Bulette

English translation: meatball

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	Bulette
English translation:	meatball
Entered by:	urschrei

13:15 Sep 29, 2009

German to English translations [PRO]
Cooking / Culinary

German term or phrase: Bulette

On a restaurant menu. Considering: meatball(s), frikadeller, and perhaps leaving it in the original.

urschrei KudoZ activity Questions: 8 (none open) Answers: 0
Local time: 18:10

meat ball

Explanation:
Bulette is obviously of French origin and used only regionally in Germany (dialect). So you better use the English version (maybe you want to use Bulette in brackets. You can also use "rissole".

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Note added at 16 Min. (2009-09-29 13:31:22 GMT)
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Rissole - to explain the word - is a mixture of minced cooked meat (whichever meat) coated in egg and breadcrumbs and fried.

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Note added at 1 Stunde (2009-09-29 14:57:34 GMT)
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Ooookay ... our Buletten are not really "coated in" egg and breadcrumbs - usually the meat is "mixed with" egg and breadcrumbs and then fried. I would definitely use meat balls because rissole is an expression mainly used by chefs etc and the average guest wouldn't know what's behind that expression. Although ... if it's a very exquisite restaurant ...
Buletten is mainly used in Northeast Germany (Berlin-Brandenburg area).

Selected response from:

Anne-Katrin Grube
Germany
Local time: 19:10

Grading comment

Thanks, this seems the most sensible answer.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +3

meat ball

Anne-Katrin Grube

4 +3

frikadelle / frikadeller

Tom Tyson

5 +1

Pan-fried beef patty

bhpirch

Meat Patty

vptrans

3 +1

rissole

Sarah Bessioud

so lassen: Bulette, a giant Berlin-style meat ball

Annett Brown, MBA, CT

burger

Vere Barzilai

Meat patty

vptrans

homemade beefburger

Sonja Marks-Terrey

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

7 mins confidence:

homemade beefburger

Explanation:
The Buletten I know are homemade beefburgers (admittedly a bit rounder but not as round as a meatball and certainly bigger). Obviously this doesn't work if they are not homemade! But it does get across the rough, rounded shape and texture of what I know as Buletten.

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Note added at 16 mins (2009-09-29 13:32:05 GMT)
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As I thought, my family Buletten are not everyone's Buletten!

Sonja Marks-Terrey
France
Local time: 19:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8
2 corroborated select projects
in this pair and field

43 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

rissole

Explanation:
I would favour the term rissole over meatball, given that scallops are also used here as an ingredient.

How is the menu laid out? If Bulette is a heading with the types of meat listed afterwards I would use rissole as a general term. If the Bulettes are listed independently, I would consider using either rissole or meatball for the meaty versions and 'scallop fishcake' for the scallop variation.

Sarah Bessioud
Germany
Local time: 19:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 60

Notes to answerer

Asker: It's listed both as a heading, and the dishes are listed as buletten, e.g. Bulette | Fleisch Bulette von der geschmorten Lammhaxe Bulette von Stopfleber [Other meat dishes]

48 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

Pan-fried beef patty

Explanation:
Bulette (term used mainly in Berlin) or Frikadelle is a home-made pan-fried beef patty.

bhpirch
Local time: 12:10
Native speaker of: German

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

frikadelle / frikadeller

Explanation:
Quite commonly understood in English culinary circles. Some overlap with same-type products from Denmark and S Africa, but they all seem to be the same sort of thing. Not out of place on a restaurant menu at all.

Oh and I've just seen you suggest these yourself, Uschi.

Tom Tyson
Local time: 18:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Andrea Black: This sounds good. It obviously can't be meat ball or beef patty, as the ingredients listed also include other foods.

1 hr

-> Thanks

neutral

Anne-Katrin Grube: frikadelle(r) = meat ball; re your objection to meat ball: frikadelle(r) is made of minced meat too and not of scallops etc

1 hr

-> ? Well I didn't actually object to meatball as such: I do think meat ball implies something in a sauce and to me that's not so much of an association I make with Frikadellen

agree

Sabine Akabayov, PhD

4 hrs

-> Thanks

agree

Gudrun Dauner: Bulette is a regional use, the aequivalent to Frikadelle, Fleischpflanzerl etc. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frikadelle Burger would also be ok and the shape is more like crab cakes - considering the other ingrediens the asker lists here.

10 hrs

-> Thanks

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

meat ball

Anne-Katrin Grube
Germany
Local time: 19:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Thanks, this seems the most sensible answer.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

neutral

Lonnie Legg: Warning re "rissole"--the Buletten I know aren't coated in breadcrumbs...

20 mins

agree

Stuart Dykes: I would prefer meatball over rissole, which usually seem to be covered in pastry or breadcrumbs.

39 mins

agree

Clive Phillips: I came across Buletten while living in Berlin but not in Hannover or Murnau or Stuttgart. Is it not Berlin dialect - like Schusterjunge and Schrippe?

59 mins

agree

Rolf Keiser

1 hr

neutral

Andrea Black: The asker lists "scallops" as one of the versions available, so it's not really a meat ball...?

2 hrs

-> you are right - dependent on the type of ingredients I'd list various options ... re scallops I'd go with Jeux-de-Mots and use scallop fishcakes. The original question was simply "Bulette", and my (previous) answer is based on that.

neutral

BrettMN: "meatball" is one word in English.

1 day 8 hrs

neutral

Annett Brown, MBA, CT: Ein "meatball" (zumindest in den USA) ist viel kleiner als eine Bulette.

1 day 12 hrs

12 hrs confidence:

so lassen: Bulette, a giant Berlin-style meat ball

Explanation:
Der Begriff wurde, genau wie der Muckefuck (d.h. mocca faux = Malzkaffee), von den Hugenotten nach Berlin gebracht und dort "einberlinert". Heute ist die Bulette in Berlin und Umgebung ein Standardgericht. Ein typischer "meat ball" (zumindest in den USA) ist viel kleiner als eine Bulette, und "patties" oder "burgers" sind nicht kugelfoermig.

Annett Brown, MBA, CT
United States
Local time: 12:10
Native speaker of:

German,

English

17 hrs confidence:

burger

Explanation:
plain burger, that`s what I would say :)

Vere Barzilai
Israel
Local time: 20:10
Works in field
Native speaker of:

German
PRO pts in category: 7

2 hrs confidence:

Meat patty

Explanation:
Bulette:
The word-term-bulette is as most posters write a term mostly used in Berlin and Brandenburg! It is not a Hamburger! A Hamburger is thin. A bulette is like a large meatball!
It usually is about 3,5-5,0 thick, and has a diameter of about 8,00- 10,00cm!
It is made out of beef/pork or just pork, with eggs, sautéed onions and breadcrumbs!
For my understanding it is a BEEF PATTY or just MEAT PATTY! Depending on if it is just made out of beef, beef and pork or pork! In most cases it is made out of pork!
That it is pan fried is presupposed! If the patty is deep fat fried, it was precooked and frozen before and not "fresh"-as in homemade!
A meat ball usually has a diameter of 2,5cm ≈1 inch and a bulette is definitely larger!
Link: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulette
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frikadelle

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Note added at 1 day3 hrs (2009-09-30 16:41:00 GMT)
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@ Anne Grube: You are right, there is no regulation on size of meatballs! However, a Fleischklöschen-meat ball, is definitely a small item and a small ball! Usually 2,5 cm (1 inch diameter) – not much larger! Small is relative! A bulette however is a bit larger and not a ball! A ball is round, and a bulette is a different item! As mentioned before, it is about 3,5-5,0 cm thick, and has a diameter of about 8,00- 10,00cm! A bulette is in most cases not round- such a hamburger, but oval in shape! It is not served in a "hamburger-style" with tomatoes, salad, pickels, etc… ! A bulette is thicker! It is usually served with a bun, slice of toast bread or potato salad and mustard! It is not served between two slices of bread-such as a hamburger!
@ asker: The term bulette is for my understanding a generic term! You would most likely not find the term "bulette" in a 3 Star restaurant! In a catering event however, you might find it, and if it was just for show and effect!
Question: What kind of restaurant are you translating for, and what does the original wording look like! Your question is very open! Please more info on original context!

vptrans
Local time: 19:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

German,

English
PRO pts in category: 11

Notes to answerer

Asker: Interesting, but you wouldn't see the term "patty" on a restaurant menu (it's more of a hamburger/fast food-related term, I feel), and, as mentioned above, other types of meat are being used, apart from beef.

7 days confidence:

Meat Patty

Explanation:
I disagree with the term " meat ball"! It is out of context! A meatball as mentioned b-4 has a general height and diameter in general of 2,5 cm (about 1")! And bulette is def. larger than that! It is a "thick hamburger" with a height of about 2,5 cm and a diameter of about 10,00 cm!
A meat ball is a meat ball, and a boulette is def. something else - in this case : a meat patty!

vptrans
Local time: 19:10
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

German,

English
PRO pts in category: 11

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English translation: meatball

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