Jellied eels



Jellied eels are a traditional English dish that originated in the 18th century, primarily in the East End of London. The dish consists of chopped eels boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly. It is eaten cold.

History


The eel was a cheap, nutritious and readily available food source for the people of London; European eels were once so common in the Thames that nets were set as far upriver as London itself, and eels became a staple for London's poor. The earliest known eel, pie and mash houses opened in London in the 18th century, and the oldest surviving shop, M Manze, has been open since 1902. At the end of the Second World War there were around a hundred eel, pie and mash houses in London; in 1995 there were eighty seven.

The water quality of the Thames has improved since the 1960s and is now suitable for recolonisation by eels. The Environment Agency supports a Thames fishery, allowing nets as far upriver as Tower Bridge;

Preparation


The dish is traditionally prepared using the freshwater eels native to Britain. Typically, the eels are chopped (shucked) into rounds and boiled in water and vinegar, to make a fish stock, with nutmeg and lemon juice before being allowed to cool. The eel is a naturally gelatinous fish so the cooking process releases proteins, like collagen, into the liquid which solidify on cooling to form a jelly, though gelatin may be added in order to aid this process. Recipes for jellied eels are individual to particular London pie and mash shops, and also street sellers; however, traditional recipes for authentic Victorian jellied eels all have common ingredients and cooking methods. What alters is the choice of herbs and spices used to flavour the dish.

Jellied eels are often sold with pie and mash—another traditional East End food—and eaten with chilli vinegar or with malt vinegar and white pepper.

Outside the UK
Italy has a similar dish known simply as Anguilla (literally, eel), which is eaten with balsamic rather than chilli vinegar. In France the dish is known as aspic d'anguille, and in Germany as Aal in Aspik; both terms mean jellied eel.

The Basque Country is famous for a wormlike dish known as txitxardin in Basque, or angulas in Spanish. These are baby eels, or elvers, which are usually prepared in olive oil, garlic, and peppers.

Jellied eels in popular culture
In 2012 game Dishonored, a product called "Pratchett Jellied Eels" appears as a food staple in game's 19th centuresque fictional universe.

The character Owen Harper on the BBC show Torchwood pretends to be a jellied eel magnate while undercover in the season 1 episode "Combat".