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

This article or section deals primarily with Dutch views and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article or discuss the issue on the talk page.

Contents 1 History 2 Production 3 Assorted facts 4 The Dutch kroket 5 Croquettes in other countries 6 Urban myth 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

The croquette, as its French name hints ("croquer" meaning "to bite"), was actually a French invention, and was introduced in the Netherlands at the start of the 20th century. In 1909, the Dutch pâtissier Kwekkeboom came across a fried, ragoût filled croquette in France. The French used all sorts of fillings to make their croquettes: various kinds of meat, fish, vegetables, nuts 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, satay, shrimp, cheese, and goulash.

The most common kroketten are the normal kroket (the cheapest), kalfskroket (veal), rundvleeskroket (contains at least 20 % beef) and goulashkroket. Many places sell the Kwekkeboom-kroket in addition to the normal kroket.

Some (quite fancy) restaurants have special kroketten on their menu, like shrimp kroketten or salmon kroketten.

In the Netherlands, the croquette is basically a thick ragoût, fried in breadcrumbs. It is the ragoût – 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 ragoût, 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, the mixture 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.

Elsewhere, a croquette is generally prepared from a salpicon or forcemeat of meat or fish, combined with a thick white or brown sauce. In addition to the basic element, mushrooms, chopped ham, diced vegetables, etc., may be added. Croquettes can also be made of mashed potato, rice, pasta etc. There are also sweet croquettes made of rice, semolina or fruit combined with crème pâtissièrre (French pastry cream).^[1]

Croquettes, and frikandellen (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, often with mustard.

Croquettes are so popular in the Netherlands that even McDonalds sells a disk shaped croquette in a bun: the McKroket. In the United States, McDonalds' Hash Browns, a breakfast item, are not a hash brown but rather a plain potato croquette without a filling served bunless in a paper wrapping. They are therefore easy to eat out of hand, in contrast to traditional American hash brown styles which are typically unformed and must be eaten with a fork.

The kroket is a deep fried snack, made with meat, 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 in domestic kitchens, 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.

The American automat Bamn in New York City's East Village sells a macaroni and cheese kroket.

Spain: Croquettes, especially chicken, are also a typical tapas dish.

Brazil: Croquettes or croquetes, primarily made from beef, are sold in parts of Brazil as German fare.

Mexico: Croquettes are usually made of tuna and potatoes.

the Czech Republic: Krokety are small round balls usually made from potatoes, eggs, flour, butter, and salt that are deep fried in oil. This variety can be ordered in most restaurants as a side dish as well as bought frozen and prepared at home.

Cuba: It is usually made of ham, pork or chicken, or a mix of all three in combination.

United States: The aforementioned McDonalds' Hash Browns are a plain potato croquette. In Tampa,Florida, it is made with seasoned crab meat and was traditionally breaded with stale Cuban bread. Locally, this is known as a deviled crab (croqueta de jaiba).^[2]

Hungary "Krokett" is a small cylindrical dish made similar the Czech variety: potatoes, eggs, flour, butter, and salt that are deep fried in oil. A touch of nutmeg is also used typically. This variety can be ordered in most restaurants as a side dish as well as bought frozen and prepared at home.

India: A potato-filled croquette called alu-tikki is very famous in Northern India, served with a stew; mostly served as snacks at home it is also popularly sold by road-side vendors. Sometimes it is called "cutlet" and eaten just like that or a fast food variation is inside a hamburger bun (like a vegetarian burger).

Bangladesh: Similar to the alu-tikki, alu-chop is a common potato filled croquette served throughout Bangladesh, primarily as a snack. Rather than being entirely filled with potato, alu-chop traditionally has a meat-filled center, most often beef.

Japanese cuisine: A relative of the croquette, known as korokke ( コロッケ ) is a very popular fried food, widely available in supermarkets or butcher shops, as well as from specialty korokke shops. Generally patty-shaped, it is mainly made of potatoes with some other ingredients such as vegetables (e.g. onions and carrots) and maybe less than 5% meat (e.g. pork or beef). It is often served with tonkatsu (とんかつ) sauce. Cylindrically-shaped korokke are also served, which more closely resemble the French version, where seafood (prawns or crab meat) or chicken in white sauce (ragout) is cooled down to make it harden before the croquette is breaded and deep-fried. When it is served hot, the inside melts. This version is called "cream korokke" to distinguish it from the potato-based variety. It is often served with no sauce or tomato sauce. Unlike its Dutch cousin, croquettes made mainly of meat are not called korokke in Japan. They are called menchi katsu (めんち かつ), short for minced meat cutlets.

Indonesia: Kroket is also one of the most popular snack items in Indonesia introduced during the Dutch colonialization.

The Dutch frikadel or frikandel should not be confused with the German frikadelle; the latter is more like a meatball.

Philippines: the Filipino 'croqueta' is derived no doubt from the Spanish colonial era, but unlike the bechamel-filled croquetas in Spain, Filipino croquetas are made with mashed potatoes and chopped meat or fish, usually leftovers. Like most Spanish-influenced foods in the Philippines, croquetas ares served mainly in middle and upper class households.

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 flavor. 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.

• Rissole

1. ^ Larousse Gastronomique, Crown Publishers (1961)
   (Translated from the French, Librairie Larousse, Paris (1938))
2. ^ http://foodmuseum.typepad.com/food_museum_blog/2007/02/devil_crabs_ser.html

• Recipe for homemade croquettes
• Recipe for real Dutch Croquettes