A croquette is a deep-fried roll consisting of a thick binder combined with a filling, which is

breaded Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thicken ...

and

deep-fried Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norma ...

; it is served as a

side dish A side dish, sometimes referred to as a side order, side item, or simply a side, is a food item that accompanies the entrée or main course at a meal.snack, or fast food worldwide. The binder is typically a thick béchamel or

brown sauce Brown sauce is a condiment commonly served with food in the United Kingdom and Ireland, normally dark brown in colour. The taste is either tart or sweet with a peppery taste similar to that of Worcestershire sauce. Brown sauce is typically eate ...

mashed potato Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...

es, wheat flour or wheat bread. The binder may be mixed with or stuffed with a filling; this mixture is called a ''

salpicon Salpicon (or salpicón, meaning "hodgepodge" or "medley" in Spanish) is a dish of one or more ingredients diced or minced and bound with a sauce or liquid. There are different versions found in Spanish and the broader Latin American cuisine. A sal ...

''. Typical fillings include finely chopped meat, seafood, cheese,

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

pasta Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, ar ...

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

, as well as various

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s as well as seasonings such as herbs and

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spice ...

s. Sweet croquettes may use a

pastry cream Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in consistency from ...

binder and be filled with

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

. Croquettes may also be formed in other shapes: disks, ovals, balls.

Etymology

The word ''croquette'' is French, derived from ''croquer'', meaning 'to crunch'. In the 18th century, it was typically spelled ''croquet''. Alan Davidson, ''

Oxford Companion to Food ''The Oxford Companion to Food'' is an encyclopedia about food. It was edited by Alan Davidson and published by Oxford University Press in 1999. It was also issued in softcover under the name ''The Penguin Companion to Food''. The second and th ...

'', 1999, ''s.v.'', p. 229

Origins

A 17th-century recipe for croquettes (''croquets'') by

François Massialot François Massialot (1660, in Limoges – 1733, in Paris) was a French chef who served as ''chef de cuisine'' (''officier de bouche'') to various illustrious personages, including Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, the brother of Louis XIV, and his so ...

binds a filling of meat, truffles, marrow, bread crumbs, and cheese with egg, then breads and fries them in lard. They may be as large as an egg or as small as a walnut, and can be served as an

hors-d'œuvre An hors d'oeuvre ( ; french: hors-d'œuvre ), appetiser or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the m ...

or as a garnish. They are mentioned in a 1706 English dictionary. One 18th-century recipe uses just a batter, rather than a béchamel binder. Croquettes of the modern type, with a thick binder, are documented in an 1822 English cookbook by the French cook Louis Eustache Ude.

Asia

Croquettes with red lettuce.jpg, Circular croquettes Kartoffel-Kroketten-tiefgefroren.jpg, Cylindrical potato croquettes Croquetas con patatas fritas.JPG, ''Croquetas fritas'' DSC 0082 broodje kroket chiang mai 2009 0629.jpg, Two

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

''kroketten'', one cut open to show the beef-ragout filling; Chiang Mai, Thailand

India

A potato-filled croquette called '' aloo tikki'', which originated in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

, is very popular in

Northern India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

and is typically served with a stew. They are mostly eaten as snacks at home and are also popularly sold by road-side vendors. In

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

, there are two very popular types of croquettes called chop and cutlet. Vegetable chop is made using a medley of mashed vegetables like boiled beetroot, carrot, green peas etc. held together by potato, then breaded and deep fried. A cutlet is like a chop, but skips the potato binding in its inside. A mutton cutlet will be made of minced goat meat mixed with spices that will be breaded and deep fried. McDonald's in India serves a fast-food variation of aloo tikki inside a hamburger bun (like a vegetarian burger). Meat croquettes called '' kababs'' are made with minced mutton. Lightly spiced beef croquettes are a popular snack and appetiser among the Christian communities in

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Sri Lanka

There are two main types of croquettes in Sri Lanka. The first type are called rolls and are a popular bakery product that is cylindrical in shape. The rolls are commonly filled with a mixture of fish, potatoes and spices, and hence called fish-rolls. Chicken is also sometimes used. The second type are called cutlets, which are spherical in shape and generally made for festive occasions.

China

In China,croquette is called ''kělè bǐng'' (可乐饼). They are Japanese-style, made with mashed potatoes and corn, and sometimes meat.

Indonesia

The ''kroket'' (Dutch) made of mashed potato filled with minced chicken or ragout is one of the most popular snack items in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, introduced during the Dutch colonial rule. The ''kroket'' is made by putting chicken filling inside a mashed potato ball which is then breaded and fried.

Japan

A relative of the croquette, known as ''

korokke Korokke ( ja, コロッケ; ) is the Japanese name for a deep-fried ''yōshoku'' dish originally related to a French dish, the croquette. Korokke is made by mixing cooked chopped meat, seafood, or vegetables with mashed potato or white sauce ...

'', (コロッケ) is a very popular fried food; widely available in supermarkets, convenience stores and butcher shops, as well as from specialty ''korokke'' shops. Generally patty-shaped, it is mainly made of potatoes with other ingredients including vegetables (such as onions and carrots) and usually less than 5% meat (e.g. pork or beef). It is often served with ''

tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. It involves coating slices of pork with panko (bread crumbs), and then frying them in oil. The two main types are fillet and loin. Tonkatsu is also the basis of other ...

'' (とんかつ) sauce. Cylindrical ''korokke'' are also served; they more closely resemble the French version, where seafood (prawns or crab meat) or chicken in white sauce (''

ragout Ragout (French ''ragoût''; ) is a main dish stew. Etymology The term comes from the French ''ragoûter'', meaning: "to revive the taste". Preparation The basic method of preparation involves slow cooking over a low heat. The main ingredients ...

'') 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''" (クリームコロッケ) to distinguish it from the potato-based variety. It is often served with no sauce or tomato sauce. Unlike its French cousin, croquettes made mainly of meat are not called ''korokke'' in Japan. They are called ''

menchi katsu is a Japanese breaded and deep-fried ground meat patty; a fried meat cake.''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', The meat is usually ground beef, pork, or a mixture of the two. It is often served in inexpensive ''bento'' and '' teis ...

'' (メンチカツ), short for minced meat cutlets.

South Korea

Usually called ''goroke'' (고로케) or ''keuroket'' (크로켓), the Korean version of croquettes are sold in many bread shops in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. The most common type is deep-fried rolls stuffed with ''

japchae ''Japchae'' () is a savory and slightly sweet dish of stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables that is popular in Korean cuisine. * ''Japchae'' is typically prepared with '' dangmyeon'' (당면, 唐麵), a type of cellophane noodles made from ...

'' (잡채) ingredients or chicken curry and mashed potato with vegetable salad. G''oroke'' are sometimes filled with ''

kimchi ''Kimchi'' (; ko, 김치, gimchi, ), is a traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

'', pork, and ''

bulgogi ''Bulgogi'' (불고기; ; from Korean ''bul-gogi'' ), literally "fire meat", is a ''gui'' (구이; Korean-style grilled or roasted dish) made of thin, marinated slices of meat, most commonly beef, grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top grid ...

'' ingredients. Many Korean stores advertise the ''goroke'' as a French product and they are sold in most European-style bread stores in South Korea.

Europe

Belgium

''Kroketten/croquettes'' can be served as a side or main dish. They are usually savoury, filled with

mashed potatoes Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...

. The two most popular Belgian croquettes have a thick bechamel filling mixed with grey shrimps "garnaalkroketten/croquettes de crevettes" or cheese "kaaskroketten/croquettes de fromage". As a main dish, they are usually served with a salad, fried parsley and frites.

France

The

-filled dish was regarded as a French delicacy. It was first described in a recipe from 1691 by the chef of the French king

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

, using ingredients such as

truffles A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including '' Geopora'', '' Pe ...

sweetbread Sweetbread is a culinary name for the thymus (also called throat, gullet, or neck sweetbread) or pancreas (also called stomach, belly or gut sweetbread), typically from calf (french: ris de veau, es, hígado) or lamb (). Sweetbreads have a ri ...

s, and

cream cheese Cream cheese is a soft, usually mild-tasting fresh cheese made from milk and cream.Oxford English Dictionary Stabilizers such as carob bean gum and carrageenan are often added in industrial production. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration de ...

. From the 1800s onward, it became a way to use up leftover stewed meat.

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Plain potato croquettes are served as a side dish in restaurants and are also available frozen in supermarkets. They are usually called ''Kroketten'' (singular ''Krokette'').

Hungary

''Krokett'' is a small cylindrical croquette similar to the Czech variety: potatoes, eggs, flour, and butter, seasoned with nutmeg and salt and deep-fried in oil. This variety can be ordered in most restaurants as a side dish, and also bought frozen. When made with cottage cheese, they are called ''túrókrokett''.

Italy

In Italy, ''crocchette'' (known in the South as ''

crocchè Crocchè (from the French ''croquettes'') are a dish of Neapolitan and Sicilian origin, made from mashed potato and egg, which is covered in bread crumbs and fried. Crocchè are typically a Southern Italian street food, ubiquitous at '' frig ...

'') are made mainly with crushed potatoes or vegetables such as aubergines (''crocchette di melanzane''). Rice

arancini Arancini (, , , ) are Italian rice balls that are stuffed, coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried, and are a staple of Sicilian cuisine. The most common arancini fillings are: ''al ragù'' or ''al sugo'', filled with ragù (meat or mince, slow ...

(typical of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

supplì ''Supplì'' (; Italianization of the French word ) are Italian snacks consisting of a ball of rice (generally risotto) with tomato sauce, typical of Roman cuisine. Originally, they were filled with chicken giblets, mincemeat or (a kind of c ...

(

Roman cuisine Roman cuisine comes from the Italian city of Rome. It features fresh, seasonal and simply-prepared ingredients from the Roman Campagna.Boni (1930), pg. 13. These include peas, globe artichokes and fava beans, shellfish, milk-fed lamb and goat, ...

) and

Milanese Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ') is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to ...

rice and saffron croquettes are particularly well known in Italian cuisine. In

Emilia Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both also ; ; egl, Emégglia-Rumâgna or ''Emîlia-Rumâgna''; rgn, Emélia-Rumâgna) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy, situated in the north of the country, comprising the historical regions ...

and

Piemonte it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, croquettes are usually filled with chicken, while in Calabria ''polpette di riso'' are stuffed with rice and cheese (usually Parmesan or Pecorino).

Ireland

Plain potato croquettes are available frozen or refrigerated in most supermarkets. They are also homemade, usually with the addition of chopped onion.

The Netherlands

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, several suppliers started mass-producing croquettes filled with beef. The croquette (''kroket'' in

) subsequently became even more popular as a fast food; meat ragout covered in breadcrumbs and subsequently deep-fried. Its success as a fast food garnered its reputation as a cheap dish of dubious quality, to such an extent that

tongue in cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scott ...

urban myths ''Urban Myths'' is a British biographical comedy drama television series first aired on 19 January 2017 on the Sky Arts. Each episode featured a story surrounding popular culture which may or may not be true, ranging from Muhammad Ali talking ...

relate its "allegedly mysterious content" to offal and butchering waste. Research in 2008 showed that 350 million ''kroketten'' are eaten in the Netherlands every year. An estimated 75% of all Dutch people eat them, resulting in 29 ''kroketten'' per person per year on average, being the 2nd most popular Dutch snack after the

frikandel A frikandel (; plural frikandellen) is a traditional snack originating from the historical Low Countries ( Netherlands, Belgium and north of France), a sort of minced-meat sausage, of which the modern version was developed after World War ...

. The major consumers are between 35 and 49 years old. The success of the croquette led to a whole series of food products resembling the croquette, but with other types of fillings, such as noodles, rice and kidney, and with names like ''bamibal'', ''nasibal'', and ''nierbroodje''. Variants of the croquette which specify the kind of meat can also be found, like ''rundvleeskroket'' (made with beef) and ''kalfsvleeskroket'' (made with veal). Also popular in Dutch snack bars are the ''satékroket'' (where the filling consists of a peanut

satay Satay ( , in USA also , ), or sate in Indonesian spelling, is a Southeast Asian dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. The earliest preparations of satay is believed to have originated in Javanese cuisine, but ...

sauce and shredded meat in a ragout) and the ''goulashkroket''. A smaller round version of the standard beef or veal croquette, the ''

bitterbal Bitterballen (plural of ''bitterbal'') are a Dutch meat-based snack, made by making a very thick stew thickened with roux and beef stock and generously loaded with meat, refrigerating the stew until it firms, and then rolling the thick mixture i ...

'', is often served with mustard as a snack in bars and at receptions. Potato croquettes and potato balls (similar to potato croquettes, but small and round) can be bought frozen in most food stores. Broodje kroket - Febo - 03

', a croquette on a bread roll, is sold in restaurants, snack shops, and by street vendors. The popularity of the ''kroket'' in the Netherlands is such that even

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

sells their version on a bun as "McKroket".

Poland

Croquettes in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

are typically made from a thin, rolled crepe-type pancake stuffed with meat, mushrooms, cabbage, sauerkraut, or some combination of those ingredients. The croquette is lightly pan fried before serving. Some recipe variations also require the croquette to be covered in breadcrumbs before frying, and served with a clear soup e.g. "barszcz", similar to

borscht Borscht () is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which g ...

Portugal

''Croquetes'' are cylindrical, covered in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. They are usually made with white sauce and beef, sometimes mixed with varying amounts of pork, and frequently with some ''

chouriço Chorizo (, from Spanish ; similar to but distinct from Portuguese ) is a type of pork cured meat originating from the Iberian Peninsula. In Europe, chorizo is a fermented, cured, smoked meat, which may be sliced and eaten without cooking, or ...

'',

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in dia ...

or ''

piri-piri ( , often hyphenated or as one word, and with variant spellings , ''piripiri'' or ) is a cultivar of '' Capsicum frutescens'' from the malagueta pepper. It was originally produced by Portuguese explorers in Portugal's former Southern African ...

'' to add more flavour. Seafood, fish (other than

codfish Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

) and vegetarian (potato) croquetes are also eaten in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, but those have other names (such as ''rissol'', ''pastel'', ''empada''), thus the name croquete refers only to the Dutch-style beef ''croquette''.

Russia

The widespread minced

cutlet Cutlet (derived from French ''côtelette'', ''côte'', "rib") refers to: # a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork or chicken # a dish made of such slice, often breaded (also known in various languages as a '' cotoletta ...

(russian: котлета рубленная, kotleta rublennaya) is made of minced meat (beef or pork or mixture of both; chicken, turkey, or fish), bread, eggs, white onions, salt and spices, shaped as a meat patty and pan fried. Bread is added in amount up to 25% of meat, adding softness to the final product and also making it cheaper to produce. The

Pozharsky cutlet A Pozharsky cutlet (russian: пожарская котлета, ', plural: , '; also spelled ''Pojarski'') is a breaded ground chicken or veal patty that is typical of Russian cuisine.Павел Сюткин, Ольга Сюткина. ''Неп� ...

is a well-known variety of such cutlets in which minced meat is mixed with butter.

Spain

Traditional ''croquetas'' in Spain are made with thick béchamel. They are one of the most typical ''

tapas A tapa () is an appetizer or snack in Spanish cuisine. Tapas can be combined to make a full meal, and can be cold (such as mixed olives and cheese) or hot (such as ''chopitos'', which are battered, fried baby squid, or patatas bravas). In so ...

'' dishes, especially filled with ''

jamón ''Jamón'' (, pl. ''jamones'') is a kind of dry-cured ham produced in Spain. It is one of the most globally recognized food items of Spanish cuisine. It is also regularly a component of tapas. Most ''jamón'' is commonly called ''jamón serrano ...

'', chicken or saltcod. Also, many bars and restaurants may offer novel, less traditional versions of croquettes with more varied fillings and ingredients such as apple, wild mushrooms, ''morcilla'' ( blood sausage), cheeses, tuna, cuttlefish (using its ink to give color and flavour), etc. ''Croqueterías'' are restaurants that specialize in ''croquetas''.

United Kingdom

Croquettes are available frozen or refrigerated in most supermarkets, typically with potato filling.

Caribbean

Puerto Rico

Croquettes are typically made out of ham, codfish or chicken in Puerto Rico, where they are dipped in what is colloquially known as "mayo-ketchup", a variation of

fry sauce Fry sauce is a condiment often served with French fries or tostones (twice-fried plantain slices) in many places in the world. It is usually a combination of one part tomato ketchup and two parts mayonnaise. Historically, the Argentinian salsa go ...

. Frozen croquettes are sold in supermarkets in Puerto Rico. There are versions of

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...

, cornmeal (called '' sorullos''), breadfruit, yams, and cassave in replacement of wheat flour or potato.

Cuba

Cuban croquettes are nearly identical to the Puerto Rican croquettes that are typically made out of ham or chicken. There is a common cheese and potato variation, and they are sometimes made with fish.

Dominican Republic

Dominican croquettes are nearly identical to the Cuban croquettes that are typically made out of ham or chicken, but there is a common cheese and potato variation, a beef variation and they are also sometimes made with fish.

Aruba

Aruban croquettes are more commonly made out of mashed potato, ground beef, shellfish, and fish. They are eaten as an early morning breakfast or as snacks any time of the day. They are considered one of the island's cultural foods.

North America

Mexico

Croquettes are usually made of tuna or chicken and potatoes. In southern Mexico, a variety is made with fresh cheese, plantain, and black beans.

United States

"Boardwalk"

fish cake A fishcake (sometimes written as fish cake) is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden. Asian-style fishcakes usually contain fish with salt, water, ...

s and crab cakes, eaten on the east coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, are essentially croquettes. They consist, respectively, of chopped fish or crab meat, mixed in a buttery dough which is then breaded and deep-fried. A

deviled crab Deviled crab (''croqueta de jaiba'' in Spanish) is a crab meat croquette. Deviled crab croquettes originated in Tampa, Florida, where they were developed in the Spanish, Cuban and Italian immigrant community of Ybor City. It is typically served ...

(''croqueta de jaiba'') is a particular variety of a

blue crab Blue crab may refer to: * Blue Crab 11, an American sailboat design * ''Callinectes sapidus'' – Chesapeake or Atlantic blue crab of the West Atlantic, introduced elsewhere * '' Cardisoma guanhumi'' – blue land crab of the West Atlantic * '' Dis ...

croquette from

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. The crab meat is seasoned with a unique

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

-style

enchilada An enchilada (, ) is a Mexican dish consisting of a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered with a savory sauce. Enchiladas can be filled with various ingredients, including meats, cheese, beans, potatoes, vegetables, or combinations. ...

or ''

sofrito (Spanish, ), ( Catalan), (Italian, ), or (Portuguese, ) is a basic preparation in Mediterranean, Latin American, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese cooking. It typically consists of aromatic ingredients cut into small pieces and sautéed o ...

'' sauce (locally known as ''chilau''), breaded with stale

Cuban bread Cuban bread is a fairly simple white bread, similar to French bread and Italian bread, but has a slightly different baking method and ingredient list (in particular, it generally includes a small amount of fat in the form of lard or vegetable s ...

crumbs, formed into the approximate shape of a

prolate spheroid A spheroid, also known as an ellipsoid of revolution or rotational ellipsoid, is a quadric surface obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes; in other words, an ellipsoid with two equal semi-diameters. A spheroid has ci ...

, and fried. It is meant to be eaten with one hand. It originated in the immigrant community of Ybor City during a cigar workers' strike in the 1920s and is still very popular in the area. Other types of crab and fish croquettes are made throughout the southern U.S., especially in coastal states such as

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

where seafood dishes are common staples. These varieties have different seasonings and shapes, with some served inside the scooped-out shell of the crab. A traditional

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

/ Northeastern United States preparation uses ham, usually of the maple-cured variety, along with cooked mashed potato (often mixed with some mild seasonings and milk or butter for a smoother consistency) for the outer roll. These are dipped in crumbed breading, and sautéed or fried in a small skillet using butter. Typically, these are most common during the

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

-to-

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

holiday season as one of several ways to use up leftover holiday ham. Another croquette dish popular across much of the American South is salmon croquettes. Any canned fish—usually salmon or mackerel, although canned tuna is also used in some recipes (although the dish is often colloquially referred to as "salmon croquettes" or "salmon patties" regardless of the actual fish used)—is mashed by hand to break up any fish bones and give the fish meat a smoother consistency, then combined with a binder and various seasonings. Seasonings typically include pepper, salt, chopped (sometimes sautéed) onions, garlic, lemon juice or paprika. The binder can be any starch such as flour, cornmeal, ground crackers of any type—even white rice,

matzo Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which '' chametz'' ( leaven ...

meal, or oatmeal, although these latter variations are not as common, and are mostly limited to the northern U.S. Chopped eggs, parsley, and

Parmesan cheese Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' ...

may also be added. The mixture is then shaped into rounded patties for pan- or deep-frying; corn or peanut oil are the most commonly used frying oils in the southern U.S., but canola, safflower, or olive oil are also used, and some recipes call specifically for pan-frying in butter or margarine.

South America

Brazil

Croquetes, primarily made from beef, are a common snack in many parts of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The ''

coxinha ''Coxinha'' (, ''little hickenthigh'') is a popular food in Brazil consisting of chopped or shredded chicken meat, covered in dough, molded into a shape resembling a teardrop, battered and fried. History ''Coxinhas'' were originally made wit ...

'' is a popular chicken-based croquette.

Ecuador

From Riobamba llapingachos are potato cakes with a cheese filling, fried in oil with achiote and served with a peanut sauce.

Uruguay

Called "croquetas" in Spanish, the most popular stuffing are mashed potatoes (croquetas de papa), ham and mozzarella cheese (croquetas de jamón y queso), and rice (croquetas de arroz). Sometimes, the rice ones have herbs and little ham cubes. Generally, their shape is cylindrical and they're medium-sized, but larger, spherical ones also can be seen (specially with rice stuffing). They are deep-fried in oil. Croquetas are very common: they can be bought in almost every bakery, supermarket or food shop, and a lot of people cook them at home as a side dish or even main dish. In modern restaurants, more sophisticated croquettes (e.g. with serrano ham and mixture of cheeses, or with salmon) usually come with a more elaborated sauce as dip (e.g. sweet chili sauce), and are ordered as starters.

Colombia

In Colombia croquettes are commonly referred to as "

papa rellena Papas rellenas (English: stuffed potatoes) are the most popular type of croquettes in Latin American regions such as Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and the Caribbean (more so the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Puerto Rico). Th ...

", which translates as stuffed potato. They consist of a mix of roughly mashed potato, seasoned shredded or ground beef and an egg to bind the mix, which is then lightly battered and deep fried. They are served in bars and casual restaurants, as well as often being served at home for a celebration or party. They are usually served with a side of homemade or bottled chili sauce.

Notes

External links

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