Oatmeal ball

Last updated

Oatmeal ball
Chokladbollar.jpg
Oatmeal balls rolled in shredded coconut
Place of origin Sweden
Main ingredients Oatmeal, sugar, coffee, cocoa, butter

The oatmeal ball (Danish : havregrynskugle) or the chocolate ball (Swedish : chokladboll) is a type of unbaked pastry that is a popular Danish and Swedish confectionery.

Contents

Oatmeal balls consist of oatmeal, sugar, cocoa, [1] vanilla sugar, butter, and sometimes a small amount of coffee mixed until they become a compact mass. To make them creamier and softer, some people also like to mix in a splash of cream. From the dough, balls are hand-formed to a size usually slightly smaller than golf balls, then rolled in shredded coconut [1] , pearl sugar [2] or sprinkles. The balls can be eaten immediately, but usually they are first chilled in a refrigerator.

Because of the simple, non-bake recipe, oatmeal balls can be quickly made by anyone, which makes them one of the most popular homemade sweets and a common sight at children's parties.

Variations on the oatmeal ball are popular in other countries too. In Israel, Petit Beurre crumbs take the place of the oatmeal, and the candy is called in Hebrew : כדור שוקולד, romanized: Kadur Shokolad, lit. 'chocolate ball'. Popular in Austria, especially around Christmastime, is the Rumkugel (plural Rumkugeln), which contains the same ingredients as oatmeal balls but adds a small amount of rum to the mix.

History

The oatmeal ball was most likely invented during World War II, when, because of rationing, there was a limited supply of wheat flour, which caused a search for substitutes. In 1943, the Danish Nationaltidende published a small booklet for housewives called Ingenuity in a time of crisis (Danish : Opfindsomhed i en krisetid) containing the recipe for havregrynskugle. [3] There is also a classified ad for a konditorei product with the name negerbollar from 1918 in the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet . Although the content is unknown, they are described as "chocolate-coco" and are sold in boxes of 300 at 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb). [4]

Names in Swedish

Close-up view of chokladboll 01 Chokladbollar.jpg
Close-up view of chokladboll

One traditional name for the pastry in Swedish is negerboll ("negro ball"). [5] Due to possible racist connotations, this name has fallen out of favor in recent decades, with chokladboll (chocolate ball) now being the most commonly used name. When made with shredded coconut, it is also known as kokosboll (coconut ball).

The appropriateness of negerboll as the name of the pastry has been the subject of media debate, intensified by neger now generally being considered an ethnic slur, having undergone a similar change in tone to English Negro. [6] Chokladboll was first added to the Swedish Academy's spelling dictionary Svenska Akademiens ordlista in 2006, with only negerboll being listed prior. In the 13th (2006) edition, the pastry can be found under both names, with a comment that chokladboll is the recommended term. [7] In the 14th edition (2015) negerboll was removed. [8] [9]

In mid-2003, a bakery owner from Sjöbo was reported to the Swedish Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination for using the word negerboll on a sign in her bakery shop. [10] However, the case was dismissed since the person reporting it did not consider herself personally insulted.

Note that the Danish word negerbolle is a similarly dated term for a similar but different confection, namely the flødebolle.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swedish Academy</span> Swedish Royal Academy

The Swedish Academy, founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. Its 18 members, who are elected for life, comprise the highest Swedish language authority. Outside Scandinavia, it is best known as the body that chooses the laureates for the annual Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded in memory of the donor Alfred Nobel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doughnut</span> Sweet food made from deep-fried dough

A doughnut or donut is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty vendors. Doughnut is the traditional spelling, while donut is the simplified version; the terms are used interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danish pastry</span> Multilayered, laminated sweet pastry

A Danish pastry is a multilayered, laminated sweet pastry in the viennoiserie tradition. It is thought that some bakery techniques were brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers, and originated the name of this pastry. The danish recipe is however different from the Viennese one and has since developed into a Danish specialty.

The Swedish alphabet is a basic element of the Latin writing system used for the Swedish language. The 29 letters of this alphabet are the modern 26-letter basic Latin alphabet plus ⟨å⟩, ⟨ä⟩, and ⟨ö⟩, in that order. It contains 20 consonants and 9 vowels. The Latin alphabet was brought to Sweden along with the Christianization of the population, although runes continued in use throughout the first centuries of Christianity, even for ecclesiastic purposes, despite their traditional relation to the Old Norse religion. The runes underwent partial "latinization" in the Middle Ages, when the Latin alphabet was completely accepted as the Swedish script system, but runes still occurred, especially in the countryside, until the 18th century, and were used decoratively until mid 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girl Scout Cookies</span> Cookies sold by the Girl Scout Organization

Girl Scout Cookies are cookies sold by Girl Scouts in the United States to raise funds to support Girl Scout councils and individual troops. The cookies are widely popular and are commonly sold by going door-to-door, online, through school or town fundraisers, or at "cookie booths" set up at storefronts. The program is intended to both raise money and improve the financial literacy of girls. During an average selling season, more than one million girls sell over 200 million packages of cookies and raise over $800 million. The first known sale of cookies by Girl Scouts was in 1917. Cookie sales are organized by 112 regional Girl Scout councils who select one of two national bakeries to buy cookies from.

Jamaican cuisine includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavours and spices influenced by Amerindian, West African, Irish, English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Indian, Chinese and Middle Eastern people who have inhabited the island. It is also influenced by the crops introduced into the island from tropical Southeast Asia, many of which are now grown locally. A wide variety of seafood, tropical fruits and meats are available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rice pudding</span> Dish made from rice mixed with water or milk

Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and commonly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, flavourings and sometimes eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranachan</span> Scottish dessert

Cranachan is a traditional Scottish dessert. It was originally a celebration of harvest, made following the raspberry harvest in August. The dessert of cream and fresh seasonal raspberries is bolstered by Scottish oats and whisky. It has been called 'the uncontested king of Scottish desserts'. Cranachan owes its origins to crowdie, a popular breakfast in which crowdie cheese is combined with lightly toasted oatmeal, cream, and local honey. Raspberries, when in season, might be added to the dish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rum ball</span> Truffle-like confection of cookie butter flavored with chocolate and rum

Rum balls are a truffle-like confectionery cake of cookie butter flavoured with chocolate and rum. They are roughly the size of a golf ball and often coated in chocolate sprinkles, desiccated coconut, or cocoa. As their name implies, these treats contain rum. Because they are not baked, the alcohol flavour and kick are not neutralized during preparation. Rum balls are especially popular during the holiday season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate balls</span> Spherical confections made of or dipped into chocolate

Chocolate balls are a spherical confection made of or dipped into chocolate. Other ingredients may include peanut butter or marzipan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chocolate truffle</span> Type of chocolate confectionery

A chocolate truffle is a French chocolate confectionery traditionally made with a chocolate ganache centre and coated in cocoa powder, coconut, or chopped nuts. A chocolate truffle is handrolled into a spherical or ball shape. The name derives from the chocolate truffle's similarity in appearance to truffles, a tuber fungus. It was created in the city of Chambéry by the pastry chef Louis Dufour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kue</span> Indonesian bite-sized snack or dessert

Kue is an Indonesian bite-sized snack or dessert food. Kue is a fairly broad term in Indonesian to describe a wide variety of snacks including cakes, cookies, fritters, pies, scones, and patisserie. Kue are made from a variety of ingredients in various forms; some are steamed, fried or baked. They are popular snacks in Indonesia, which has the largest variety of kue. Because of the countries' historical colonial ties, Koeé (kue) is also popular in the Netherlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coconut cake</span> Cake with white frosting and covered in coconut flakes

Coconut cake is a popular dessert in the Southern region of the United States. It is a cake frosted with a white frosting and covered in coconut flakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hen (pronoun)</span> Swedish gender-neutral pronoun

Hen is a gender-neutral personal pronoun in Swedish intended as an alternative to the gender-specific hon ("she") and han ("he"). It can be used when the gender of a person is not known or when it is not desirable to specify them as either a "she" or "he". The word was first proposed in 1966, and again in 1994, with reference to the Finnish hän, a personal pronoun that is gender-neutral, since Finnish does not have grammatical genders. However, it did not receive widespread recognition until around 2010, when it began to be used in some books, magazines and newspapers, and provoked media debates and controversy over feminism, wokeness, gender neutrality, and parenting. In July 2014, it was announced that hen would be included in Svenska Akademiens ordlista, the official spelling dictionary of the Swedish Academy. In April 2015, the gender neutral pronoun hen and 13,000 other new words were added in a new official dictionary of the Swedish language. Today, some believe the word has lost some of its feminist-activist connotation in Sweden as it is used in the media, court rulings and books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustavus Adolphus pastry</span> Regional Swedish pastry

Gustavus Adolphus pastry is a pastry traditionally eaten every 6 November in Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus Day, the death day of King Gustavus Adolphus the Great. It is especially popular in Gothenburg, a city founded by the king.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookie butter</span> Food paste made from speculoos cookie crumb

Cookie butter is a food paste made primarily from speculoos cookie crumbs, fat, flour, and sugar. The ingredients are mixed until it becomes spreadable on a sandwich. In countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, it is a common alternative to nut butter and chocolate spreads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esaias Tegnér Jr.</span> Swedish linguist (1843–1928)

Esaias Tegnér Jr. was a Swedish linguist. He was professor of eastern languages at Lund University 1879-1908, lead editor of Svenska Akademiens ordbok 1913-1919, member of the Bible Commission 1884-1917, and member of the Swedish Academy from 1882 onward. Tegnér was the grandson of the well-known poet Esaias Tegnér, also his namesake, and was brother-in-law to the poet and composer Alice Tegnér.

References

  1. 1 2 Swedish Phrasebook. Eton Institute – Language Phrasebook. Eton Institute. 2013. p. pt20. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  2. "Ordet "negerboll" ska granskas av DO" [The word "negro ball" will be reviewed by DO]. Sveriges Radio (in Swedish). 31 July 2003. Retrieved 10 July 2024. det sfäriska bakverk som vanligen är rullat i kokos eller pärlsocker, som många kallar chokladboll eller kokosboll idag.[the spherical pastry which is normally rolled in shredded coconut or pearl sugar, which many call chocolate ball or shredded-coconut-ball today.]
  3. Palsbo, Susanne (1943). Opfindsomhed i en Krisetid : en Haandfuld Rationeringsopskrifter og aktuelle Husholdningsraad (in Danish). Copenhagen: Nationaltidende. p. 62.
  4. "Negerbollar". Svenska Dagbladet. 8 July 1918. p. 14. Retrieved 20 August 2020. Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  5. "Vi jular gott". Svenska Dagbladet. 14 December 1943. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  6. "'Negro ball' scrapped from Swedish dictionary". The Local. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  7. Page 611 in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket, 2006
  8. "Nu tas "negerboll" och andra kränkande ord bort ur ordlistan" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  9. Page 869 in Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket 2015.
  10. "Negerboll kan kränka enskild". Svenska dagbladet (in Swedish). 24 January 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2017.