Croquette

The croquette or croquet is a parcel of food such as minced meat or vegetables, shaped into a cylinder, encased in breadcrumbs and deep fried.

The Dutch kroket

The kroket is a deep fried snack, popular in the Netherlands. It is crunchy on the outside, but very soft and smooth on the inside.

Each year 300 million croquettes are sold in the Netherlands (which works out to about 18 per person annually), making it the second most-popular snack in the country. This number does not include croquettes made and consumed domestically, likely to number in the millions as well. Its popularity is only surpassed by the frikandel, a minced-meat hot dog, of which about 580 million are sold each year.

Vendors have often tried to market and sell it in other countries, but have failed, even in neighbouring countries like Belgium and Germany. Potato croquettes, however, are quite popular in some parts of Germany and in Belgium. In Japanese cuisine, a relative of the croquette, known as korokke ( コロッケ ) is a popular fried-food item, but is generally patty-shaped, and served with a brown sauce.

History

The croquette was actually a French invention, and was introduced in the Netherlands at the start of the 20th century. In 1909, the Dutch patissier Kwekkeboom came across a fried, ragout filled croquette in France. The French used all sorts of fillings to make their croquettes: various kinds of meat, fish, vegetables, and potatoes. Kwekkeboom introduced the croquette to the Netherlands and started producing croquettes filled with good-quality beef. The croquette became hugely popular, and nowadays there are numerous suppliers, though quality and price can differ greatly. Suppliers have experimented with all sorts of croquette fillings, including salmon, asparagus, sate, shrimp, cheese, and goulash.

Production

Since the croquette is basically a ragout fried in breadcrumbs, it is the ragout – and the meat with which it is made – which is the defining ingredient. Different sorts of meat are used, depending on the quality and desired flavour. The cheapest croquettes are made from horsemeat; a little better are pork croquettes; and the best are those made with beef. Often different meats are mixed; the quality of the croquette is then expressed in the percentage of a certain kind of meat it contains. To produce the ragout, a clear soup is drawn from hand-selected and weighed spices, a critical process. Separately a roux made out of butter and flour is created and together with the clear soup, the chopped meat and some gelatine, is steamed in a large kettle. After the mixture has cooled, a layer of breadcrumbs and eggwhite is added. The croquette is then deep-fried.

Assorted facts

Croquettes, and frikadels (and other hot snacks like hamburgers) are often sold in snack bars, in particular in automatieken (see also automat). They are often located at railway stations, or in busy shopping streets. One large chain of these automatieks is FEBO.

Croquettes are often eaten in a bread bun, with mustard and a piece of pickled gherkin.

Croquettes are so popular in the Netherlands that even McDonalds sells a disk shaped croquette in a bun: the McKroket.

Urban myth

The ingredients of the cheaper croquettes are the subject of a recurring urban myth, according to which offal, pigs' eyes, cows' udders, chickens' toes, and other animal parts are added to the croquets to provide bulk and flavour. All this is very unlikely since Dutch food law is very strict, and any supplier adding animal waste to food risks being banned from the industry altogether. Some have suggested the possibility of these rumours having been started by the top croquette brands in the Netherlands – Van Dobben and Kwekkeboom – to distinguish themselves from the lower quality, cheaper, brands.

External links

Fast food | Snack foods | Dutch cuisine