Jo, the purpose of a desirably clingy batter is to insulate the fish, which helps it to retain moisture and slows heating beneath the surface. The fish itself absorbs very little oil and is cooked evenly and gently from all directions. But I wouldn’t divorce the “point” of the batter in deep-frying from the delights of a crisp, golden crust.

The point of fish in batter is to steam the fish. I didn’t know that. How much fat gets into the fish? Is it true that you can take off the batter and have low fat fish?

And what is the trick in cooking the fish properly?

Coming from an inland country I was not familiar with cod and decided I didn’t like it. Usually it is slimy.

Had some good fish n chips in NZ but not widespread. My favourite was breaded sole.