7 things about frikandellen you didn’t know yet
Every year, on average, we eat the equivalent of 2.5 times the circumference of the Earth in frikandellen. Say what?! That’s no small amount. No wonder the brown lucky stick aka the del is the most popular deep-fried snack in our country. Did you already know this about the frikandel?
7 things about frikandellen you didn’t know yet
The inventor
There are two persistent stories about how the frikandel came into existence. According to De Vries Snacks, butcher Gerrit was the first to shape his meatball into a sausage in 1954. But that would have been a flat sausage, not the round shape the frikandel has today. According to Beckers, butcher’s son Jan Bekkers is the inventor of the frikandel. Four years later, he came up with a skinless deep-fried sausage in the familiar shape, inspired by a snack from American food culture.
Vocabulary
With or without an n? Since 2000, the dictionary has listed ‘frikandel’, so officially you spell it with an n.
Special
In snack bars, frikandellen are most commonly sold as frikandel speciaal. To this day, the genius behind the mayo/curry/onion combination remains unknown. In the past, the sticks were still regularly eaten with ketchup, but curry has truly overtaken this sauce.
National Frikandel Day
The frikandel even has its own holiday. On February 4, we celebrate National Frikandel Day. We don’t know why this particular day is dedicated to the snack. Maybe someone established the day when the frikandel turned sixty in 2014? Who knows. In any case, we celebrate the day every year in grand style with frikandel quiches, frikandel speciaal pizzas, frikandel spring rolls and frikandel grilled cheese sandwiches.
Deliciously sustainable
Did you know that the frikandel is the most sustainable snack on Earth? Here’s why. So fire up the deep fryer and throw in a few more dels! And no, although nose-to-tail cooking is particularly sustainable, frikandellen do not contain cow udders or sheep’s eyes. Frikandellen are made from chicken and pork, and deliciously seasoned with various herbs and spices. (And a tip: with these spices, everything tastes like frikandel!)
Carnival party
Boxes of frikandellen fly off the shelves during Brabant’s Carnival celebrations. How about the colorful discodel or the Alaaf Staaf, where the classic snack is dressed up in a cheerful Carnival costume? It doesn’t get more festive than this!
Read also:
- How to: pronounce frikandel in 8 different languages
- Did you know this about the frikandel?
- Hello, what is that: Frikandel Hawaii
