// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did chocolate fish say? Hooked on sweets.
 Two chocolate fish | |
| Type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | New Zealand |
| Main ingredients | Pink or white marshmallow, milk chocolate |
A chocolate fish or choccy fish is a traditional confectionery item in New Zealand. In New Zealand culture, it is a common reward for a job done well ("Give that kid a chocolate fish").[1][2][3][4][5]
Chocolate fish have a conventional fish-shape and a length of 5 to 8 centimetres (2.0 to 3.1 in). They are made of pink or white marshmallow covered in a thin layer of milk chocolate. The ripples or "scales" on the fish are created simply by the fish moving under a blower; this slides the unset chocolate back, creating the illusion of scales on the fish.
Several manufacturers make the fish; the most well-recognised is Cadbury.[6] Smaller, or "fun-sized" variants of the chocolate fish are colloquially referred to as "sprats". Variants of the traditional item exist; a common version is made of solid orange-flavoured milk chocolate.
History
[edit]Chocolate fish have been made since at least 1903,[7][8] though early varieties may not have included marshmallow. Marshmallow-based chocolate fish were being produced in Dunedin in 1937.[9] For a short period in the late 1990s to early 2000s, Tip Top sold a chocolate fish ice-cream.[10] In 2019, the chocolate fish was added to the Cadbury Favourites box.[11]
In 1970, Ron Barclay, Member of Parliament for New Plymouth, asked a question in Parliament about the price of chocolate fish.[12][13] In 1996 a "Great New Zealand Cadbury Chocolate Fish Day" was created in May to support the Child Safety Foundation of New Zealand and the Cystic Fibrosis Association of New Zealand.[14]
Cadbury stopped producing 20g chocolate fish in 2023, stating that they had become less popular with consumers. They continued to include 'sprats' in Favourites boxes.[15] As of 2024, local company Queen Anne produces a 50g fish[15] and 14g fish that it calls 'fish bites',[16] and other companies also sell variations.
References
[edit]- ↑ "...each presented with a large chocolate fish", 1933, Evening Post
- ↑ "I'll Buy You A Chocolate Fish If...", 1973
- ↑ "The food we love – the tastes of New Zealanders". my.christchurchcitylibraries.com. 13 October 2014.
- ↑ "...for many years a brand of chocolate fish was known as “Pelorus Jack”.", 1966, Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
- ↑ "...Sir Geoffrey Palmer offered the audience a chocolate fish for anyone who could define privacy.", Privacy Commissioner
- ↑ "Chocfishtory". The Chocolate Fish Company. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ↑ "The latest novelty [advertisement]". Auckland Star. 7 April 1903. p. 2.
- ↑ Alex Casey (22 November 2025). "'It's a currency': How did chocolate fish become our go-to reward?". The Spinoff.
- ↑ Booth, Peggy (18 September 1937). "The postie's bag". Evening Star.
Upstairs I saw the pink mixture of the chocolate fish. In big boxes there was French chalk, with the shapes of the fish in them.
- ↑ "Marshmallow ice-cream conquered", 4 June 2010, stuff.co.nz
- ↑ Ramsey, Teresa (11 October 2019). "Chocolate fish added to Cadbury Favourites – how does it rate?". Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- ↑ "The price of chocolate fish". Press. 7 November 1970. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ↑ "Chocolate fish prices". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard).House of Representatives: v. 1970.
- ↑ "Chocolate fish have great appeal!". Ruapehu Bulletin. 27 May 1997. Retrieved 19 August 2026 – via PapersPast.
- 1 2 "Cadbury stops making chocolate fish, supplies almost gone". RNZ. 27 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ↑ "Chocolate Fish". Queen Anne Chocolates. Retrieved 22 August 2024.