A fish slice is a
kitchen utensil
A kitchen utensil is a small hand-held tool used for food preparation. Common kitchen tasks include cutting food items to size, heating food on an open fire or on a stove, baking, grinding, mixing, blending, and measuring; different utensils ar ...
with a wide, flat blade with holes in it, used for lifting and turning food while cooking. It may be called a slotted spatula or a turner or flipper. The utensil was originally designed as a serving piece rather than a cooking implement.
History

The fish slice was originally an item of
silver service
''Silver Service'' was a brand applied by Amtrak to its long-distance trains running along the United States East Coast between New York City and Miami, Florida. It comprised two trains – the and . Since November 2024, the ''Silver Star'' ...
used for serving fish at a dining table and was generally made of silver or
Sheffield plate
Old Sheffield Plate (or OSP) is the material developed by Thomas Boulsover in the 1740s, a fusion of copper and sterling silver which could be made into a range of items normally made in solid silver.
The material rapidly gained popularity as ...
rather than copper or tinned iron to avoid the possibility of affecting the taste of the fish.
The first known slices intended specifically for serving fish were mentioned in 1730.
Starting with the 1740s they were often shaped as or decorated with representations of fish.
By the 1770s, large numbers were manufactured.
By the early 1800s, most
flatware services included a fish slice.
Antique examples commonly appear at auctions and are held in the collections of multiple museums.
A modern fish sliceThe term evolved to refer to any slotted or pierced implement used for turning foods when frying them; modern versions are available in many materials such as
stainless steel
Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
,
nylon
Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups.
Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...
, and
silicone
In Organosilicon chemistry, organosilicon and polymer chemistry, a silicone or polysiloxane is a polymer composed of repeating units of siloxane (, where R = Organyl group, organic group). They are typically colorless oils or elastomer, rubber ...
and are typically undecorated and shaped as spatulas.
In collections
The
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...
has an extensive collection of
metalwork
Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...
fish slices from
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and the
US and includes both contemporary and historical pieces. Manufacturers include functional items, for example some from
Josiah Wedgwood
Josiah Wedgwood (12 July 1730 – 3 January 1795) was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the indu ...
to more sculptural contemporary works by Ane Christensen.
Similar utensils
Other examples of serving slices include those for serving cakes, pies, and other desserts; the
pudding trowel or pudding trowle is a predecessor of the fish slice.
See also
*
Fish knife
*
Fish fork
*
References
Further reading
*
{{Kitchen tools
Fish as food
Food preparation utensils
Serving utensils