A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning.[1] Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs using different types of meats and spices. The term is sometimes extended to meatless versions based on vegetables or fish; the latter are also commonly known as fish balls.
Early recipes included in some of the earliest known Arab cookbooks generally feature seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron.[3]
fried meatballs (qofte të fërguara) include feta cheese.
Albanian
In , fried meatballs are called Fleischlaibchen or Fleischlaiberl.
Austria
In , meatballs are called ballekes or bouletten in Flanders and are usually made of a mixture of beef and pork with bread crumbs and sliced onions. Many other variations exist, including different kinds of meat and chopped vegetables. They are often served in tomato sauce or with sour cherry sauce.
Belgium
In and Serbia, meatballs are called ćufte (from the Turkish word köfte) and are typically made from ground beef or ground lamb, usually served with cooked potatoes and salad on the side.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
In , faggots are a type of spicy pork meatball. A faggot is traditionally made from pig's heart, liver and a fatty cut of pork (pork belly or back bacon) minced together, with herbs added for flavoring, and sometimes bread crumbs.
Britain
In , meatballs are called kyufte (from the Turkish word köfte) and are typically made from ground beef or pork, or a mix of the two. They can be shallow fried or grilled and often contain diced onions and soaked bread. They are a very popular dish.
Bulgaria
In , meatballs are called polpete in the Dalmatian region or faširani šnicli (faširanci) or ćufte in the continental part. They are typically made with ground beef or a mixture of pork and beef and served with mashed potatoes or rice, often with tomato based sauce.
Croatia
meatballs are known as frikadeller and are typically fried. They are usually made out of ground pork, veal, onions, eggs, salt, and pepper; these are formed into balls and flattened somewhat, so they are pan ready. However, the Danish cuisine also includes other versions, such as boller i karry (meatballs in curry sauce, typically served with rice), and the smaller meatballs used in soup with melboller (Danish dumplings).
Danish
In , meatballs are called lihapallid (literally "meatballs") and are similar to those of Finnish or Swedish cuisine.
Estonia
In , meatballs are called lihapullat (literally "meatbuns"). They are made with ground beef or a mix of ground beef and pork, or even with ground reindeer or elk meat, mixed with breadcrumbs soaked in milk or viili, beef stock and finely chopped onions or alternatively, French onion soup readymix. They are seasoned with white pepper and salt. Meatballs are traditionally served with gravy or brown sauce, boiled potatoes (or mashed potatoes), lingonberry jam, and sometimes pickled cucumber or pickled beetroot.
Finland
In , meatballs are known as boulettes de viande or (in Northern France) fricadelles. They can be made of beef, veal, pork or fish. In Alsace, meatballs are known as Fleischkiechele. They are made of beef, pork, onions, bacon, eggs, and bread. They are served plain or with cream sauce.In the region of Roussillon, they are known as boles de picolat[6]. In Languedoc, they are served with tomato sauce or in a dish called ragoût d'escoubilles.[7] The term quenelle can also refer to meatballs.[8]
France
In , meatballs are mostly known as Frikadelle, Fleischküchle, Fleischpflanzerl, Bulette or Klopse. A very famous variant of meatballs are Königsberger Klopse, which contain anchovy or salted herring, and are eaten with caper sauce.
Germany
In , fried meatballs are called keftédes (κεφτέδες) (from the Turkish word köfte) and usually include within the mix of bread, onions, parsley and mint leaf.[9] Stewed meatballs are called yuvarlákia (γιουβαρλάκια: (from the Turkish word yuvarlak, which means "round") and usually include small quantities of rice.
Greece
Fasírt in főzelék. The Hungarian fasírt has a harder crest than it counterparts. The Hungarian language calls the soft meatballs used in Scandinavia or the ones Hungarian cuisine puts into soups húsgolyó or húsgombóc.In Hungary, as well as territories from neighbouring countries where Hungarian is spoken, a meatball is called vagdalt or fasírt[ˈfɒʃiːrt] or fasírozott[ˈfɒʃiːrozott] probably coming from Austrian German faschierte Laibchen. It is a mixture of minced pork, minced onions, garlic, paprika, salt and breadcrumbs, deep fried in oil or pork fat and eaten with potatoes or főzelék. Also, the májgombóc[ˈmaːjɡomboːt͡s] (liver dumpling) is popular in soups.
In , meatballs (called polpette[polˈpette], sing. polpetta) are generally eaten either as a main course or in soup. The main ingredients of an Italian meatball are beef and/or pork and sometimes poultry or sausage, salt, black pepper, chopped garlic, olive oil, Romano cheese, eggs, bread crumbs, and parsley, mixed and rolled by hand to a golf ball size. In the Abruzzo region of Italy, especially in the Province of Teramo, the meatballs are typically the size of marbles and are called polpettine[polpetˈtiːne].
Italy
In the , meatballs are called gehaktbal, and are often served with boiled potatoes and vegetables. They are usually made out of mixed beef and pork minced meat, eggs, onion and bread crumbs.
Netherlands
In , meatballs are called kjøttkaker (lit. "meatcakes"). They are often served with brown sauce, kålstuing (cabbage in cream sauce), tyttebærsyltetøy (lingonberry jam) and potatoes. Kjøttkaker are similar to kjøttboller, except in form. Kjøttboller are round, like the typical meatball, whereas kjøttkaker or meat cakes are in a patty form, flattened out and a bit oval in shape.
Norway
In , they are called pulpety (singular pulpet, from the Italian name) or klopsy (singular klops, from German Klopse), and pulpeciki ("little pulpety"), and are usually served cooked with a variety of sauces (such as tomato or a kind of gravy thickened with flour, as well as forest mushroom sauce) with potatoes, rice or all sorts of kasza. Pulpety or klopsy are usually made from seasoned ground meat with onion and mixed with eggs and either breadcrumbs or wheat rolls soaked in milk or water. Fried pulpety are larger than typical cooked ones. They can be round or flat in shape. The latter, in many countries, would be considered a cross between a meatball and a hamburger. The fried variety is called mielony (short for kotlet mielony, literally "minced cutlet"), and its mass-produced version (as well as the one served in bars, etc.) is the subject of many jokes and urban legends about what is used to produce it.
Poland
In , meatballs are called almôndegas[alˈmõdɨɣɐʃ]. These are usually served with a spicy tomato sauce and rice or sometimes pasta.
Portugal
In and Moldova, there are two types of meatballs called chiftele (from the Turkish word köfte) and pârjoale, and are usually deep fried and made with pork or poultry, moistened mashed potatoes and spices. Chiftele are flat and round and contain more meat. A variant mixing rice inside the meatball is used for sour soup, making ciorbă de perişoare.
Romania
In , they are called kotlety (Russian: котлеты) in flat forms or tefteli (Russian: тефтели) in ball forms. They can be made with chicken, pork, beef or fish. Tefteli have rice, potatoes and other vegetables mixed in as well. Kotlety are only made with meat and spices (sometimes bread is added). They can be served with a side of mashed potatoes or noodles, or in a sauce. When boiled in soup round meatballs are called frykadelki (Russian: фрикадельки).
Russia
In , they are called polpeti. They are typically made with ground beef or a mixture of pork and beef and served with mashed potatoes, with tomato-based sauce.
Slovenia
In and Hispanic America, meatballs are called albóndigas, derived from the Arabical-bunduq (meaning hazelnut, or, by extension, a small round object). Albóndigas are thought to have originated as a Berber or Arab dish imported to Spain during the period of Muslim rule. Spanish albóndigas can be served as an appetizer or main course, often in a tomato sauce. Mexican albóndigas are commonly served in a soup with a light broth and vegetables.
Spain
In , meatballs are called köttbullar (literally "meat buns"). They are usually made with a mix of ground beef and ground pork, or just with ground beef, which is mixed into a mixture of beaten eggs, breadcrumbs soaked in milk, and grated raw onions or finely chopped and fried onions. Cream is often added for more luxurious versions. The meatball mixture is seasoned with salt and white pepper or a mixture of white pepper and allspice.[10][11] Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with gravy, boiled or mashed potatoes, lingonberry jam, and sometimes pickled cucumber.[11] Traditionally, they are small, around 2–4 centimetres (0.79–1.57 in) in diameter, though larger meatballs are often served at restaurants.[12] In 2018, Sweden's official national Twitter account claimed that Swedish meatballs are based on a Turkish recipe, brought back to Sweden by King Charles XII in 1714, after his five-year semi-imprisonment in the Ottoman Empire,[13] which caused comments around the world.[14][15] However, a food and culture expert at Stockholm University claimed that there was no evidence behind this and that the meatballs likely originated in France or Italy instead.[16][17] This caused the original tweeter, Sweden.se, to backtrack a few days later.[18]
Sweden
In , meatballs are called köfte and are extremely popular; there are many different versions with a variety of shapes – not necessarily round. Meatballs in Turkey are usually made with ground lamb or a mix of ground beef and lamb. Variants are mostly named after their traditional cities; such as İnegöl köfte, İzmir köfte, Akçaabat köfte and Tire köfte. Some of the other popular ones are şiş köfte, kadınbudu köfte and sulu köfte. There is also a variant called Çiğ köfte that can be vegan.
Turkey
In , they are called kotleta (Ukrainian: котлета) when fried and frykadelka (Ukrainian: фрикаделька) when boiled in soup.
Ukraine
a Belgian and Dutch snack, similar in texture to meatballs, but shaped more like a hot dog or sausage than a ball
