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When Clarence Birdseye invented his quick freeze machine in 1925 he pioneered the practice of freezing food at its peak, keeping it at its best until it was needed. While he was not the first person to realise the benefits of freezing food (that would be the Chinese over 3000 years ago!) ... Read review
Advantages: All natural ingredients Disadvantages: Can be pricey
Ok, so here's my confession- I have a large stock of these fish fingers in my freezer, my kids love them, they're quick and easy to cook and when I'm feeling totally lazy I'll even grill some up with some potato waffles and present them to my husband for tea, no it's not really the most nutritional of meals overall but after a day with 2 crazy toddlers, an even crazier kitten, a husband on a long holiday and generally looking after the house, I just ... ...more nutritional.
When Clarence Birdseye invented his quick freeze machine in 1925 he pioneered the practice of freezing food at its peak, keeping it at its best until it was needed. While he was not the first person to realise the benefits of freezing food (that would be the Chinese over 3000 years ago!) his company is probably one of the best known and widely recognised names in the business today.
Ok, so here's my confession- I have a large stock of these fish fingers in my freezer, my kids love them, they're quick and easy to cook and when I'm feeling totally lazy I'll even grill some up with some potato waffles and present them to my husband for tea, no it's not really the most nutritional of meals overall but after a day with 2 crazy toddlers, an even crazier kitten, a husband on a long holiday and generally looking after the house, I just sometimes don't have the energy or inclination to make something more nutritional.
When Clarence Birdseye invented his quick freeze machine in 1925 he pioneered the practice of freezing food at its peak, keeping it at its best until it was needed. While he was not the first person to realise the benefits of freezing food (that would be the Chinese over 3000 years ago!) his company is probably one of the best known and widely recognised names in the business today. Birdseye Fish Fingers- Birdseye began running what they call their "store cupboard initiative" recently meaning they used nothing in their food that you would not find in your own store cupboard, out went all the unnatural additives, preservatives and colourings, banished are the E numbers. While this may prove more of a challenge for the people at Birdseye it ensures we are only eating the best natural ingredients and have no need to worry about unnecessary additives or food pretending to be what it's not, as their head chef Peter Lack says "if a recipe calls for lemon juice, lemon juice it is - not citric acid! Our burgers are 100% beef and nothing else. Our fish is fish, our vegetables, vegetables. Start with good quality food, freeze it, and you don't need anything else." (Quote from www.birdseye.co.uk) this is true of all their foods, not least the ever popular fish fingers.
Made with 100% cod fillet Birdseye's standard fish fingers come in boxes of 10 or 16. The coating is a mixture of batter and breadcrumbs all completely natural ingredients right down to the colourings in the breadcrumbs which is made up of paprika extract and curcumin, an ingredient that helps make up the Indian spice turmeric and helps create the yellow colour of the spice. As a parent seeing such a short list of ingredients, 8 different ones in total (including the batter and breadcrumbs) an a clear lack of E numbers is very reassuring, I can give the fingers to my children safe in the knowledge that they aren't eating anything unnatural.
They appear as you would imagine, sticks or "fingers" of fish generously coated in breadcrumb batter, slightly thicker than the average fish finger and slightly orange in colour which I'm sure has more to do with a general perceived view of how fish fingers should look rather than for any real purpose. They come snuggled side by side in a cardboard box which features all the necessary nutritional information, guidelines and contact information, of course let's not forget a happy looking Captain Birdseye, back to his aged self after a brief and strange spell as a 35 year old man and the usual picture of the contents of the box. You can't mistake Birdseye packaging, it's easily identifiable from it's bright and breezy colouring to its logo and familiar front man. The cooking and eating experience- There are several ways you can cook Birdseye fish fingers all though not all of them recommended, for example you can fry them, this however takes any edge of healthiness off of them. Fried, the fingers still taste nice but naturally have a greasiness to them which makes them quite heavy on the stomach, the batter goes nice and crispy but also tends to bubble and pop, often falling away from the fish and ending up floating around in your deep fat fryer getting burnt and horrible and taints any future food you cook in that oil.
Cooking in the grill is my preferred method especially when creating the waffle and fingers combination. They have a recommended cooking time of 15 minutes on a medium heat, I however usually cook mine on a high heat, always short for time and needing to throw a meal together quickly, by using this high heat it cuts down on the cooking time to about 7 minutes, I always keep an eye on them ensuring they don't burn and turning the fingers halfway through for an even heat distribution. Not being the greatest of cooks I must admit to having singed them a little too much on occasion but this doesn't seem to take away from the taste of the fingers.
You can also cook the fingers in an oven, this is particularly helpful if you are cooking a large meal for a lot of people as you can fit more food in there and cook all the elements of the meal at the same time. The cooking time is the same as grilling, 15 minutes at 230 degrees/gas mark 8 (or 210 degrees if your oven is fan assisted) I still recommend turning the fingers part way through cooking as this stops them being unevenly cooked and also stops the breadcrumb coating from getting all soggy on one side.
Apparently there is a fourth method, curtousy of TazzyWazzy, who likes to microwave them which makes them nice and soggy! Not a method I've personally tried as I'm more of a crispy fingers girl.
They are so easy to cook, simply needing to be put under/in the recommended heat (for best results) and perhaps turned, they can more or less be left to their own devices and you can't go far wrong with them. Either method of cooking produces a successful result although it's hard to achieve the "golden brown" effect as they are already somewhat golden orange in colour, instead you need to look for a crispy appearance to the coating and slight dulling to the orange colour.
The fingers hold their shape well and do not fall apart or lose their coatings like similar cheaper or shops own brands. It does seem like keeping a perfectly intact coating is a difficult task for any fish finger as even these tend to bubble in places allowing the creamy fishy sauce to drip through (which I do not actually believe is a sauce as such just a reaction of the fish fillet and water in the finger to the heat) Birdseye however have the least coating loss out of all the fish fingers I have tried so far.
Sadly the fingers lack any real smell, you hope for at least some hint of fish wafting out from under your grill, there is a faint hint of breadcrumb but that's all that Birdseye fish fingers will provide for your sense of smell.
The breadcrumb coating on the fingers is well distributed and rarely clumpy or uneven, primarily made up of tiny little breadcrumbs there are also a few larger lumps creating a bit of texture which is a stark contrast to the smooth fish fillet within the finger. Unfortunately for me the crumbs do often come away from the fingers, you see I have a weird compulsion about having crumbs on my fingers, this is obviously avoided by using utensils when serving and eating the fish fingers but it would be nice not to have to worry about such things. Biting into the coating provides a satisfying crispy crunch, you can tell straight away that there is nothing unnatural in the coating as all you taste is a simple flavour of breadcrumbs, kind of like butter free toast. The coating provides just enough resistance before allowing the finger to separate revealing the cod fillet within.
Looking within the coating at the fish you can clearly see it is made up of real fish pieces rather than reconstituted bits of fish mixed with goodness knows what else, the separation of the fillet pieces is clearly visible, another reassuring aspect as a parent, after all who wants to be eating mashed up bits of fish that could contain bits of bones etc etc.. It's always important to know what's going into your children's food. The flavour of the fish is quite subtle, it is 100% cod and can initially be lost within the flavour of the breadcrumbs, the flavour builds gradually, kicking in after the initial breadcrumb taste has faded leaving you with the gentle taste of the cod. Removing some of the coating to get a good look at the fish you notice how crisp and white it is, falling into flakes without any argument, tasting the fish this way without the coating allows you to really taste the flavour of the fish although it is still a very subtle flavour, not at all overpowering, gentler then the taste you'd get from chip shop battered cod, many fish dishes can have an unpleasant fish flavour or smell which can often put you off of eating it but this is not the case with Birdseye fish fingers. Considering we're talking about fish here and many people do not like the flavour of such things, I must say it is a very pleasant taste and leaves you with a delicious aftertaste, they do not leave my stomach feeling heavy and I can easily polish off 4 of these fingers without feeling unfortunate results.
You may not think that fish fingers could be very good for you, especially if you're on a diet but a portion of 3 fingers is only 165 calories, 14 grams of carbohydrate and 7 grams of fat. 3 fingers is a generous portion to accompany most meals and providing you have them with healthier options such as boiled potatoes rather than chips then they can actually be a healthier part of your diet. I have no worries giving them to my children, although they are restricted to 2 fingers and no more then once a week (it has to be balanced nutrition after all) I can be happy that they are eating natural ingredients, cooked as healthily as possible for what is effectively junk food and getting at least a little fish in their diets.
Price and Availability- I mainly get my Birdseye fingers from Asda or Somerfield at 1.64 for 10, they are widely available as Birdseye is such a recognised brand. Boxes of 16 cost between £2.49 and £3.00 (at least where I've seen them)
The fingers are also available with added Omega3, in boxes of 14 for 99p (Asda) Omega3 is widely recognised as helping develop the brain and keep the heart healthy. Birdseye also produce fingers of the Haddock variety at £1.69 for 10, cod fingers in crispy batter rather than breadcrumb batter at £1.45 for 8 as well as mini and mega fish finger options retailing in the region of £1 for a bag (mini) or box of 6 (mega) you can also get giant bags of 40 fish fingers which is the most cost effective option at £3.99 per bag. The haddock variety provide a nice change from standard cod, which some people do not like the taste of, it also eases up on the strain caused by over fishing of cod. The mini fingers are quite adorable and perfectly sized for small hands whereas the mega fingers are what you could call man sized, with far more fish and a crispier batter, one of these is enough for me during a meal but typically the other half is more inclined to be macho and go for 2 or more. All varieties maintain the same natural ingredient policy and keep the same great level of taste and quality.
Birdseye do offer another alternative to the cod fish fingers which is Pollock, it's not a variety I have yet seen in my store (I have seen them on Asdas website though described simply as fish fingers) however it is said to be completely replacing cod as the filling to the fingers as Birdseye take not only their customers nutritional needs into consideration but also their effect on the environment, well 3 done Birdseye I say!
Overall- All my family enjoy the fish fingers- me, my other half, both the kids, even the cat enjoyed eating one when he rather naughtily stole one off of my daughters plate during tea one day. I've eaten fish fingers for many years, which is perhaps why I like them so much now, they were a regular part of my diet as a child and I would have 6 per meal back then (I'm far less pig like nowadays!) they were always great fun for building towers out of until mum would tell me off for playing with my food, I even made an interesting pond out of them once with beans instead of water and chips as ducks, needless to say I'm far better behaved with my food now.
Birdseye fish fingers are delicious tasting although not necessarily better than similar brands, at least they have the added bonus of being natural and nutritional which in today's health conscious world can only be a good thing. The company seem to actually care about their customers, obviously part of that comes from knowing they're mastered a niche in the market for healthier foods and they'll make more money, but at the same time they were already making enough money so there was no real need to change if they didn't care at all.
Sadly no fish finger is particularly attractive, these are probably the best of the bunch as I said before they hold their shape well and rarely lose the coating, except for the odd bubble in the breadcrumbs.
The only real downside is the cost, £1.64 for 10 may not seem like much but 10 fingers can be taken up in a single meal for some families, certainly mine when the kids have 2 each and me and the other half have 3 each that's the whole box gone. You can get own brand fingers for as little as 24p, ok they are nowhere near the quality of Birdseye but a family on a budget is more likely to go for the cheaper brand and be able to buy other food to go with them. While there is the £3.99 bag of 40 available I've only got a little freezer and can't fit much in it so am forced to buy the smaller boxes which are easier to squeeze into any available nook or cranny.
Personally I like the fingers best with home made chips and peas, a little ketchup on the side for dipping purposes, no good for me at all but yummy all the same. My other half likes his peas mushy and my kids prefer the fingers with mashed potato and beans. They're quite versatile little things really (the fingers that is not my kids, well my kids are versatile but I wouldn't serve them with peas or beans) and even go great with salad in the summer.
Even with the best intentions of creating wholesome, home cooked meals for your family these are always great to have tucked at the back of the freezer in case of an emergency. I highly recommend them.Check out www.Birdseye.co.uk for more on the company, their freezing process, other Birdseye products and healthy eating information.
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Birdseye for information on the great man himself.
Do you remember the days when your dinner consisted of "bits and bobs". Maybe this was a time when your mum was using up the odds and ends in the fridge, or maybe it was a time when you were a student and couldn't really cook to save yourself. But i'm sure everybody can remember at least one occasion when there meal consisted of things such as chips(usually a mixture of different varietys), onion rings, beans or spagetti hoops, and there was always ... ...fingers though, oh boy no, the only fish fingers these could be are _BIRDSEYE_.
I used to have fish fingers all the time, not kidding, at least two to three times a week, usually served up with chips or smiley potato faces and beans and spagetti. We used to have so many after school activites on and my mum was constantly looking for quick meals to cook. She would often buy new ones too try out such as fish cakes, or chicken burgers, but our meals ...
SweetTooth93 16.02.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Birds Eye Fish Fingers
Advantages: Pleasant Taste, healthy, quick to cook and prepare, read the review for more... Disadvantages: Messy texture, quite expensive, look inside for more...
Product: Birds Eye Regular Fish Fingers - "100% Fillet Fish Fingers in Crispy Batter"
The birth of the so called 'forzen food' market began in the 1920s during the time when research into food preservation and freezing food was booming in comparison with other food and drink sectors. Without an arguement, the pioneer in the race for better product lifecycle, storage and taste was Clarence Birdseye (although the Birds Eye corporation we know today ... ...firms. The brand Birds Eye was founded by General Foods and a group of institutional investors in 1929, after the acquiring of several 'mechanical' patents from Clarence Birdseye. Their presence over the years has meant that they trade internationally in a variety of markets, giving them a large product mix and in some cases, economies of scale. In Europe, the Birds Eye brand is owned by the Permira Group (major holders of the Yellow Pages), which ...
toby_ling 16.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Birds Eye Fish Fingers
Advantages: Quick to cook, Healthy. Disadvantages: Batter variety.
...to dwindling fish stocks. Birds Eye is launching a new range of fish finger in which the traditional cod filling will be replaced by pollock, a white fish caught in sustainable fisheries off Alaska. Experts have long warned that cod stocks are dangerously low but pollock supplies are far more abundant - and much cheaper.
Birds Eye, which produces 80 per cent of the UK's fish fingers, hopes the move will cut its cod catch by about 4,000 tons - nearly ... ...Energy: 420Kcal, Fat: 20g
3 Birds Eye Fish Fingers
1 thick slice wholemeal bread 15ml (1tbsp) low fat mayonnaise
1 slice Cheddar cheese 2 tomato slices Cook fish fingers as per pack instructions Toast one side of the wholemeal bread and spread the other side with the mayonnaise Add fish fingers and top with cheese and sliced tomato Grill until the cheese has melted, serve
Or Fish finger wrap
Serves 1
Approx per serving - Energy: 310Kcal, Fat: ...
nicolaks1 16.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Birds Eye Fish Fingers
Advantages: Quick easy dinners Disadvantages: unhealthy if they are deep fried
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Facts and History About Birdseye Fish Fingers
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In 1923 Mr Birdseye borrowed some space in a New Jersey icehouse and spent $7 on an electric fan, some ice and brine and began experimenting. He invented a system of packing fresh food into waxed cardboard boxes and flash-freezing them under high pressure. in his freezing experiments he packaged rabbit meat and fish fillets ... ...In 1924 Clarence Birdseye successfully froze some haddock, then he went on and set up his own Frozen Seafood's Company in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
In 1926, Clarence Birdseye successfully developed a 20 tonne quick-freezing double-belt machine. Later Clarence Birdseyes machine was transformed into a more lighter transportable multiple-plate freezer, and theese freezers became very widely used in the frozen food industry.
Birsdeye frozen foods ...
just.bcoz 16.10.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Birds Eye Fish Fingers
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Don't get me wrong I'm all for trying new things but I dont think this was one of the Captains better ideas!
I like fish and I like lemon, but I dont think fish breadcrumbs and lemon really works.
Once cooked I found it a bit perfumy. In my humble opinion fishfingers were pretty good as they were - a classic childhood dish and quite good on a sandwich. I dont think the lemon taste improves the product in any way - I dont think I know anyone who currentl put extra lemon on their fishfingers so not quite sure why they thought there would be a market for this new flavour?
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