Meatball

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This article is about the foodstuff. See Meatballs (film) for the movie with a similar name, or see MeatballWiki for the article about the wiki about communities.

A meatball is a generally spherical mass of ground meat and other ingredients, such as bread or breadcrumbs, minced onion, various spices, and possibly eggs, usually fried in a pan or baked in an oven. Except for shape and size (there's usually more than one meatball per serving), meatballs are very similar to meatloaf.

Meatballs are distinguished from fishballs (which are usually cooked under boiling water) as well as matzah balls (which are usually cooked in boiling broth or water).

There are many kinds of meatball recipes using different kinds of meats and spices. While some meatballs are mostly made of meat and ingredients to cement the ball, other may include other ingredients. How one makes one's meatballs and which fat one fries them in depend as much on one's cultural background as on one's individual taste.

From the Balkans to India, there is a large variety of meatballs in the kofta family.

The ancient Roman cook-book author Apicius included many meat ball-type recipes.

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The meatball in various countries

Albanian fried meatballs (Qofte të fërguara) include feta cheese.
Chinese meatballs are made of pork and are usually steamed or boiled, either as-is, or with the addition of soy sauce. These can range in size from about 5 cm in diametre to about 10 cm. The plain steamed meatballs are also called Lion's heads. Smaller varieties are used in soups.
Danish meatballs are known as frikadeller and are typically fried, and they are usually made from pork.
In Germany, meatballs are called Frikadellen (in the North) or Buletten (in the East) or Fleischpflanzerl or Fleischküchle if you happen to be in the South.
In Greece, meatballs are called 'keftedes' and usually include within the mix onions and mint leaf.
In Bulgaria, meatballs are called 'kyufte' and are usually made of a mixture of beef and pork with breadcrumbs and sliced onions. Many other variations exist including different kinds of meat and chopped vegetables.
In Indonesia, meatballs are called 'bakso' which are usually served in a bowl, like soup, with noodles, beancurds (tofu), eggs, 'siomay', and/or fried meat.
In Italy, meatballs are known as polpette.
The Japanese hamburger steak hanbāgu is based on similar ingredients.
In Norway, meatballs are called kjøttkaker ("meat cakes") and resemble Danish frikadeller, but they are usually made from ground beef. This dish is traditionally served with boiled potatoes, gravy, lingonberry jam and/or stewed green peas. Some people also like to add fried/caramelized onion on the side.
Swedish köttbullar (Swedish meatballs) are made with ground beef or a mix of ground beef and pork, mixed with breadcrumbs soaked in milk and finely chopped onions. They are seasoned with white pepper and salt. Swedish meatballs are traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes, lingonberry jam, and sometimes fresh pickled cucumber.
In The Netherlands, a meatball goes by the name 'gehaktbal' ("chopped (referring to the meat) ball") and is often served with boiled potatoes and vegetables. This combination has been the most common dish in Dutch households troughout history.
Turkish cuisine features more than 80 types of meatballs (köfte), most being regionally made.
In the United Kingdom, faggots are a type of meatball.
In the United States, meatballs are commonly served with spaghetti as in "spaghetti and meatballs".

The "chiftele" and "pârjoale" from Romania are usually deep fried and made with pork or poultry, moistured bread and garlic. "Chiftele" are lesser and with more meat. A crude, plain meat variant is used for sour soup, making "ciorbă de perişoare".

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