Making meatballs from scratch takes time: chop the onion, garlic and parsley, mix them with the minced meat mixture and bread soaked in milk, make balls, fry the meatballs after dredging them in flour, make a sauce to accompany them, maybe a little rice... Sometimes it is easy to fall into the temptation of buying pre-cooked ones, although it is clear that they do not taste like the homemade ones.
To choose the best ones in the supermarket, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has analyzed pre-cooked meatballs for sale in large stores, in individual containers and refrigerated. The experts of this organization have reviewed the labeling, nutritional composition, the presence of additives and the degree of processing to score the products of the analysis, and, in addition, a panel of chefs has made a gastronomic evaluation.
The sample analyzed the stewed meatballs from Eroski and Hacendado (Mercadona), the meatballs in sauce from the Emcesa brand, the meatballs with potatoes from Carrefour, the meatballs with tomato and potatoes from Dia al punto, and the meatballs with rice pilaf. from El Corte Inglés.
The first thing that the organization has observed is that most meatballs contain an average of 270 grams of product, and that they provide an average of 168 kcal per 100 grams (about 460 kcal per container). "It is insufficient for a single dish if it is not accompanied by a garnish," they point out from the OCU.
While the fat values are adequate, there are quite a few differences in relation to carbohydrates, depending on whether the dish includes other foods such as rice and potatoes. "Different data are also observed in sugar, between the 0 declared by Eroski and the 8.9 g/100 g of Carrefour," they add. The product with the most protein is Emcesa meatballs.
Of course, salt is added in "exaggerated amounts" in all the products in the analysis. These dishes contain 3.6 g per container, so they do not help to respect the daily limit of salt consumption, which is 5 grams. In the case of Carrefour meatballs, with 5 g of salt in a single container, it is already enough. As they are very salty dishes, they would not be recommended for hypertensive people.
The pre-cooked meatballs of the brands mentioned also contain many additives, such as colourings, flavourings, lecithins, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, paprika extracts, dextrose, maltodextrin, modified starch, guar gum and glutamate. Only one, Dia's meatballs with tomato and potatoes, does not incorporate them. And, in fact, they are the ones that the OCU panel of experts liked the most for their flavor and that have obtained the best score.
For this evaluation, the quality of the minced meat has been decisive, they explain. While the best meatballs (Dia and Eroski) use one of acceptable quality, the worst in tasting (Carrefour, Emcesa and El Corte Inglés) use another full of threads and threads and with little flavor. "In general, the sauces are tastier, but the potatoes in some dishes are stale," concludes the organization, which recommends using this type of product very occasionally.
