OT The best things in life are free

[John Williamson]

*I'm* not, but others do. I also wonder how many on here know who "yam yams" are without looking it up?

[John Williamson]

It's getting to be as common as hens' teeth down here, too. The only place I've seen it for sale lately is a rather nice chippy in Beaconsfield.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ask for dogfish instead.

Certainly 'darn sarth' rock salmon has always been on the menu at least till fairly recently.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Nope. different again.

"Rock salmon, also called rock eel, flake, and huss, is a dish popular in England.

The dish can be one of many species of small shark, including the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) or the bull huss (Scyliorhinus stellaris).

Rock salmon is consumed in many European countries. However, the spiny dogfish is now an endangered species due to overfishing, and is classed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List[1] and the North East Atlantic population as Critically Endangered.[2]"

(wiki)

So probably it is simply not being fished any more.

[Huge]

Rock salmon is dogfish.

Monkfish is too expensive to serve in chippies.

[John Williamson]

Not where I've bought it. It's species of shark, with one cartilaginous "bone", also known as Huss, Rock Cod or just plain Rock.

It seems that it is now illegal to sell EU caught Rock Salmon, which explains the shortage.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Nope, not that either. small sharks usually dogfish

Typical white fish of the common or garde variety are cod, hake, halibut and haddock from memory.

Plus the flatfish family.

The rock salmon is the sharky stuff like dogfish.

[Jethro_uk]

Had a chuckle when I saw Robert Plant last year, and he announced he's setting up his own record label ... "Yam Yam records" ...

[Jethro_uk]

To be fair, before moving to Brum, I was none the wiser. Which really seemed to upset a former colleague who got very upset when I said anyone from London would consider him a Brummie (he actually came from Studley). He went on a rant about how could we possibly confuse his dulcet tones with a Brummies.

But it's true. Londoners can probably pick out Brummie, Scouse, Geordie, Manchester, Yorkshire, and West Country.

It's a two way street. My accent is more educated Home Counties. But I've been called a cockney enough times not to surprise me. Still, I don't take it as an offence, which helps ;)

[Jethro_uk]

Well it was in the 90s when I moved here, and got a "you what" the first time I asked for it. It's just unknown in Brum.

Speaking of chip shops, when did this dreadful establishment start appearing of a "chip shop"/kebab shop/pizza parlour ? We have 7 chippies withing a 2 mile radius, and they are all absolutely s**te.

[Jethro_uk]

To a chorus of "You what ?"

reading this thread, I can see.

One creeping tendency I've noticed, particularly in supermarket meals, is "fish" being used as an ingredient, which is a sure-fire guarantee that what you are getting is *not* cod.

It's taken nearly 15 years, but I have finally got SWMBO to try fish other than cod. To her amazement (and regret) she realises she quite likes them. So bass, bream, swordfish, trout, salmon, tilapia, lemon sole, dover sole are all on the menu.

[Huge]

Never been in a chippie in Scotland? That's what they sell; "fish".

Yuck. Why would you want to eat mud flavoured bones?

[Nightjar]

I'm not sure what you consider to be quite recently, but I recall having to explain to my father that rock salmon was now called huss and he died last century.

Colin Bignell

[The Natural Philosopher]

Those ere the best of the white fish.

Add turbot, hake haddock and halibut there as well. Hake IIRC is a bit coarse but haddock is as creamy as cod is. Lovely fish.,

We do interesting* things with fresh sardines

*dont be rude.

[The Natural Philosopher]

certainly saw it on the menu in the 90's

I cant recall having seen it since.

[Jethro_uk]

Love them all :)

Who ? Me ? I was thinking of a Red Snapper.

[Jethro_uk]

When I lived in London, some chippies had it as "Huss" others as "Rock Salmon."

[Tim Lamb]

Me for 1.

I also confess to feeling insulted at being called a cockney by some Liverpudlian electricians. I was born and brought up more than 25 miles from Bow bells but we did have a lot of East Enders move here in a

*London overspill* housing scheme. >

[Adrian]

Huss was on the fish stall in our local market (Welsh borders) a couple of weeks ago.

[Nightjar]

ISTR that, as it is not salmon, it became an offence to describe it as such. I suspect, from my recollection of having to explain this to my father, it was probably The Food Labelling Regulations 1996 that were responsible.

Colin Bignell