07:09,640 We lay them like this. 115 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,840 OK. And we have to fill this box and freeze it. 116 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,920 Why is this done by hand? Why does the machine not do this? 117 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:19,800 Because the pieces are not all the same size. 118 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:21,120 So, you have to do it by hand. 119 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:27,040 The boxes, each weighing just over seven kilos, 120 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,920 are put into a freezer at -30 degrees for four hours, 121 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,040 until the cod is frozen solid. 122 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:40,440 It's absolutely amazing, that in just a few hours, I've seen cod cleaned, 123 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:42,920 cut and frozen into cod blocks ready 124 00:07:42,920 --> 00:07:46,120 for its next stage at the fish finger factory. 125 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:51,600 To get to the factory, the cod heads from Grindavik to Reykjavik harbour. 126 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,600 And onto a ship where the containers of fish are kept frozen for the 127 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:58,520 entire 1,200 mile journey 128 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:00,800 to Immingham in Lincolnshire. 129 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:07,560 As each container is unloaded, 130 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:12,440 it is instantly plugged back into a power supply to keep its cargo frozen. 131 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:19,520 Its final destination is nine miles away, 132 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,280 at the NH Case fish cutting factory. 133 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:29,200 In charge of receiving this morning's batch of cod is site manager Nick Wilson. 134 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:31,280 Nick, Gregg. 135 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:36,040 Nice to meet you, Gregg. I'm taking it for granted that this is our cod? 136 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:37,840 This is our frozen cod, yes. 137 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,440 How many fish fingers will this cod actually make? 138 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:43,240 There's ten pallets in here, 139 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,560 each pallet will give us about 27,000 fish fingers, 140 00:08:46,560 --> 00:08:49,040 so just over a quarter of a million fish fingers 141 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:50,760 will come out of this lorry now. 142 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:54,000 So, this has got to stay frozen and we've had the doors open for a while. 143 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,120 That's right, we need to get a move on and get it into the cold store. 144 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:03,720 The transformation from fillets of cod to breaded fish fingers starts now. 145 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:09,840 The pallets are forklifted out of the freezer truck 146 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:11,080 and into the factory. 147 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:22,360 Right, so we've got our pallet of blocks of fish, now what? 148 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:24,000 We have to take them out of the cardboard. 149 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,560 Oh. And we have nice fish blocks. 150 00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:31,360 I don't know what I expected, but I didn't expect that. 151 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,280 That looks like a lump of marble. 152 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:36,960 You never been tempted to take these home and do your kitchen worktops in them? 153 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:39,600 No, not really. Sort of tends to defrost a bit on the way! 154 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:41,600 THEY LAUGH 155 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,720 First, we need to get the cardboard off. 156 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:47,160 Why don't you just bring it in without the cardboard on it? 157 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,200 Because if you bring it in without the cardboard, 158 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:51,280 it starts to get freezer burn on it. 159 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:55,040 So this all starts to dry out. 160 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:57,080 You want to go from the sides first. 161 00:09:58,760 --> 00:09:59,880 Then fold that over. 162 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,800 So then when you have that, 163 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:06,120 you just flip it over 164 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:07,600 and then you can peel it back. 165 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:09,960 This must take ages. 166 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,280 We need three people to feed them machines. 167 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:14,240 Three people work on a pallet? Yes. 168 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:18,960 Do I look really ridiculously slow to you? 169 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:20,640 Yes. 170 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:22,920 Hooray! And that's it, done. 171 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:25,880 Chip off the old block. 172 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,880 Now there's a quick check to make sure the block 173 00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,000 is at least -14 degrees. 174 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:36,880 The factory isn't refrigerated, so the team have to work fast. 175 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:39,120 If the temperature of the fish increases, 176 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:42,000 the machines won't be able to cut it. 177 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,800 Is it OK? Yes, it's OK, temperature's good to go. 178 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:50,600 My palette of 160 frozen cod blocks is ready for the next step. 179 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:56,640 Those are standard blocks worldwide, same size, 7.484 kilos. 180 00:10:56,640 --> 00:11:01,280 Hang on a minute. That is the standard weight around the world? 181 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:02,720 Yes. Around the globe? 182 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:05,640 Around the globe. Don't matter where you buy a block of frozen fish from, 183 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:07,480 it's always going to be that? Always that. 184 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:08,880 All fish? All fish. 185 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:11,200 Is that it? Yeah, seriously. 186 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,920 That is the standard currency of global frozen fish trade? 187 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,360 Yeah. Brilliant, that's brilliant! 188 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:25,600 Each 7.484 kilogram block is basically one big fish finger. 189 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:28,920 Now it's time to cut it down to size. 190 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,000 How many fish fingers does one of those blocks make? 191 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,720 168 fish fingers from one block. 192 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:35,680 168? 168. 193 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:42,640 To do that, the block is first sliced into four pieces, called bricks. 194 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:43,960 It's making four cuts. 195 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:47,200 One...two... 196 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,240 Are you going to count up to four? Three... You are, aren't you? 197 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:56,000 Four. Then each brick is cut down again. 198 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:01,360 Right, well, we had blocks. Yeah. You then made bricks. 199 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:03,160 Yeah. What are these? 200 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:04,840 These are planks. Planks? 201 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:06,920 Planks. Right, so how many of them are there? 202 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:08,680 One, two, three, four, five, six. 203 00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:10,280 Six... Planks in a brick. 204 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,160 How many bricks in a block? 205 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:14,760 How many bricks in a block, will be four bricks in a block. 206 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:16,400 How many planks in a brick? 207 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:18,520 Five. Six. Six! 208 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:20,520 THEY LAUGH 209 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:24,000 My frozen block is now in 24 pieces. 210 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:29,240 The next cut requires considerable precision and concentration. 211 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:34,360 It's Daniel McCann's job to slice the planks into individual fish fingers, 212 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:40,800 each weighing exactly 42g, using a super-sharp saw. 213 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:44,800 I didn't want to talk to you while you were cutting up the fish. 214 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:47,120 Yeah, it's not a good idea, Gregg. 215 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:49,800 You've got to focus, right? Yeah, very much so. 216 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:56,280 It takes Daniel just one minute to produce 168 fingers of fish. 217 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:58,680 We get seven fingers from each plank. 218 00:12:58,680 --> 00:13:00,720 And a tiny little strip... 219 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:02,440 A tiny little off-cut. 220 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:04,760 And that's the trickiest bit to cut, isn't it? 221 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:08,360 That is the hardest part, that is where you've got to stay most focused. 222 00:13:12,200 --> 00:13:16,680 Just two hours after my pallet of frozen cod block arrived at the factory, 223 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:20,560 I've got 27,000 naked fish fingers, 224 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:22,720 all ready for the next step in the process. 225 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:29,160 For millions of us, childhood tea-time without the fish finger is unimaginable. 226 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:33,840 Ruth Goodman has been tracing the history of this family favourite. 227 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:36,160 ARCHIVE: They're catchier. They're bunchier. 228 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:37,880 They're different. They're new. 229 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,400 # Yes, Birds Eye Fish Fingers are much better too! # 230 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,920 The cod fish finger - the food of British childhood, 231 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:50,040 easy to cook and easy to eat. 232 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:52,080 They feel like they've been around forever, 233 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:54,680 but when did they first land on our shelves? 234 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,640 To find out, I've been invited to the Metropole Hotel in Brighton. 235 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:03,120 Hi, Ruth. Hello, Peter. Welcome to the Metropole. 236 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,800 To meet Peter Lack, who is head chef for Birds Eye. 237 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:11,880 He's brought me here to explain how the company first introduced the fish finger. 238 00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,240 Goodness! 239 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,080 This is a pretty grand space. 240 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,520 And what's this got to do with fish fingers? 241 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:21,680 This is where the fish finger was born. 242 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:23,200 Really? Right here, in this room. 243 00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:28,120 Yes, in 1955 we got 30 of our sales reps in here and we presented them 244 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:29,960 with the fish finger. It's funny, isn't it? 245 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,160 I think of fish fingers as a very simple food. 246 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:33,720 This just seems so incongruous. 247 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:38,480 Peter's brought along one of the original adverts used to promote them. 248 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:45,320 "Sea fresh fish, ready cooked and easy to serve fingers. 249 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:49,160 "Your family will love them, the children especially." 250 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:53,520 It was the first fish product we developed that was designed specifically for children. 251 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:55,280 No bones, nice and clean, 252 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,920 easy for Mum to cook, and lovely fresh fish inside. 253 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,440 ARCHIVE: When they know it's Birds Eye Fish Fingers for dinner, 254 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:03,360 they certainly need no coaxing. 255 00:15:03,360 --> 00:15:05,280 So this was 1955. 256 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,640 Did many people actually have freezers in 1955? 257 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:11,040 Only about 3% of people had freezers. 258 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:13,560 You actually had to go and buy them on the day you were going to eat them. 259 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:15,720 And you ate them straightaway. 260 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:17,920 They were an instant hit. 261 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:21,440 542 tonnes were sold in the first year. 262 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:27,320 And in the second year, sales rocketed by 600%. 263 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,080 But it could have been a very different story. 264 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:35,480 The idea of a breaded finger of white fish came from North America, 265 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:37,920 where they were called Fish-Sticks. 266 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,240 They wanted to introduce a British version, 267 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:42,160 but planned to make them from a fish 268 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:45,000 that might not have been everyone's first choice. 269 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:48,480 This isn't quite what I was expecting. 270 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:51,720 No, these are herrings, they're lovely, aren't they? 271 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:54,400 Herrings? Yes, it's a lovely fish, herring, 272 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,000 but it's not what I think of when I think fish fingers. 273 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,320 Well, when we first started out, everything was herring. 274 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:02,840 So this was the fish that was most available in Britain? 275 00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:04,960 Yes, exactly. And that's what British people like, 276 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,400 that's what you're going to make your fish fingers out of. 277 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:09,320 Except that they're very small fish, 278 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:11,440 and getting them bone-free is quite a lot of work. 279 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,240 And there's still a few there. And there's still a few. 280 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:20,040 Despite the difficulties, the company persevered, 281 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,080 and in 1954 they tested out these 282 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,560 breaded sticks of herring on the great British public. 283 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:33,360 And over 60 years later, I'm getting to try them too. 284 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,120 I'm looking forward to trying these. 285 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,840 It's a much stronger taste than a modern fish finger, isn't it? 286 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,160 Yes. I can see it if you were a child, 287 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:51,360 the stronger flavour and the presence of bones 288 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,280 might be a bit off-putting. 289 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:55,680 Taste and bones weren't the only problem. 290 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:57,280 Can you imagine what we were going to call them? 291 00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:58,440 Well, Fish Fingers I presume? 292 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:01,440 Oh, no. Herring Savouries is what we came up with. 293 00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:05,160 Hmm. 294 00:17:05,160 --> 00:17:09,680 Perhaps not surprisingly, Herring Savouries never made it to our shelves, 295 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:15,320 because they also trialled an alternative in those 1954 taste tests. 296 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:19,280 A breaded cod stick, which was a surprise hit. 297 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,440 One year later, the product as we know it was born. 298 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,400 Fish fingers changed the tastes of the nation 299 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,880 and they allowed children to enjoy the health benefits of fish 300 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:34,440 without any squeamishness of dealing with skin or bones. 301 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,200 But imagine if they'd never tried out the cod, 302 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:41,240 we could now be eating Herring Savouries for our tea. 303 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:50,440 GREGG: Two hours after arriving at the cutting factory, 304 00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,360 my frozen fish fingers have been cut down to size. 305 00:17:54,360 --> 00:17:58,600 From here, they head to the main factory 14 miles away 306 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,680 and the start of the 32 metre long production line. 307 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:09,600 Here, they'll be coated, fried, flash frozen and packed. 308 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:13,400 Right, brilliant. 309 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:17,760 A load of frozen fish, leave this with me - it's in safe hands. 310 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:24,120 Waiting for me at the start of the line is assistant manufacturing manager Mel Nichols. 311 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:25,920 Right, do we have to get these out of here by hand? 312 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,040 We do unfortunately, I'm afraid. 313 00:18:28,040 --> 00:18:30,680 Literally just pick them out, put them onto here... 314 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:35,440 ..and then empty them onto this trough. 315 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,160 Why can't you just tip them straight on to the conveyor belt? 316 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:39,800 Because they sometimes come out like that, 317 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:42,880 so when they've been in the freezer they'll just stick together. 318 00:18:42,880 --> 00:18:45,920 So we tip my naked fish fingers... 319 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:47,680 Yep. Cos they've got no coating on them yet. 320 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:51,440 Yep, yep. They're naked, to me. So we tip those onto here and then they 321 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,880 manually have to be checked to make sure they're not sticking together? Yeah. 322 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:59,640 My fish fingers are whisked away into the first machine. 323 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:02,120 Wahey! 324 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:05,360 Right, that looks like a steamer to me. 325 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:07,720 It's like a great big kettle really, in there. 326 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:12,400 So it's just producing steam and it's just taking the top layer of ice off. 327 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:14,800 So as you can see, that's just passed through 328 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:16,240 and it's all nice and wet. 329 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:17,680 It's not just the top layer, is it? 330 00:19:17,680 --> 00:19:22,520 It's all over it, it's the top, the bottom and the sides. 331 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,960 The outer layer of ice is melted to make the finger wet and sticky, 332 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,240 ready for its first coating. 333 00:19:29,240 --> 00:19:30,960 And what do you call this bit? 334 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,040 That is a pre-dust. A pre-dust? 335 00:19:34,040 --> 00:19:37,200 Yeah. Not dust as in your dust off your telly. 336 00:19:38,640 --> 00:19:40,040 That pre-dust is flour? 337 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:43,280 Yes. And I'm guessing you put flour round it to make the batter stick? 338 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:44,440 Yes. 339 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,880 My naked fish fingers are just about to get covered over in a blanket of 340 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:50,640 flour, or dust, as you call it. 341 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:52,920 They are, so they'll not be naked any more. 342 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:54,920 It's a shame, really. 343 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:56,600 Mind you, it'll hide their blushes, won't it? 344 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:58,080 Like having their underwear on. 345 00:19:58,080 --> 00:19:59,680 GREGG LAUGHS 346 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:09,600 Fish fingers are one of the most popular products in our freezer, 347 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,920 but many people consider frozen to be inferior to fresh. 348 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:15,880 Cherry went to find out if that's true. 349 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:21,840 To be honest, I think of the stuff in my freezer 350 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:25,240 as what I use when I need to get a meal on the table quickly. 351 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:27,560 It's certainly not what I would turn to 352 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,080 if I was going to make something special. 353 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:35,040 But one chef is hoping to change my mind. 354 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:38,320 Hi guys, I'm Miguel Barclay, welcome the One Pound Meals YouTube channel. 355 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,160 Today, we're going to be cooking a lovely 356 00:20:41,160 --> 00:20:43,640 fresh and vibrant pea cannelloni. 357 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:49,560 Internet star Miguel made his name devising recipes 358 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:52,080 that cost less than £1 a portion, 359 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:57,120 and he's passionate about the cost savings you can find in the freezer aisle. 360 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:59,160 So I've set him a challenge... 361 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:01,640 Can he use frozen ingredients to produce 362 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:05,280 two top-notch dinner party dishes that can pass for fresh? 363 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:07,840 Hi, Miguel. Hey, Cherry. 364 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:09,160 Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. 365 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,920 So what are we cooking? That is a lobster tail. 366 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,360 Exactly. We're going straight in 367 00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:18,400 with a classic high-end posh dish and I'm 368 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,640 going to show you how to do a lobster Thermidor with it. 369 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,920 All the ingredients Miguel's using were bought frozen. 370 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:28,720 So, you've got your lovely defrosted lobster tail, 371 00:21:28,720 --> 00:21:32,920 and because it's been frozen, is it cheaper? 372 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:37,920 Yes, so this one comes in at £5, and if you were going to buy this fresh, 373 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,440 you're looking at about the £7.50 mark. 374 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,200 So that's a lot cheaper. 375 00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:44,920 It's a high cost gourmet ingredient, 376 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,400 but Miguel's pairing it with something a little less high-end 377 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,280 which I've never seen before. 378 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:52,080 Frozen cheese sauce? 379 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:56,000 My head says I understand, my heart says no, it's wrong! 380 00:21:57,320 --> 00:22:03,160 These cheesy pellets can be tipped straight into the frying pan without defrosting. 381 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,720 We finish the sauce with some frozen onions and garlic. 382 00:22:06,720 --> 00:22:08,240 Frozen onions? 383 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:10,480 Why are these not in my life? 384 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:14,560 Well, a lot of people A, don't know they exist, and B, 385 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:16,000 just don't have any faith in them. 386 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:22,440 Frozen onions and garlic are a revelation. 387 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:26,320 Exactly. So this dish here, we only need like a quarter of an onion, 388 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,560 so what would we do with the other three quarters of an onion? 389 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:31,040 Well, no, you put it in the fridge and you let it rot. 390 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:32,160 Exactly. That's what happens. 391 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,920 And then one day you stumble across it and throw it out. 392 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,200 And you go, "Oh, that's what that smell is!" 393 00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:41,840 In Britain, we throw away over 7 million tonnes of food every year, 394 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:44,000 mostly bread, fruit and veg. 395 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,080 Frozen food allows you to use only the amount you need, 396 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:50,840 so you chuck less in the bin. 397 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:57,160 I suppose the only other big question is, does it taste OK? 398 00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:02,440 It's got to be good, you know... 399 00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:12,760 A lovely bit of crunch. It's so good, I'm so happy! 400 00:23:12,760 --> 00:23:15,400 I'm loving the lobster starter, 401 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:19,320 but will Miguel's main course turn out as tasty? 402 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:21,320 It's duck breast and cabbage mash, 403 00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:25,000 garnished with something I'd never think of buying frozen - 404 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,360 asparagus. 405 00:23:26,360 --> 00:23:30,800 With some frozen items, do you lose some of the nutritional value? 406 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,480 Well, actually, some frozen items you get more nutritional value. 407 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:38,160 So the peas are packaged within two hours of picking, 408 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,400 so you're actually preserving them at their absolute peak. 409 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,680 So this is as nutritionally good 410 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:51,480 as if it were fresh potatoes and fresh cabbage? Yep, definitely. 411 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,800 It looks fabulous, but does it taste good? 412 00:23:57,960 --> 00:24:00,120 It just tastes really nice. 413 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:04,200 It just goes to show how frozen produce can taste as good as fresh. 414 00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:08,520 You have revolutionised my freezer use with pellets of mash. 415 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,480 I would not have guessed that, I'll be honest. 416 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,400 Well, I'm won over, but are Miguel's dishes good enough 417 00:24:15,400 --> 00:24:18,680 to convince other people to rethink frozen produce? 418 00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:23,320 We took them out onto the street to find out. 419 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,200 Wow, that's lovely. The lobster's extremely good. 420 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:27,560 You like the lobster? Absolutely. 421 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:32,240 Oh, I say! 422 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,440 Is that a winner, winner? 423 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:38,160 What would you say if I told you it was made entirely out of frozen 424 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,880 ingredients? No way. Yes, way! 425 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:42,840 Is this frozen? 426 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,200 Yeah, 100% frozen ingredients. 427 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,080 Tastes very fresh. I'm surprised. That really is lovely. 428 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:50,680 It is really nice. I mean it doesn't look like frozen food. 429 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:56,600 A delicious gourmet meal and every one of the ingredients was originally frozen. 430 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:57,840 I like him! 431 00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:09,560 At the factory, it's been four hours and 20 minutes 432 00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:11,600 since my frozen cod arrived. 433 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:15,760 On the production line my naked fish fingers 434 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:17,320 are heading for the coating 435 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:20,440 area, where Nick Hill's in charge. 436 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:24,880 Nick, I've been sent over here to learn about the batter. 437 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:26,160 Yeah. 438 00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:31,600 This 150-litre vat of batter must be constantly topped up to make sure it 439 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:35,040 never runs out, and today that's my job. 440 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:37,880 What do I have to do? I've topped this up with water already, 441 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,880 next thing is a couple of shovels of ice in there. 442 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,240 Why ice? Keep the temperature of the batter down. 443 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:45,720 You want me to do it? Yes, please. 444 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,840 It's rock hard! Iced up. 445 00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:56,440 The ice will keep the temperature of the batter mix at 10 degrees, 446 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:00,280 which stops it getting sticky and over coating the fingers. 447 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:04,120 Perfect. The next bit is bag of the batter mix. 448 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:07,160 So, basically this is like any batter at home - this is flour and water? 449 00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:10,000 Yeah, yeah, that's all it is, yeah. And a bit of ice to keep it cool? 450 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,280 Yeah. 451 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,440 But on a much bigger scale. Yeah, big, big scale. 452 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:17,520 Whoa! HE GRUNTS 453 00:26:27,400 --> 00:26:30,080 If you shut the lid, 454 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:33,240 now we've got some controls just around the other side. 455 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:34,520 That one and them two. 456 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,280 That one? Yeah. Then them two. Yeah. 457 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,240 Batter! 458 00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:46,200 Inside the mixer, a blade turns 1,200 times every minute, 459 00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,880 blending the flour, water and ice together. 460 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:51,440 Can't take long to mix, can it? 461 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,600 No, you'd like to leave it for five minutes to get all the lumps out. 462 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:56,600 If I lift this up, will it go everywhere? 463 00:26:56,600 --> 00:26:58,200 A little bit. Let's have a look. 464 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,640 There you are. All mixed. There we go! 465 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:06,800 Looking good. 466 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,480 Next job would be, if you just lift the lid all the way up, 467 00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,760 there's a little visco cup just at this pocket here. 468 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:16,360 A little disco cup? What's it called? 469 00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:19,320 Viscosity. Checks how thick the batter is. 470 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:21,880 'We need to measure how long it takes for the batter...' 471 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,160 Go! '..to pour through a hole in the bottom of the cup. 472 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,560 'We're aiming for between 8-15 seconds.' 473 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,080 Nearly! Five seconds. A little bit more batter and we'll be there. 474 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:34,200 It's a matter of trial and error. 475 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,440 Do you want to turn the machine on again, please. 476 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,600 This place was really clean when I arrived. 477 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,760 I've held up the world's fish finger production, 478 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,720 messing about with a bag of flour. 479 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,080 Making a mess with a bag of flour! 480 00:28:05,080 --> 00:28:07,920 There we go, it's stopped. It's stopped. 481 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:10,960 Oh, that's so thick, so thick it's unbelievable. 482 00:28:10,960 --> 00:28:13,080 Stop! Ten. 483 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:15,000 Yes! 484 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:19,920 I've never been so happy to see the inside of a visco cup. 485 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:23,080 I'm in a right mess. I've got to go and have a shower. 486 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:25,040 It's going to take an hour to clean up. 487 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:28,760 Nick, I'm so sorry. No problem. 488 00:28:31,080 --> 00:28:37,120 My freshly mixed cauldron of batter is enough to coat almost 8,000 fish fingers. 489 00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:40,840 It's pumped directly from the mixer to the battering station. 490 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:44,360 As the fish fingers arrive, 491 00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:47,880 they're trapped between two wire mesh conveyors 492 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:50,600 and carried into the river of batter. 493 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:52,960 Why are they between two cages like that? 494 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:55,400 Just to help drag them through, otherwise they'd just be floating. 495 00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,040 Of course they would. What's this bit called? 496 00:28:58,040 --> 00:28:59,840 Batter enrober. 497 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:02,160 A batter enrober. Yep. 498 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:05,720 So that guarantees that these fish fingers are well and truly coated... 499 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,320 Yep. ..in my brilliantly made batter? Yeah. 500 00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,160 Hey! That's it. 501 00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:17,840 Straight to the roto-crumb. The what? 502 00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,720 Roto-crumber. Roto-crumber? Yeah. 503 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:23,200 Posh name - breader. 504 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:30,000 Premade breadcrumbs are poured evenly across the conveyer from a nearby drum. 505 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:34,320 And the fingers are plunged into an avalanche of crumbs. 506 00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:38,880 Do you know what? It looks like they are diving into a wave. Yeah. Doesn't it? 507 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:41,640 Does look pretty good, though. Come on! Last one in is a rotten egg! 508 00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:47,960 I've had naked fish fingers. 509 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:50,000 Then I've seen them put their underwear on. Yeah. 510 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:51,840 Now they've got a robe on. 511 00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:54,680 They will be fully dressed in a minute, I can tell. 512 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:55,720 Yeah. Hopefully. 513 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:02,160 Erm... Where've they gone? Disappeared. 514 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:04,280 They are somewhere... Here we go. 515 00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:10,600 It's like fishing for fish fingers. 516 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:11,640 NICK LAUGHS 517 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,400 Hang on, this is a game, this, isn't it? 518 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:16,000 That's a lot of bread crumbs. Oh, yeah. 519 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:18,880 And that's to make sure they are completely and utterly coated? 520 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,120 Yeah, fully covered all the way around. 521 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,120 Any excess is removed by an air blower, 522 00:30:25,120 --> 00:30:27,280 leaving an even coating all around. 523 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:31,760 And these are still frozen rock hard, right? 524 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,000 Still rock hard. Yeah. How many of these are we making, Nick? 525 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:36,920 150 a minute. 526 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:38,760 Really? Yeah. 527 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,280 Quite a lot of fingers. Absolutely. 528 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,800 I think they've journeyed more now than when they were actually whole fish. Yeah. 529 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:47,480 That's a beautiful thing, mate. 530 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,240 Beautiful! That is somebody's tea. 531 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:52,840 Yeah. Actually, I wouldn't mind if it was mine, to be honest. 532 00:30:52,840 --> 00:30:55,160 I was going to say, I could do with one right now. 533 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:00,920 My frozen sticks of cod are heading for the fryer, 534 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,600 where Mel is standing by to answer my questions. 535 00:31:04,600 --> 00:31:06,960 What oil do you use? Rapeseed oil. 536 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:09,800 Do you know what temperature? 200 degrees. 537 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:11,400 For how long? 45 seconds. 538 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:14,480 That's quick. Very quick. 539 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:16,760 Can I see them up the other end? Yep. 540 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:24,240 That's not enough heat to cook them, is it? 541 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:25,360 No, they're not cooked. 542 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:28,040 It's just literally cooking the breadcrumbs, if you like. 543 00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,320 So what's the fish like inside? 544 00:31:30,320 --> 00:31:32,680 Shall we pick one up and try? 545 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:34,200 It's still frozen. 546 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:35,240 Oh! 547 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:38,080 Oh! Ow! 548 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:39,320 Very hot, so be careful. 549 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:42,640 It's really hot on the outside and it's frozen in the middle. 550 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:44,000 That's supposed to be like that, right? 551 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:46,360 Yes. So you've just cooked the breadcrumbs? 552 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:48,920 Literally. The intention is not to cook the fish at all. 553 00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:50,600 It is literally just to cook the breadcrumbs. 554 00:31:50,600 --> 00:31:52,080 Yes, it's frozen. Yeah. 555 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,600 They came in as a block frozen. They're going out frozen. Yes. 556 00:31:55,600 --> 00:32:01,480 The fish is in exactly the same condition as it was when Cherry saw it in Iceland? Yes. 557 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:03,720 They're a little bit dark, aren't they? 558 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,240 They are at the moment, but over the next couple of days they'll actually 559 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:08,040 come down in colour? What, they'll fade? 560 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,960 They'll fade, but it doesn't affect the flavour. 561 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,280 I get it, you don't actually want them this dark, 562 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:16,880 you cook them this dark because you know they're going to fade? 563 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:18,360 That's right. 564 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,600 Hey! A bit like me with my suntan on holiday. 565 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:24,520 Get a bit red and lobstery cos I know I'll be golden at the end. 566 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:27,680 That's surprised me. I love that. 567 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:33,240 My fish fingers are almost ready for somebody's plate. 568 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:39,920 Meanwhile, Ruth is in London discovering what seafood they were putting on 569 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:42,320 their plates back in the 19th century. 570 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:47,000 RUTH: Rewind 170 years and this place, 571 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,080 Billingsgate, was the biggest fish market in the world. 572 00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:03,000 Over 3,000 people here shifted 120,000 tonnes of fish a year. 573 00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:11,320 And the most popular seafood product was something rather surprising. 574 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:16,320 Food historian Drew Smith is here to fill me in. 575 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,440 Drew, lovely to see you. Lovely to see you. 576 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:24,120 So, what exactly was the best selling fish in Victorian London? 577 00:33:24,120 --> 00:33:27,160 Oysters. Oysters! Absolutely. 578 00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:31,320 Cos all of this bank here would have been full of oysters. 579 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:34,320 There would have been eight, nine, ten barges bringing them up here 580 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:36,200 and they would be shovelling them up here, 581 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,440 and from here they'd put them on a horse and cart, 582 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:40,920 take them all around London. 583 00:33:43,120 --> 00:33:49,080 In 1851, Billingsgate fishmongers sold 500 million oysters. 584 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:52,920 That's 200 for every Londoner. 585 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,280 At a penny for four, they were affordable for everyone. 586 00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:59,480 So, this really is a food of everybody? 587 00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,600 Rich, poor, makes no difference, there's lots of it about, 588 00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:04,880 everybody's eating them? Yep, and it was London's food. 589 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:08,520 I mean, they come sort of pre-packaged, really, in a way? 590 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:09,760 In their own shell? 591 00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:12,360 Yes, they were the convenience food of the Victorian era. 592 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:14,160 You know, they were easy to handle. 593 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:17,240 You could eat them on the street, of course, without needing any cooking. 594 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:23,080 Victorians also believed this protein-packed shellfish 595 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:25,360 had a rather saucy side effect. 596 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,720 Oysters are a very healthy food and it's one of the reasons they got the 597 00:34:28,720 --> 00:34:30,360 reputation as an aphrodisiac. 598 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:32,400 Because actually you'd feel a lot better 599 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,360 because you were probably so depleted. 600 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,360 Of course, if you had been living on bread, bread, bread, and bread, 601 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:38,920 with your bit of tea... HE GROANS 602 00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:41,400 Yeah. And then you get a sudden hit of all that protein, 603 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:43,760 it's going to have a big impact on a person. 604 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:45,240 It did, yeah. THEY LAUGH 605 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:53,400 Oysters were so cheap and popular that pubs like this one in Bethnal Green 606 00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:56,080 would offer them free with your pint. 607 00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:57,880 Oh, they look good. 608 00:34:57,880 --> 00:34:59,640 So, what changed? 609 00:34:59,640 --> 00:35:03,000 Why is it we now think of oysters as purely posh food? 610 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:05,680 Well, you can track it down through these newspaper cuttings we've got 611 00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:12,120 here, right down to November 10th, 1902. As specific as that! 612 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:16,480 On that date, guests at an oyster-laden banquet in Winchester 613 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:18,880 suffered catastrophic food poisoning. 614 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:22,320 Half the guests at the banquet went sick. 615 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:24,040 And it says here... This is a first report. 616 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:26,600 "Nearly a dozen of the most prominent citizens of Winchester, 617 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:32,160 "including the Dean, the headmaster of the college and a councillor are on the sick list." 618 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:33,680 Good gracious. 619 00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:37,760 In all, 63 guests at the Winchester banquet became ill, 620 00:35:37,760 --> 00:35:40,520 some of them diagnosed with typhoid. 621 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,920 And things went from bad to worse. 622 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:47,840 "Mr E Douglas Godwin, one of the best-known legal practitioners in Hampshire, 623 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:52,080 "died yesterday at Winchester, the fourth victim of the illness." 624 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:55,920 These are really prominent people who are dying, aren't they? 625 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,600 The cause of death was traced back to the oysters and a stretch of 626 00:35:59,600 --> 00:36:03,440 the south coast that had been contaminated with sewage. 627 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:08,200 The town Emsworth had built their drains over the oyster beds 628 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:12,880 and had polluted the oyster beds, which had caused typhoid. 629 00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:13,960 Unfortunately... 630 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,920 Typhoid passed straight through the oysters and back into people. 631 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:17,960 Exactly. Oh... 632 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:24,240 This highly contagious waterborne disease had spread through the oyster beds. 633 00:36:24,240 --> 00:36:27,720 When word got out, the press had a field day. 634 00:36:27,720 --> 00:36:29,480 This is the Worcester Chronicle. 635 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,680 This is the Yorkshire Post, and this is the Manchester Courier. 636 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:34,760 So the story spread right across the country. 637 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:38,680 This isn't a local Winchester story, this is a national scandal. 638 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:42,440 One that sounded the death knell for the British oyster industry. 639 00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:45,760 The oyster beds were closed down and actually it was the start of 640 00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:47,840 what we call public health these days, 641 00:36:47,840 --> 00:36:51,120 and oysters just went into complete decline. 642 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:53,360 So it's absolute as definite as that. 643 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:55,800 We have one incident of an outbreak. 644 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:57,840 Bonk. End of the oyster industry. 645 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,200 This completely killed it, yes, absolutely. 646 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:05,200 So Britain's original convenience fish product disappeared from our tables. 647 00:37:06,640 --> 00:37:08,960 As recently as 1990s, 648 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:12,920 you could almost say the oyster industry was over in this country. 649 00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:17,440 And it's only in the last 20 or so years that things have started to pick up. 650 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:22,440 Today, oysters are carefully cultivated and regarded as a luxury food. 651 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:26,520 In fancy restaurants they can cost upwards of £2 each. 652 00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:31,920 That's a far cry from their glory days as an everyday staple in Victorian London. 653 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:39,040 Back in Caistor, my fish fingers look finished. 654 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:41,560 But before I can pack them, 655 00:37:41,560 --> 00:37:45,320 I have to oversee a rather surprising delivery. 656 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:47,480 Hello, brother. Hello there. Are you all right? 657 00:37:47,480 --> 00:37:54,640 Every week, the factory receives two 25-ton tankers of liquid nitrogen. 658 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:56,840 Is this a particularly scary product? 659 00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:58,680 It can be scary. You've got to be trained, 660 00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:01,280 but it can be scary in the wrong hands. 661 00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:02,880 What's dangerous about it? 662 00:38:02,880 --> 00:38:04,920 It's very cold, so it can burn you. 663 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:08,920 And what happens if a load of liquid nitrogen goes flooding out of the tank? 664 00:38:08,920 --> 00:38:11,040 Well, you don't want to be around. 665 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:13,520 Cos it will just freeze everything what's around it. 666 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,880 Nitrogen occurs naturally in the air around us. 667 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:23,000 Most of the time it's a gas, but when it is cooled down to minus 196 degrees Celsius, 668 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:26,920 it becomes a liquid, making it easier to transport. 669 00:38:26,920 --> 00:38:30,160 And it's just what I need to freeze my fish fingers. 670 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:31,440 Are we ready to unload, boss? 671 00:38:31,440 --> 00:38:34,440 We are, mate. Come on, what do we do? Right. 672 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:37,000 I've got to press these two buttons, start the engine. 673 00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:40,520 That's started. That's started. 674 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:42,800 Make sure that the delivery valve is open 675 00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:45,240 and now I'm going to start the pump. 676 00:38:46,720 --> 00:38:50,520 PUMP WHIRS There goes the pump. 677 00:38:50,520 --> 00:38:55,400 The liquid nitrogen is pumped into the on-site storage tank. 678 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:57,280 How long is this going to take to unload? 679 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,400 About an hour. Mate, I'll leave you to it, shall I? 680 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:03,120 Thank you very much. I've seen lots of lorries being unloaded. 681 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:05,960 This is my favourite. Great. Pleased to have met you. Thanks, mate. 682 00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:15,000 My frozen cod arrived five hours and 21 minutes ago. 683 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,480 Now, my coated fish fingers are heading to the freezer. 684 00:39:21,640 --> 00:39:23,000 That's a serious big freezer. 685 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,920 That must be the liquid nitrogen that I saw being delivered, right? 686 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,360 It is. How cold is that? 687 00:39:28,360 --> 00:39:29,800 It's currently at minus 50. 688 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,840 Nitrogen gas is sprayed in the top of the freezer, 689 00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:38,480 rapidly reducing the temperature of the fish fingers 690 00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:40,880 to minus 15 degrees. 691 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,960 This is called flash freezing. 692 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:47,880 It preserves the fish, giving it a shelf life of up to 12 months. 693 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:52,320 Does it just go straight through a flat conveyor and come out the other side? 694 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:54,280 No. Inside there is like a corkscrew. 695 00:39:55,640 --> 00:40:01,040 The fish fingers slowly move upwards on a 110-metre spiral conveyor. 696 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:08,480 They make 16 rotations, and after 18 minutes they emerge from the top. 697 00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:12,360 GREGG CHUCKLES 698 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:18,040 Hang on a minute. So these fish fingers go up on a corkscrew and come down on a slide? 699 00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,840 Yes, it's like a fairground for fish fingers. 700 00:40:21,840 --> 00:40:23,560 It certainly is, isn't it? 701 00:40:28,480 --> 00:40:32,880 180 fish fingers slide out of the freezer every minute. 702 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:36,680 OK, can I get one? Yes, you can, if you are quick. 703 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:39,320 Wow, that is frozen solid. 704 00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:42,800 Wow, that is... You can't get much more frozen than that. 705 00:40:42,800 --> 00:40:44,240 FISH FINGER CLANGS 706 00:40:44,240 --> 00:40:47,480 Do they start to get warmer after they come out the freezer? 707 00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:48,960 No, total opposite. 708 00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:51,360 It's so cold in there that they continue to get colder. 709 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:52,640 Do they really? 710 00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:55,240 Honestly. How many degrees colder can they get? 711 00:40:55,240 --> 00:40:59,360 They come out there roughly minus 15 degrees and they end up minus 18. 712 00:40:59,360 --> 00:41:01,720 There are so many things in here I find remarkable. 713 00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:04,560 I kind of like to think the fish fingers are having a nice time, don't you? 714 00:41:04,560 --> 00:41:06,080 I think it looks like they are. 715 00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:17,280 This factory is packed to the gunwales with hi-tech equipment, 716 00:41:17,280 --> 00:41:19,200 like this nitrogen freezer. 717 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:22,640 But there is a proud history of low-tech fish production 718 00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:26,080 right here in Grimsby. Cherry has been to lend a hand. 719 00:41:32,080 --> 00:41:34,960 Some modern preservation techniques, like freezing, 720 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,160 have been around for about a century. 721 00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:42,680 But there's one way of preserving that's been around since the dawn of time. 722 00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:50,360 This smoke house has been here for the last 90 years and produces 723 00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:52,840 15 tonnes of fish every week. 724 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:58,240 Third-generation fish smoker Angie King is going to show me how it's done. 725 00:41:58,240 --> 00:42:02,000 What kind of fish are we using? This is fresh Icelandic haddock, 726 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:05,280 and it doesn't get much better than that. 727 00:42:05,280 --> 00:42:07,400 That is a perfect, perfect fillet of fish. 728 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:09,920 And you're going to make it into a perfect fillet of smoked fish. 729 00:42:12,120 --> 00:42:19,400 It all begins with a 165-litre bath of water, and 25 kilos of salt. 730 00:42:21,240 --> 00:42:24,400 Oh, wow! Now you have the special brining shovel. 731 00:42:26,160 --> 00:42:28,880 Now they are mixed together, we have created a brine. 732 00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:33,200 Why do you brine the fish first? 733 00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,040 We brine fish because it's a preservative 734 00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:38,320 that is added to the fish. It gives the fish extra life. 735 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:40,120 So we've got our briny water. 736 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:42,280 Is that it? Are we done? No, not at all. 737 00:42:42,280 --> 00:42:45,440 We've now got the important ingredient, which is the colour. 738 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:48,160 I thought that the colour developed while it was smoking. 739 00:42:48,160 --> 00:42:50,280 I think that's an old adage. 740 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:51,640 People have always thought that, 741 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:54,400 that the fish became yellow when it went into the chimneys. 742 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:56,880 And actually it isn't. It's the colour that we add to the fish. 743 00:42:56,880 --> 00:42:58,440 So, why bother dyeing it? 744 00:42:59,440 --> 00:43:01,320 Tradition. 745 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:05,920 The traditional bright yellow colour comes from adding the natural spices 746 00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:08,280 turmeric and annatto. 747 00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:10,160 You'll see now the colour's starting to take. 748 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:13,400 Gorgeous. 749 00:43:15,480 --> 00:43:18,400 The colourful salt bath is ready for the fish. 750 00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:24,960 Gently just tease the fish into the brine and let it drop to the bottom. 751 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:33,120 You're now going to leave it for five minutes to allow 752 00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:35,200 the salt to infuse into the fish. 753 00:43:35,200 --> 00:43:38,080 It's like when I have a bath and I ask my kids to just give me 754 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,280 five minutes peace. Absolutely. 755 00:43:41,280 --> 00:43:44,400 The fish are hung out on what's known as speets. 756 00:43:44,400 --> 00:43:48,640 Try and get them just not touching, just slightly apart from each other. 757 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:55,080 They hang for two hours, so the excess moisture can drip off. 758 00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:58,200 So now what? Now the magic begins. 759 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:00,640 Are we going to smoke? We're really going to smoke. 760 00:44:00,640 --> 00:44:04,280 Is it time? Finally. It's that time. Yes. 761 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:07,000 Oh, my goodness. Wow! 762 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:12,040 The factory has 11 chimneys, each ten metres tall. 763 00:44:13,600 --> 00:44:17,840 The walls are encrusted black with tar from decades of use. 764 00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:20,560 You would be the runner. 765 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:23,160 You will pass this fish to a guy in that chimney. 766 00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:25,000 He will be harnessed up there. 767 00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:27,320 There will be another guy above him, 768 00:44:27,320 --> 00:44:32,680 and that speet of fish will literally be passed from you, to him, to him. 769 00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:34,240 This I have to see. 770 00:44:38,600 --> 00:44:39,680 That's it. 771 00:44:41,680 --> 00:44:45,840 120 kilos of fish are loaded into the chimney. 772 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:50,120 Once this job is done, it's known as a full house. 773 00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:55,600 Eddie, that's the last one. 774 00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:58,880 Righto. Up she goes. 775 00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:02,560 All we need now is the smoke. 776 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:08,480 Embers are added to a pile of sawdust made from oak, 777 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:10,280 beech and European softwoods. 778 00:45:12,880 --> 00:45:15,240 And all that will do, in time, is start to smoulder, 779 00:45:15,240 --> 00:45:17,040 just like that bucket is. 780 00:45:17,040 --> 00:45:18,680 That's what'll smoke your fish. 781 00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:20,520 That's the magic. 782 00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:27,760 The cool smoke, never more than 20 Celsius, infuses into the flesh, 783 00:45:27,760 --> 00:45:31,160 giving the fish its characteristic delicate flavour. 784 00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:37,680 The haddock hangs in the chimney for between 14 and 16 hours. 785 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:42,440 Meanwhile, Angie has yesterday's batch ready to be packed. 786 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:45,360 So you literally... That is beautiful. 787 00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:49,280 It's... Delicate smell. 788 00:45:49,280 --> 00:45:52,280 Springy to the touch and very glossy. 789 00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:54,960 So you'll pack three fillets on the bottom, normally. 790 00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:56,880 Now you'll put another piece of paper on, 791 00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:59,920 you put in two more fillets in this box, 792 00:45:59,920 --> 00:46:02,600 and that's your first box packed. 793 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:04,120 Well done, girl. Well done. 794 00:46:04,120 --> 00:46:07,960 I am absolutely as proud as punch with this box of fish. 795 00:46:07,960 --> 00:46:10,720 Well, I'm so pleased you are, but would you now finish the rest? 796 00:46:10,720 --> 00:46:11,760 No. 797 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:17,800 GREGG: Cherry may have abandoned her task, 798 00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:19,960 but the smoked fish need a bit more work. 799 00:46:21,760 --> 00:46:24,120 And for that, they've come to our factory. 800 00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:28,160 The fillets go through a laser scanner 801 00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:30,160 that precisely measures the fish. 802 00:46:31,760 --> 00:46:34,400 Then a blade divides it into portions, 803 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:39,040 cutting it so fast that even in slow motion you can't see it move. 804 00:46:40,840 --> 00:46:44,760 Finally, perfectly uniform sized pieces are packed, 805 00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:46,560 ready for the supermarket shelf. 806 00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:56,800 Back on the production line, my fish fingers are also ready for packing. 807 00:46:59,840 --> 00:47:01,760 So they've come out the freezer. 808 00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:03,480 Now we've just got to pack them. 809 00:47:03,480 --> 00:47:06,920 So just three fingers on top of each other in a stack like that. 810 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:08,520 Open the bag, put them in. 811 00:47:08,520 --> 00:47:11,800 Then you just put your next three in. 812 00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:14,280 Then just take the bag off, 813 00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:15,760 fold it over the top. 814 00:47:18,120 --> 00:47:22,000 Not veg days. Now, Mrs Miggins, here's your artichoke. 815 00:47:24,280 --> 00:47:28,160 Packing them by hand means that each fish finger can be given a quick 816 00:47:28,160 --> 00:47:29,600 visual check. 817 00:47:29,600 --> 00:47:33,640 But you have to do it fast, to prevent a fish finger pile up. 818 00:47:33,640 --> 00:47:36,000 I don't think you're quite the speed of the girls, though. 819 00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:37,520 Yeah, give me a chance! 820 00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:44,400 The bags move down the line and are sealed shut, 821 00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:48,240 while the next machine prepares the cardboard boxes. 822 00:47:50,920 --> 00:47:54,920 The machine folds it into a carton, folds it over, glues it, 823 00:47:54,920 --> 00:47:58,840 and the ladies and gentlemen that side put the fingers directly into the box. 824 00:47:58,840 --> 00:48:02,240 Then the other side gets folded, glued, comes out the other side. 825 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:10,760 I like those metal knobs, gently turning the boxes round the right way. 826 00:48:10,760 --> 00:48:12,200 Good bit of engineering, that. 827 00:48:12,200 --> 00:48:14,800 Isn't that? The simplest of things, it's really clever, 828 00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:17,240 and it works perfectly every time. 829 00:48:17,240 --> 00:48:20,520 The boxes continue past the printer. 830 00:48:20,520 --> 00:48:23,840 What's this tube? That's date coding. 831 00:48:23,840 --> 00:48:25,320 That doesn't even touch the box. 832 00:48:25,320 --> 00:48:27,000 It's just kind of spraying it on. 833 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:31,720 That's great. That there is a unique code to that product. 834 00:48:31,720 --> 00:48:35,720 When you trace it back, you can go back to exactly where it was caught. 835 00:48:35,720 --> 00:48:38,560 That code there tells you who caught the fish 836 00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:42,160 that was turned into the fish finger? Yep. No way. 837 00:48:42,160 --> 00:48:46,200 Seriously. The life of that fish, from the second that we've caught it, 838 00:48:46,200 --> 00:48:48,880 all the way through until it lands on somebody's plate, 839 00:48:48,880 --> 00:48:50,480 we can trace it all the way back. 840 00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:54,960 Well, this bloke is a pretty good fisherman, 841 00:48:54,960 --> 00:48:57,320 because he caught all 12 of these fish fingers. 842 00:48:59,200 --> 00:49:03,440 Finally, my boxes of fish fingers are in a delivery carton. 843 00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:07,920 Their 32-metre journey along the production line is complete. 844 00:49:09,040 --> 00:49:11,440 Is this it, Mel, is this the last stage? 845 00:49:11,440 --> 00:49:13,680 This is the last stage in here. 846 00:49:13,680 --> 00:49:16,000 We're just putting our outer case label on, 847 00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:19,200 palletising it up, and then it will go out to logistics. 848 00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:22,520 Do you know what's different about this than other factories I've been to? 849 00:49:22,520 --> 00:49:24,760 This is normally always done by machine. 850 00:49:26,360 --> 00:49:28,600 I like it that there's people here. 851 00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:33,400 How do you feel when you see them on the shelves? 852 00:49:33,400 --> 00:49:36,960 Proud. Do you? Why? Cos we've made them. 853 00:49:39,600 --> 00:49:44,000 1,600 finished boxes come off the line every hour. 854 00:49:44,000 --> 00:49:49,000 That's a whopping 9,600 individual fish fingers. 855 00:49:50,080 --> 00:49:54,480 Six hours and 32 minutes after my frozen cod arrived at the cutting 856 00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:57,160 factory, the finished fish fingers 857 00:49:57,160 --> 00:49:59,960 are being taken to the dispatch area. 858 00:49:59,960 --> 00:50:02,560 Soon to be in a freezer near you. 859 00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:07,600 Nearly all of us have a freezer in our homes, 860 00:50:07,600 --> 00:50:14,000 but only one in ten of us is confident about the rules of freezing and defrosting. 861 00:50:14,000 --> 00:50:15,520 Cherry went to put that right. 862 00:50:19,640 --> 00:50:22,480 I've got to admit a little bit of uncertainty 863 00:50:22,480 --> 00:50:26,840 when it comes to the dos and don'ts of freezing and defrosting food. 864 00:50:26,840 --> 00:50:29,920 I'm pretty sure I know what's safe and what isn't, 865 00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:32,680 but mostly I'm guessing. 866 00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:41,600 I've come to Abertay University in Dundee to meet 867 00:50:41,600 --> 00:50:47,800 food scientist Professor Costas Stathopoulos, who can answer my questions about freezing. 868 00:50:49,240 --> 00:50:53,360 So, when you freeze food, what happens? 869 00:50:53,360 --> 00:50:56,720 You freeze water and everything it contains. 870 00:50:56,720 --> 00:51:00,640 Most food has about 90-95% water. 871 00:51:00,640 --> 00:51:03,560 And bacteria use this water as a source of food. 872 00:51:03,560 --> 00:51:05,520 So when we freeze, 873 00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:08,480 we are freezing this water, turning it into ice, 874 00:51:08,480 --> 00:51:12,440 and therefore the bacteria can no longer access this food. 875 00:51:12,440 --> 00:51:15,680 In the fresh meat case, if you press it, 876 00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:17,920 you can see that there is moisture around, 877 00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:22,840 so that indicates that there is the possibility of bacteria being fed. 878 00:51:22,840 --> 00:51:27,600 While in the frozen, there is no movement of water at all, 879 00:51:27,600 --> 00:51:30,680 therefore the bacteria, although they are there, 880 00:51:30,680 --> 00:51:34,280 they just cannot be fed. So, when you freeze food, 881 00:51:34,280 --> 00:51:38,240 you don't actually freeze or kill the bacteria. 882 00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:39,840 No, you do not kill them, no. 883 00:51:39,840 --> 00:51:43,560 You freeze the water, which means the bacteria have nothing to eat, 884 00:51:43,560 --> 00:51:45,840 which means they can't grow. Yes. 885 00:51:47,080 --> 00:51:51,760 Freezing preserves food by keeping the levels of bacteria in check. 886 00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:54,800 But when it thaws, they can start to multiply. 887 00:51:54,800 --> 00:51:57,440 So, how do you defrost safely? 888 00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:02,840 As an example, frozen turkey. What would you do with it? 889 00:52:02,840 --> 00:52:06,080 OK, so I would get this out of my freezer and I would be very hungry 890 00:52:06,080 --> 00:52:08,240 and I'd want food immediately, 891 00:52:08,240 --> 00:52:11,440 so I'd put it in the microwave on the defrost setting 892 00:52:11,440 --> 00:52:14,280 and wait until it was not cold in the middle. 893 00:52:14,280 --> 00:52:16,160 That's my technique. 894 00:52:16,160 --> 00:52:18,480 It is really not the best of techniques. 895 00:52:18,480 --> 00:52:22,960 It is always a recommendation to follow the instructions on the packaging. 896 00:52:22,960 --> 00:52:24,560 So, Costas, I have a confession. 897 00:52:24,560 --> 00:52:29,320 I didn't even know that there were defrosting instructions on the packets. 898 00:52:29,320 --> 00:52:33,640 I have never, ever read even a single one. 899 00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:39,800 The standard advice is to defrost all meat products in the fridge. 900 00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:43,280 The lower temperature slows down bacterial growth, 901 00:52:43,280 --> 00:52:45,920 reducing the risk of an upset stomach. 902 00:52:47,320 --> 00:52:52,120 So, I just wanted to show you how important it is to thaw food properly. 903 00:52:53,600 --> 00:52:57,880 In this Petri dish, we use the frozen turkey we had before, 904 00:52:57,880 --> 00:53:01,240 and then thawed it in the refrigerator, 905 00:53:01,240 --> 00:53:03,160 as per instructions on the packaging. 906 00:53:03,160 --> 00:53:04,880 What are these spots? 907 00:53:04,880 --> 00:53:09,840 Every spot corresponds to a colony of microorganisms having grown there. 908 00:53:09,840 --> 00:53:12,200 For example, the blue ones are E. coli. 909 00:53:12,200 --> 00:53:15,080 You see, that, to me, sounds dangerous. 910 00:53:15,080 --> 00:53:17,160 At low levels, it is not a problem. 911 00:53:17,160 --> 00:53:19,120 That's completely fine. Yeah. 912 00:53:19,120 --> 00:53:22,760 OK. However, if you defrost at room temperature, 913 00:53:22,760 --> 00:53:25,640 say you just leave it on the kitchen bench overnight, 914 00:53:25,640 --> 00:53:30,760 it's the same sample, but you see how much more growth we have had. 915 00:53:30,760 --> 00:53:34,280 Right, that is startling. 916 00:53:34,280 --> 00:53:36,120 I do that a lot. 917 00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:39,400 I leave the food out on the side overnight 918 00:53:39,400 --> 00:53:43,240 because I think that's how you defrost things. 919 00:53:43,240 --> 00:53:45,560 Things will defrost, but as you see, 920 00:53:45,560 --> 00:53:46,840 it is not the way to do it. 921 00:53:48,200 --> 00:53:53,160 That's because the outside of the meat reaches room temperature faster than the inside, 922 00:53:53,160 --> 00:53:57,400 providing the perfect breeding ground for microorganisms. 923 00:53:57,400 --> 00:54:01,680 So, let's just say that I have defrosted my turkey mince, 924 00:54:01,680 --> 00:54:05,320 but then decided actually what I quite fancy is going out for pizza, 925 00:54:05,320 --> 00:54:09,120 but I don't want to waste the meat. Can I refreeze it? 926 00:54:09,120 --> 00:54:10,600 That would be a bad idea. 927 00:54:12,040 --> 00:54:14,400 We did that, actually, just to check. 928 00:54:15,600 --> 00:54:20,640 And you see here. This sample has been frozen and thawed twice. 929 00:54:20,640 --> 00:54:23,560 This sample has been frozen and thawed three times. 930 00:54:23,560 --> 00:54:26,400 Oh, my goodness me. 931 00:54:26,400 --> 00:54:28,280 It's the whole universe in there. 932 00:54:29,640 --> 00:54:33,960 Every time you defrost food, the bacteria multiply. 933 00:54:33,960 --> 00:54:38,160 If you refreeze it, you are also freezing more bacteria. 934 00:54:38,160 --> 00:54:41,960 So if you do defrost something but you don't fancy it... 935 00:54:41,960 --> 00:54:45,760 Cook it before use. Cook it and then refreeze it. Yes, that's fine. 936 00:54:45,760 --> 00:54:49,640 And once it's been frozen, keep it in the freezer about six months. 937 00:54:49,640 --> 00:54:51,360 I wouldn't want to go past six months. 938 00:54:51,360 --> 00:54:53,600 After that, you start losing the quality of the food as well. 939 00:54:56,120 --> 00:54:58,760 Today's been a real eye-opener for me. 940 00:54:58,760 --> 00:55:01,840 From now on, I'm going to take a good look at the defrosting instructions 941 00:55:01,840 --> 00:55:07,040 on the packets, and make sure I keep those tricky bacteria under control. 942 00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:13,480 Oh, crying out loud! 943 00:55:13,480 --> 00:55:17,200 My fish fingers are waiting for me in the distribution area. 944 00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:23,040 To keep them frozen, they are stored in a giant walk-in freezer. 945 00:55:23,040 --> 00:55:28,040 In charge of this chilly operation is logistics manager Lee Kelly. 946 00:55:29,040 --> 00:55:31,760 Lee, are these my fish fingers? 947 00:55:31,760 --> 00:55:33,240 They are, Gregg. I'm sorry, 948 00:55:33,240 --> 00:55:35,720 this has to be the coldest place I've ever been. 949 00:55:35,720 --> 00:55:37,760 Pretty chilly, minus 24 at the minute. 950 00:55:37,760 --> 00:55:39,280 Mate, I really want to get out of here. 951 00:55:39,280 --> 00:55:41,760 Can we get someone in here to take these away so we can get out? 952 00:55:41,760 --> 00:55:44,600 Let's do it, yes. Can we? Yes. Got any cocoa? 953 00:55:48,840 --> 00:55:53,400 The pallets are forklifted out of the freezer and straight onto a truck. 954 00:55:58,680 --> 00:56:01,640 Well, there it goes, solidly frozen. 955 00:56:01,640 --> 00:56:04,480 Is that a frozen truck as well? It must be. It is, yes. 956 00:56:04,480 --> 00:56:07,840 It will be set at minus 24, same as the cold store. 957 00:56:07,840 --> 00:56:09,680 So, how fast do you have to work? 958 00:56:09,680 --> 00:56:12,840 Pretty fast. The vehicle arrived moments ago, 959 00:56:12,840 --> 00:56:16,360 so the lads have been unloading from the cold stores directly onto the vehicle. 960 00:56:16,360 --> 00:56:18,160 How many fish fingers on there? 961 00:56:18,160 --> 00:56:23,000 I would say over 150,000 fingers, actual fingers on there. 962 00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:26,400 Yeah, approximately 26 pallets. 150,000 fish fingers. Yeah. 963 00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:30,440 When are they likely to be on the supermarket shelves? 964 00:56:30,440 --> 00:56:34,200 Depending on stock in store, they could be there tomorrow. 965 00:56:34,200 --> 00:56:39,560 So my fish fingers could actually be in somebody's freezer 966 00:56:39,560 --> 00:56:41,640 in the next day or so? Yeah, yeah, possibly. 967 00:56:42,880 --> 00:56:47,040 The fish fingers will be transported to distribution depots 968 00:56:47,040 --> 00:56:51,200 before heading to supermarket shelves all over the country. 969 00:56:51,200 --> 00:56:54,080 They are particularly popular in Cambridge and Cheltenham, 970 00:56:54,080 --> 00:56:57,280 but the biggest fans are in Salisbury. 971 00:56:57,280 --> 00:57:03,760 Shall we let it get loaded and get it on its way? Yeah, let's do it. Cheers, mate. 972 00:57:06,000 --> 00:57:10,680 Just over eight hours ago, I saw cod arriving at the cutting factory. 973 00:57:10,680 --> 00:57:14,480 Since then, it has passed through the hands of more than 20 skilled 974 00:57:14,480 --> 00:57:18,840 workers, and now my fish fingers are finally ready to go. 975 00:57:21,400 --> 00:57:25,480 I've realised there are more people in this factory than there are robots, 976 00:57:25,480 --> 00:57:28,880 and I like that. But what I really like is that as soon as the cod is 977 00:57:28,880 --> 00:57:33,400 landed, it's put into blocks and frozen, and it remains frozen, 978 00:57:33,400 --> 00:57:36,520 and only thaws out when it's in our ovens. 979 00:57:36,520 --> 00:57:37,840 That is brilliant. 980 00:57:47,720 --> 00:57:49,800 Next time, we are in the Netherlands, 981 00:57:49,800 --> 00:57:54,360 taking you inside one of Europe's largest sauce factories. 982 00:57:54,360 --> 00:57:59,520 It makes three quarters of a million bottles of mayonnaise every day. 983 00:57:59,520 --> 00:58:02,800 I come face-to-face with some cracking technology. 984 00:58:02,800 --> 00:58:05,800 That may be the best machine I have ever seen. 985 00:58:07,040 --> 00:58:09,840 And Cherry's getting hot under the collar, 986 00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:11,800 making jars to put the mayo in. 987 00:58:11,800 --> 00:58:13,280 So fast!