TASTE TEST

IAIN MUIRHEAD

I must admit to being a devotee of the deep fryer.

Scotland’s penchant for greasy gastronomy has tainted our culinary reputation worldwide. The idea of deep frying a pizza, for example, would horrify even the most adventurous gourmand.

Yet there’s something deeply satisfying about food so fat-saturated that it squeaks when you bite into it. So how could I resist a Christmas dinner from the chippy?

What the whole experience lacked in glamour, it more than made up for in guilty pleasure, and I was genuinely surprised at how well most of it worked.

Deep-fried Brussels sprouts? Incredibly, they’re delicious!

In a posh restaurant, they would be listed as tempura, no doubt, and the sprouts, carrots and roast potatoes were crunchy on the outside, steaming, soft and flavourful on the inside.

The deep-fried chicken was your standard chippie fare, taking on that crunchy texture – rather like crispy duck from the Chinese restaurant.

But the crowning glory was the deep-fried pigs in blankets. Succulent and savoury, I had to compete with my nine-year-old boy to finish them off.

In all, the meal reinforced what we Scots know in our cholesterolclogged hearts: Everything’s better in batter.

Deep-fried Brussels sprouts? Incredibly, they’re delicious!