Oatmeal ball
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Chokladboll (literally "chocolate ball") is a popular Swedish pastry.
The chokladboll is usually slightly smaller than a golfball. The chokladboll consists of oatmeal, sugar, coffee, cocoa, butter, and sometimes a pinch of vanilla sugar, which is mixed to a compact mass. Balls are formed and then rolled in nib sugar, shredded coconut, or sprinkles. Chokladboll can be eaten immediately, but it is usually first placed in the refrigerator for about an hour or in the freezer for those who prefer a harder variety. Because of its simple recipe, it can be quickly made by anyone and is popular at children's parties and as homemade candy.
Name
The traditional name for the pastry is negerboll ("negro ball"), and was coined in an era when there were virtually no people of Sub-Saharan African descent (see Black people) in Sweden. Due to its arguably offensive character by contemporary standards, the name has fallen out of favor in cooking books, for example. It is still in use in less formal circumstances though, and whether or not the word negerboll should be used has been a subject of debate in news papers and Internet blogs. The word neger was considered neutral a few decades ago but has become controversial and today it is recommended to use other words if you have to describe someone's skin-color. (This could be compared to the English equivalent negro.) Since the word neger is no longer considered a neutral word[1] many people feel that the word negerboll is not appropriate. The most common alternative is "chokladboll", although it could be considered misleading because the pastry does not contain any chocolate (though it does contain cocoa). In the Gothenburg area the version with shredded coconut on it is called kokosboll ("coconut ball"), which is even more misleading since that is already the name of a completely different gelatin-based pastry and also because not all chocolate balls contain coconut, as nib sugar is often used instead of coconut. Yet another name is "havreboll" (oatmeal ball), although this is mostly used for a variant that contains minor amounts of or no cocoa at all. A popular producer of the pastry, Delicato, have chosen to call it "Delicatoboll".
In 2003, a bakery owner from Sjöbo was reported to the Swedish Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination for using the word "negerbollar" on a sign in her bakery shop. However, the case was dismissed since the woman reporting it did not consider herself personally insulted.[2]
The word chokladboll was first added to the Swedish Academy's dictionary in 2006, before it was only to be found under negerboll.[3] Nowadays you can find the pastry under both names but with the addition "rather use chokladboll" to the negerboll entry.
References
- ^ Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket, 2006
- ^ Negerboll är kränkande men skånskt konditori slipper skadestånd, Sydsvenskan.se.
- ^ Svenska Akademiens ordlista över svenska språket, 2006
See also
Similar sweets exist around the world.
External links
