# Frikandel
A **frikandel** is a skinless, deep-fried snack of finely ground, spiced meat, elongated and rounded in shape, eaten across the Netherlands and Belgium as a snack, usually with fries and sauces such as mayonnaise, ketchup or curry[1](https://anw.ivdnt.org/article/frikadel). In the Netherlands the word now refers almost exclusively to this fried sausage, while in Belgium *frikadel* also serves as a synonym for a meatball (*gehaktbal*), and in Antwerp and Flemish Brabant the sausage itself is usually called *curryworst*, in Limburg sometimes *lange hamburger*[1](https://anw.ivdnt.org/article/frikadel) • [2](https://www.vlaanderen.be/team-taaladvies/taaladviezen/frikadel-frikandel-curryworst). It is distinct from the German *Frikadelle*, a fried meat patty[3](https://www.dwds.de/wb/Frikandel).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Definition | Skinless deep-fried sausage of finely ground spiced meat, sold at snack bars and frozen in supermarkets[1](https://anw.ivdnt.org/article/frikadel) |
| Origin | Launched in 1954 in Dordrecht by butcher's assistant Gerrit de Vries after a change in the Dutch Warenwet barred his meatball from being called 'gehakt'[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/) |
| Modern form | Smooth, skinless stick with an ideal length of 18 centimeters, developed by Jan Bekkers in 1958[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/) • [5](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/best-bites/waarom-heeft-nederland-de-kroket-en-de-frikandel/) |
| Composition | Mainly separated meat (chicken and pork) with water, onions, breadcrumbs, binder and spices[6](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/wat-is-separatorvlees-en-wat-doet-het-in-de-frikandel) • [7](https://frietkaart.be/frietipedia/frikandel/) |
| Consumption | About 600 million eaten per year in the Netherlands, roughly 35 per person[6](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/wat-is-separatorvlees-en-wat-doet-het-in-de-frikandel) |
| Energy | About 250 kcal per 85 g frikandel; a frikandel speciaal adds roughly 100 kcal[7](https://frietkaart.be/frietipedia/frikandel/) |
| Production | Over 90% of long minced-meat sticks are produced in Limburg (Belgium and the Netherlands)[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/) |
## History and etymology
The older word is *frikadel*, from the French *fricadelle*, which means roughly 'minced meat'; Dutch speakers were eating "een moye frickedel", a kind of meatball, four centuries ago[8](https://www.vandale.nl/blogs/taaladvies/wat-is-juist-frikadel-of-frikandel).
The snack itself dates to 1954 in Dordrecht. Gerrit de Vries, a butcher's assistant who sold meatballs to the hospitality trade, had to change his product when the Dutch Warenwet was amended: his meatballs contained so much flour that they could no longer legally be called *gehakt* (minced meat)[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/) • [8](https://www.vandale.nl/blogs/taaladvies/wat-is-juist-frikadel-of-frikandel). He kept the recipe with spices and breadcrumbs, changed the shape to a sausage, and renamed it[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/). The etymological record places the name *frikandel* from the late 1950s, introduced by the snack manufacturer De Vries in Dordrecht for a sausage-shaped snack of minced meat and flour, with the inserted -n- possibly suggested by association with *fricandeau*; dictionaries long rejected the spelling[9](http://www.etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/frikandel).
Who added the -n is disputed. Van Dale attributes the name *frikandel* to De Vries himself in the 1950s[8](https://www.vandale.nl/blogs/taaladvies/wat-is-juist-frikadel-of-frikandel), while KRO-NCRV's food-history account says De Vries named his stick-shaped product *frikadel* in 1954 and that Jan Bekkers added the letter N in 1958, when he smoothed the rough sausage into its current form[5](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/best-bites/waarom-heeft-nederland-de-kroket-en-de-frikandel/). VRT likewise credits Bekkers with the smooth, skinless form, with an ideal length of 18 centimeters[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/). The spelling question was settled only in 2005, when *frikandel* was accepted alongside *frikadel* in the Groene Boekje, the official Dutch spelling guide[8](https://www.vandale.nl/blogs/taaladvies/wat-is-juist-frikadel-of-frikandel).
## Ingredients and production
The modern frikandel consists mainly of *separatorvlees*, [mechanically separated meat](https://www.edgepedia.org/mechanically-separated-meat), typically a mixture of chicken and pork; the consumer program Keuringsdienst van Waarde reports that some producers add about 5% horse meat[6](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/wat-is-separatorvlees-en-wat-doet-het-in-de-frikandel). The specialist Belgian site Frietkaart states that horse meat, once common, has largely disappeared from the major brands[7](https://frietkaart.be/frietipedia/frikandel/); the two accounts differ, and both are cited here. Recipes vary by manufacturer, but generally include finely ground meat, water, onions, breadcrumbs, binder and flavor enhancers[6](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/wat-is-separatorvlees-en-wat-doet-het-in-de-frikandel) • [10](https://www.quest.nl/mens/voeding/a25467925/frikandel-ingredienten-seperatorvlees/).
The characteristic smooth, structureless texture comes from processing: the meat is not minced but worked into a fine emulsion with water and fat bound into a smooth mass[7](https://frietkaart.be/frietipedia/frikandel/). In the factory the mixture is extruded as a stick and cooked[6](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/wat-is-separatorvlees-en-wat-doet-het-in-de-frikandel); the finished snack is deep-fried and has no skin[1](https://anw.ivdnt.org/article/frikadel) • [4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/). Foodwatch has claimed that oversight of the safety of separated meat is insufficient and that its origin is often unclear to shop buyers[6](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/wat-is-separatorvlees-en-wat-doet-het-in-de-frikandel).
## How it is served
The frikandel is deep-fried whole and eaten as a snack, often with fries, and with or without mayonnaise, ketchup, curry or another sauce[1](https://anw.ivdnt.org/article/frikadel). The standard dressed version is the **frikandel speciaal**: the sausage is slit lengthwise and topped with chopped raw onion, mayonnaise and curry sauce[1](https://anw.ivdnt.org/article/frikadel) • [10](https://www.quest.nl/mens/voeding/a25467925/frikandel-ingredienten-seperatorvlees/). The speciaal's sauces and onions raise its saturated fat and salt content above the plain frikandel's[10](https://www.quest.nl/mens/voeding/a25467925/frikandel-ingredienten-seperatorvlees/).
Regional naming tracks the toppings: in Antwerp and Flemish Brabant the snack is usually called *curryworst*, a name heard also in parts of [East Flanders](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-flanders) and Limburg and likely entering via the port of Antwerp[2](https://www.vlaanderen.be/team-taaladvies/taaladviezen/frikadel-frikandel-curryworst) • [4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/). In Germany, where the frikandel is known as imported Dutch fast food, it is sometimes sliced lengthwise and filled with sauce and raw onions, and typically eaten with pommes frites[3](https://www.dwds.de/wb/Frikandel).
## By the numbers
The frikandel is by far the most popular snack in the Netherlands: about 600 million are eaten annually, roughly 35 per person[6](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/wat-is-separatorvlees-en-wat-doet-het-in-de-frikandel). In the mid-1990s it overtook the kroket as the country's most popular snack, a position it still holds[5](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/best-bites/waarom-heeft-nederland-de-kroket-en-de-frikandel/).
A standard frikandel of about 85 grams contains roughly 250 kcal; a frikandel speciaal with mayonnaise, curry ketchup and raw onion adds about another 100 kcal[7](https://frietkaart.be/frietipedia/frikandel/).
## Regulation and naming
There is no legally fixed minimum meat content for a product called 'frikandel', unlike mayonnaise, for which a norm exists; ordinary labeling rules require ingredients to be listed by quantity and separated meat to be named as such[7](https://frietkaart.be/frietipedia/frikandel/). The snack's name itself is a product of regulation: the flour-content requirements of the amended Warenwet are what forced De Vries to stop calling his product *gehakt* and reshape it as a sausage[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/) • [8](https://www.vandale.nl/blogs/taaladvies/wat-is-juist-frikadel-of-frikandel). Since 2005 the spelling *frikandel* is officially accepted[8](https://www.vandale.nl/blogs/taaladvies/wat-is-juist-frikadel-of-frikandel).
## Producers and market
Production is heavily concentrated in Limburg: over 90% of long minced-meat sticks are produced there, by firms including Vanreusel in Hamont-Achel, Beckers, now Goodlife Foods, in Bocholt, and Mora in [Maastricht](https://www.edgepedia.org/maastricht)[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/). Goodlife Foods has produced meat snacks in Bocholt since 1976 and makes more than 1 million frikandellen per day, alongside hamburgers and Mexicano's, for Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and even Spain; Vanreusel turns out about 350 million fried snacks per year, consuming 2,500 kilograms of meat per hour[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/). The frikandel is exported in variants including a halal version to Dubai[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/).
## What has changed since 2023
As of 2024 the frikandel is a globally known product generating billions in revenue, produced mainly from Belgian and Dutch Limburg[4](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/). Nearly every brand now sells a vegetarian frikandel, usually based on soy protein, with ingredients otherwise similar to the meat version[10](https://www.quest.nl/mens/voeding/a25467925/frikandel-ingredienten-seperatorvlees/).
## References
1. [frikadel, Algemeen Nederlands Woordenboek (ANW), Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal](https://anw.ivdnt.org/article/frikadel)
2. [frikadel / frikandel / curryworst, Team Taaladvies, Vlaanderen.be](https://www.vlaanderen.be/team-taaladvies/taaladviezen/frikadel-frikandel-curryworst)
3. [Frikandel, Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache (DWDS), Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences](https://www.dwds.de/wb/Frikandel)
4. [Waarom is Limburg het epicentrum van de frikandel?, VRT NWS, 18 July 2024](https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2024/07/18/mysteries-van-vlaanderen-waarom-is-limburg-het-epicentrum-van/)
5. [Waarom heeft Nederland de kroket en de frikandel?, KRO-NCRV](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/best-bites/waarom-heeft-nederland-de-kroket-en-de-frikandel/)
6. [Wat is separatorvlees? En wat doet het in de frikandel?, KRO-NCRV Keuringsdienst van Waarde](https://kro-ncrv.nl/programmas/keuringsdienst-van-waarde/wat-is-separatorvlees-en-wat-doet-het-in-de-frikandel)
7. [Wat zit er in een frikandel? De waarheid over de bekendste snack, Frietkaart Frietipedia](https://frietkaart.be/frietipedia/frikandel/)
8. [Wat is juist: frikadel of frikandel?, Van Dale taaladvies](https://www.vandale.nl/blogs/taaladvies/wat-is-juist-frikadel-of-frikandel)
9. [frikandel, Etymologiebank.nl](http://www.etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/frikandel)
10. [Wat zit er in een frikandel? Dit zijn de belangrijkste ingrediënten, Quest](https://www.quest.nl/mens/voeding/a25467925/frikandel-ingredienten-seperatorvlees/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Dishes, foods, and foodstuffs › Snacks, finger foods, and street-food dishes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license