Croquette
/krəʊˈkɛt/
Derived from the French word croquer (to crunch), its diminutive croquet and in feminine: croquette.
A ball or mass of rice, potato, or finely minced meat or fish, seasoned and fried crisp.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
Although this brief definition would leave out some of them, the word croquette and its translations across languages encompass multiple recipes of dishes that share key ingredients and characteristics: small portions most often round or oval, coated or battered, soft filling, mostly savory, deep fried and served as snacks or shared plates.
In most cases, the main difference is in the base of the filling (bechamel, mash potato, bulgur, rice…) Exploring croquettes from around the world reveals that every culinary culture has develop its own interpretation. These variations can be so distinct that it becomes nearly impossible to establish clear boundaries or determine which recipes truly qualify as croquettes.
Europe.
Across the continent and in the UK, mashed potato is the most extended base filling. Kroketten in Germany, kroketter in Sweden, krokettien in Finland, kroketi in Croatia, krokett in Hungary, krókettur in Iceland, crochete in Romania or крокеты in Russia.
The Netherlands’ Kroketten and their bite-sized sibling, Bitterballen, are iconic bar snacks. The traditional filling of beef or veal ragout is now joined by modern spins, like pulled chicken or vegetarian options.
Krokiety in Polland are similar to a pancake roll, most of the times filled with meat, mushrooms and vegetables.
In Greece we can find Κροκέτες and Tirokrokettes, generally made of a mix of different cheeses with egg and flour.
In Italy, cazzilli, crocché or crocchette are potato croquettes that usually include a cheese in the mash. Also, the popular rice versions: arancini and supplí. Original arancini are conical-shaped and bigger, but they are also commonly found round in smaller portions.
In France, both bechamel and potato croquettes are popular but not as much as you could expect from the country of origin of bechamel.
Spain’s Croquetas are a staple on tapas menus, made with a silky béchamel filling infused with an endless list of ingredients from Serrano ham to creamy cod.
We will dedicate our next post to talk more about its variations and the importance of Croquetas in the Spanish food scene.
The Americas.
In addition to the European recipes, we find others using yuca (cassava) as main ingredient in Colombia, plantain in Venezuela or corn in Mexico. Ham and chicken bechamel croquettes are very popular In Cuba and southern states in the US. In Brazil, coxinhas are a staple for street food. They are made of shredded chicken encased in a soft though made of flour and chicken stock. Argentinian traditional recipes include, apart from rice and bechamel fillings, other versions using meat (corned beef or veal, for example) and vegetables bound with egg and breadcrumbed.
Asia.
More variants from European recipes like kroket in Indonesia or kroketa in Philippines, and many others with different interpretations of the same deep fried breaded dumpling with meat, vegetables, or potato. In China and Taiwán are known as kělè bǐng (可樂 餅), khroke (โครเก้) in Thailand and goroke (고로케) o keuroket (크로켓 ) in Korea. In Japan, korokke (コロッケ) are the ultimate comfort food. The standard ones are flat patty shaped, made of potatoes or mince meet and crumbed with panko. There are other popular variations though, using for example curry, crab or pumpkin.
Africa.
Chin chin, (also known as African croquettes) are originally from Nigeria. They are known as atchomon in Togo and Benin, achomo in Ghana, and croquette or Chin Chin in Cameroon. They are made of dough containing flour, sugar, butter, and eggs and sometimes milk, plus some other optional ingredients. Also from Nigeria are the Yam Balls, made from mashed boiled yam, eggs, peppers and spices moulded into ball shape and fried. In other countries like In South Africa are common the potato croquettes.
Australia.
Thanks to the country’s multicultural influences, most of the above mentioned variations of croquettes can be found in Australia. In particular, Spanish style Croquetas are gaining popularity in the food scene since 2020, when La Croqueteria started supplying artisan croquetas to some of the finest restaurants and independent supermarkets in the country. The next step would be croquettes with a uniquely Australian twist, using indigenous ingredients like bush tomatoes, wattleseed or kangaroo meat.
Croquettes are a testament to the global adaptability of comfort food, representing a universal love for crispy, golden bites. The next time you crave a snack, why not explore croquettes from around the world? You might just discover your new favourite dish.
References: Wikipedia. The Nosey Chef. The Spruce Eats. Globalgastros.com