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Description
The Bitterbal, a Dutch snack, has an interesting etymology. (etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/bi… )
The word would suggest it is a bitter snack, but the origin is more complicated.
The word 'bitter' in this case refers to the beverage that was served when having this snack: bittertje: a strong alcoholic herbal drink.

A bitterbal is a deep-fried small (meat) ragout ball of about 3 to 5 cm in diameter. It is in fact a small, round version of the meat croquette (another Dutch culinary delicacy), but with a different ratio between crust and ragout. The weight is approx. 20 grams.
The snack is very popular in Belgium and the Netherlands. They are also eaten in Suriname and Indonesia. The bitterbal is hardly known elsewhere.

The bitterbal, often served with mustard, is popular as part of the 'bitter garnish' at receptions and in bars. A bitter garnish consists, apart from bitterballen, of other small warm snacks. The herbal beverage is usually replaced by other drinks, such as beer, nowadays.

In April 2020, the bitterbal was added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Netherlands.

Original Wikipedia article in Dutch:
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitterba…

Listening to the read-out-loud version is more fun!
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia…

Description
The Bitterbal, a Dutch snack, has an interesting etymology. (etymologiebank.nl/trefwoord/bi… )
The word would suggest it is a bitter snack, but the origin is more complicated.
The word 'bitter' in this case refers to the beverage that was served when having this snack: bittertje: a strong alcoholic herbal drink.

A bitterbal is a deep-fried small (meat) ragout ball of about 3 to 5 cm in diameter. It is in fact a small, round version of the meat croquette (another Dutch culinary delicacy), but with a different ratio between crust and ragout. The weight is approx. 20 grams.
The snack is very popular in Belgium and the Netherlands. They are also eaten in Suriname and Indonesia. The bitterbal is hardly known elsewhere.

The bitterbal, often served with mustard, is popular as part of the 'bitter garnish' at receptions and in bars. A bitter garnish consists, apart from bitterballen, of other small warm snacks. The herbal beverage is usually replaced by other drinks, such as beer, nowadays.

In April 2020, the bitterbal was added to the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Netherlands.

Original Wikipedia article in Dutch:
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitterba…

Listening to the read-out-loud version is more fun!
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia…