Last week, Sweden’s official Twitter account tweeted out a brief but momentous statement: “Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century. Let’s stick to the facts!”
The revelation provoked strong reactions. Along with pop music and clean, minimalist design, tasty meatballs slathered in gravy and lingonberry jelly seem as Swedish as the blue-and-yellow flag. But there’s a very strong case for this counterintuitive origin story: The Swedish dish now enjoyed worldwide likely traces back to the travails of Swedish King Charles XII, who spent years in the Ottoman Empire (which included modern-day Turkey).
Charles XII was an unlikely food ambassador, to say the least. After gaining the throne in 1705 at the age of 15, he cared little for the good things in life. Instead, he was laser-focused on defending the borders of his inherited empire. After defeating the joined kingdoms of Denmark-Norway and Saxony-Poland-Lithuania, he turned his attention toward Russia and achieving a decisive victory over his enemies. Voltaire dubbed him “the Lion of the North,” and others called him “the Swedish Meteor” for his skillful warmongering. But how did the Swedish Meteor introduce the Swedish meatball?
The meteor, as it happened, fizzled. In 1708, Charles XII decided to make what is now considered a military misstep: invading Russia. After Russian forces destroyed his troops at the battle of Poltava in 1709, Charles fled to the Ottoman Empire, another enemy of Russia. Settling with 1,000 men in what is now Moldova, he spent five years shuttling around the Empire, including Constantinople. In 1710, he convinced Sultan Ahmed III to declare war on Russia.
Though Charles was champing at the bit to get back to Sweden, it’s said he and his men gained a taste for Ottoman Turk cuisine, such as sherbet and what’s now known as Turkish coffee. Voltaire even wrote that a Russian-paid assassin tried to slip poison in Charles’s coffee. While the Swedish government didn’t specify which recipe Charles XII liked so much, the king and his followers likely encountered köfte, the spiced lamb and beef meatballs of Turkish cuisine.
Though the Ottoman Empire initially paid for all of Charles’s expenses, he finally wore out his welcome and returned to Sweden in 1714. Four years later, he was shot through the head at age 36 after trying to invade Denmark once more. A recipe for kötbullar, or Swedish meatballs, first appeared in print a few decades later—in Guide to Housekeeping for Young Women by the cook Cajsa Warg. Warg worked for a family that had been close to the unlucky king, and her book also contained the first recipe for the dolma-like stuffed cabbage kåldolmar. Swedish historians are clear that kåldolmar, which is now a Swedish staple, derived from Ottoman cuisine, and generally believe the same is true of Swedish meatballs and the country’s coffee obsession.
Though Sweden’s coffee, kåldolmar, and kötbullar all have roots in warfare and foreign exile, they are now comforting touchstones of Swedish cuisine (and of trips to IKEA). Charles XII was even said to have enjoyed his meatballs with a cup of coffee. But most of us will stick with the lingonberries.
According to food historian and author Rachel Laudan, the origins of Swedish meatballs can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire, where they were known as "köfte." These meatballs, which were made with a mixture of ground lamb and a variety of aromatic spices, were a popular food item in the Ottoman Empire and were ...
Is it actually true that Swedish meatballs came from Turkey and the Swedish King Charles brought the food to Sweden? Not really, no.It's the cabbage roll.
As he brought back various culinary influences from his travels, the recipe found its roots in the Ottoman “köfte.” This cultural exchange between the two empires laid the foundation for what would become one of the most beloved Swedish dishes.
IKEA made them famous around the world: Köttbullar, the national dish of Sweden. Surprisingly, in 2018, Sweden revealed Turkey as its origin. In the 18th century, King Charles XII fell in love with Turkish meatballs and introduced them to his home country.
While both varieties include ingredients such as grated onion and panade (milk-soaked bread) or bread crumbs, plus the usual salt and pepper, Swedish meatballs traditionally use spices like allspice, nutmeg, white pepper, and sometimes ground ginger as flavoring.
Swedish historians are clear that kåldolmar, which is now a Swedish staple, derived from Ottoman cuisine, and generally believe the same is true of Swedish meatballs and the country's coffee obsession.
Sweden has now revealed that the recipe for its iconic dish actually came from Turkey. It was brought to the Scandinavian country by King Charles XII, who lived in exile in the Ottoman Empire in the early 18th-century. Unlike in Turkey, Swedes — and Ikea — often dish up meatballs with gravy and ligonberry jam.
The most likely candidate for the original meatball seems to be kofta, a dish of minced or ground beef, chicken, pork, or lamb, mixed with rice, bulgur, or mashed lentils. Now typically fashioned into cigar-sized cylinders, kofta seems to have originated with the Persians, who passed it to the Arabs.
LONDON — The furniture giant Ikea joined a growing list of brands that have been touched by Europe's food scandal on Monday and withdrew its signature Swedish meatballs from its markets and cafeterias across most of Europe after one batch was found to contain traces of horse meat.
If you're wondering what's so special about Swedish Meatballs, or what they taste like, close your eyes and imagine this: incredibly soft meatballs, made extra juicy by using a combination of both pork and beef and soaked bread instead of breadcrumbs, lightly spiced with just a touch of nutmeg and all spice that gives ...
"Finnish meatballs are meatier and bigger than Swedish meatballs. They are also served with lingonberry jam and boiled/mashed potatoes, and a gravy, but they are juicier and yummier.
The first meatballs likely originated in the Middle East or Asia, where people mixed ground meat with spices, herbs, and grains to create a hearty and nutritious meal.
How a classic came to be. With more than one billion sold globally every year, what goes into making the world's most famous meatball? Take a trip back to 1985, to where it all began.
Jan 28, 2021 – While there's no denying the universal appeal of Spaghetti and Meatballs, the dish is not actually Italian, but was an innovation of Italian immigrants who came to America, primarily to New York City, from 1880 to 1920.
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