meatball

The tradition & historical record

A meatball is ground meat (mince) rolled into a large somewhat spherical ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as bread crumbs, minced onion, eggs, butter, and seasoning. Meatballs are cooked by frying, baking, steaming, or braising in sauce. There are many types of meatballs made with different meats and spices. The term is sometimes extended to meatless versions based on legumes, vegetables, mushrooms, fish (also commonly known as fish balls) or other seafood. ¹

The ancient Roman cookbook Apicius included many meatball-type recipes. Early recipes included in some of the earliest known Arabic cookbooks generally feature seasoned lamb rolled into orange-sized balls and glazed with egg yolk and sometimes saffron. Poume d'oranges is a gilded meatball dish from the Middle Ages. ¹

Various recipes of meatballs can be found across Europe and Asia. From Iberia and Sweden to the Indian subcontinent, there is a large variety of meatballs in the kofta family. ¹

Most meatball recipes found in the Americas are derived from European cuisine influences, notably Italian, Sicily, Iberian (Portuguese-Spanish), and Nordic (Swedish) cuisines. ¹

In Brazil, meatballs are called almôndegas, a name that comes from Portuguese influence. However, they are also known as polpetas (or porpetas), a term influenced by Italian cuisine. The Italian-style version is often stuffed with mozzarella cheese. Both are commonly served with tomato sauce and pasta. In the Canadian province of Quebec, meatballs are the main component of a traditional dish called ragoût de boulettes (meatball stew). The meatballs are made with ground pork, onions, spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg and are simmered in a gravy thickened with toasted flour. The dish is normally served with boiled or mashed potatoes and pickled beets. It is so popular that a factory-processed version of the dish is available canned in most supermarkets throughout the province. In Mexico, albóndigas are commonly served with a light broth and vegetables, or with a mild chipotle sauce. In Puerto Rico, they are called albóndigas and have a strong Italian influence. Puerto Ricans living in New York City brought the recipe back to Puerto Rico, because many Puerto Ricans in New York City lived side by side with Italians. The meatballs are usually seasoned with sofrito, olives, capers, cheese, egg, breadcrumbs, parsley, carrots, mint, adobo, sazon (annatto, paprika, cumin, and coriander seeds), almonds, and coffee. It is typically eaten in a sandwich with melted cheese on top or stewed in tomato sauce, or with rice, in a dinner called Arroz con albondigas (rice with meatballs) In the United States, meatballs are commonly derived from European cuisines. ¹

Kofta is a type of meatball or dumpling that is widely distributed in Middle Eastern, South Asian, Mediterranean and Balkan (Central and Eastern Europe) cuisines. The word kofta is derived from Persian kūfta: In Persian, کوفتن (kuftan) means "to beat" or "to grind" or 'meatball'. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls or fingers of minced or ground meat – usually beef or lamb – mixed with spices and/or onions and other ingredients. The vegetarian variety is popular in India. They can be grilled, fried, steamed, poached, baked or marinated, and may be served with a rich spicy sauce. ¹

In Afghanistan, meatballs are used as a traditional dish with homemade soups or are made with a tomato-based sauce that may include some plum seeds to increase tartness and is served with bread or rice which is called Kofta-Chelou. Nowadays meatballs are also grilled on top of pizza. In Iran, several types of meatballs are consumed. If they are cooked in a stew, they are called kufteh. If they are fried (typically small meatballs), they are called kal-e gonjeshki (literally "sparrow's head"). Both types are consumed with either bread or rice. Typically, herbs are added, and for kufteh, usually the meatball is filled with hard-boiled eggs or dried fruits. There are several (at least 10) types; the most famous is "kufte Tabrīzī", traditionally from Tabriz in northwestern Iran. In Israel, meatballs are called ktzitzot basar (Hebrew: קציצות בשר), or sometimes simply ktzitzot (Hebrew: קציצות). Their exact ingredients and preparation vary widely, due to the influence of Jewish immigration from different regions. ¹

Chinese meatballs (wanzi) are typically made of pork and can be steamed, boiled or deep-fried, sometimes with the addition of soy sauce. Large meatballs, called lion's heads, can range in size from about 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) in diameter. Smaller varieties, called pork balls, are used in soups. A Cantonese variant, the steamed meatball, is made of beef and served as a dim sum dish. Pearl meatballs are made of pork coated with glutinous rice. Fish and seafood can also be used to create different flavors and textures, and vegetarian alternatives to meatballs are served during festivals. In northern China, meatballs made from minced meat and flour, sometimes with the addition of lotus root or water chestnut for texture, are deep-fried and served in a vinegar-based sweet and sour sauce, or in a light broth with chopped coriander. ¹

Indonesian meatballs are called bakso which are usually served in a bowl, served in broth soup, with noodles, rice vermicelli, bean curd (tofu), hard-boiled egg, siomay steamed meat dumpling, and fried wonton. They have a consistent homogeneous texture. Bakso can be found in major Indonesian cities and towns; however, the most popular are bakso Solo and bakso Malang (named after the city of origin). In Malang, bakso bakar (roasted bakso) is also popular. As most Indonesians are Muslim, generally it is made from beef or sometimes chicken. In Japanese cuisine, a popular variant of meatballs is tsukune, minced chicken meatballs on a skewer. Chinese-style meatballs are also popular. Another kind of meatball called tsumire is made from ground fish. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Meatball”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

meatball is dish made from ground meat rolled into a small ball-like form, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 13 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²