Today (well yesterday as I post this) is Fish Fingers and Custard Day. That’s right, the BBC officially decreed April 3 “Fish Fingers and Custard Day” in commemoration of the Eleventh Doctor’s debut episode, “The Eleventh Hour,” which was two years ago today.
The Beeb also encouraged people to try the conglomeration of two flavors for themselves, and post their experiences online. So, I thought I’d try it and share my results with our listeners.
First of all, it is nearly impossible to find custard in a prepackaged form, anywhere in Topeka. After three different stores, a kind lady at the Dillon’s store found that “flan” which is a dessert featured in many Latin American countries is actually custard that is sometimes topped with a sauce like caramel or a fruit. We found a box in the “imports” section under the brand name Royal.
Realizing that I wasn’t going to find any “ready made” products here, I quickly went to work preparing the custard on the stovetop.
Following the directions on the box, the process was fairly simple. I had never had custard before let alone preparing it, so I was glad for its ease in making.
I found, however, that after letting the custard set up in the refrigerator made it much more solid than what Amelia and The Doctor make in the episode, so I had to bring it back to room temperature for a runnier consistency, to allow for easy dipping of the “fish finger”
By the way, fish fingers are called “fish sticks” in America.
I was a bit nervous when it was nearing time for the taste test. For one, I had never tried custard before (besides the frozen kind) and I have never been a fan of mixing savory and sweet.
Finally I sat down to my challenge and…
I have to say, I LOVED IT! I am not making this up just because I am a Doctor Who fan and feel some necessity to enjoy something for sheer fandom. I actually liked it. The two flavors really complement each other well.
So, I say give it a try you may like it. And now I can say that I share something in common with the Eleventh Doctor. Our love of fish fingers and custard.
Oh, and don’t worry. i made enough custard for the guys to try when we record next week’s show.
~Glenn
