Planet Green
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Chef Heston Blumenthal's crusade for culinary perfection becomes more complex as he struggles with batter and potatoes in his quest for a superlative plate of fish 'n' chips.
To get his taste buds bursting, Heston stops off at his old haunt, Micky's, in Paddington, where the smell and the atmosphere bring back some savored childhood memories. He then makes his way to Cornwall to track down the star of this Great British classic - the perfect white fish. In Looe, fish expert Steve Farrar presents his suggested contenders: cod, pollack, monk fish, lemon sole, turbot and plaice. Having selected his choice, Heston gets busy in his lab, testing which potato will make the cut and produce the ideal chip.
Using electrical meters and damp testers, he is able to deduce which variety has a high dry matter content, this being just right for frying to ensure a fluffy texture. Viewers can pick up some useful tips for home- cooked fries - once chopped, pop the raw potato in the fridge, then fry not once, but twice, for added texture.
Heston now turns his attention to the batter, which must be wonderfully crisp and crunchy. The Japanese provide inspiration as they have been cooking with batter for 400 years, and Heston visits the restaurant Matsuri for their tempura tips. Struggling at the lab to produce a better batter which hardens on the outside and steams the fish from within, Heston visits Professor Malcom Povey at the University of Leeds. Here, they test bubbly beer in the recipe and viewers find out why this is a key ingredient.
His final touch to the dish is a spritz of pickled onion vinegar, bottled at source from Micky's. Heston doesn't say if he prefers to serve this dish on a plate, or wrapped in yesterday's newspaper - the traditional English way.
