by Darryl Wilkinson
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Well, okay. Here’s the beef.
I realize in this culture of fake news, spontaneous research via the internet, and the zany focus on all things unimportant through social media, nothing should surprise me.
But there I sat, waving my coffee cup over my favorite daily newspaper when I happened to notice a special report originating from the New York Times, no less. The story was tagged, “LONDON: Swedish meatballs, the signature national dish, are really Turkish…”
I also learned that a country — Sweden, in this case — can operate a national Twitter account. According to the news article, that’s how the Swedes decided to right an eternal wrong, come clean, and admit in a tweet that Swedish meatballs have no meat.
Here’s what I learned: Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century. And in the world of “get real,” this has actually become a big deal.
Turks rejoiced. Playful banter on social media spiked. Some Turks urged the name to be changed to the Turkish name, “kofte.”
The Turkish media called the Swedish tweet a “confession” and suggested that Charles, who reigned from 1697 to 1718 and spent some years in exile in the Ottoman Empire early in the 18th century, took Turkish products back to Sweden — including coffee beans and stuffed cabbage.
According to the report, the private Turkish news agency Dogan went to the city of Inegol in northwestern Turkey for reaction (by this I learned Inegol is famous for its meatballs). A chef at a local meatball restaurant there kept it simple, merely saying “It is an honor that these tastes have become an example to different cuisines all over the world.”
But if this correction on meatballs means so much to the Swedes, what does it mean for Ikea?
The Swedish furniture giant has long made Swedish meatballs a staple of its cafeterias in stores worldwide — 2 million meatballs are consumed there around the globe each day! Even in Turkey, families flock to Ikea on weekends to eat “Swedish” meatballs on the cheap: A portion of eight meatballs with sides of fries and vegetables costs about $1.60.
Before digesting all this, let’s be clear: There are distinctions between meatballs. Turkish meatballs are made with a combination of ground beef, ground lamb, onions, eggs, bread crumbs and parsley. The current version of Swedish meatballs may contain pork and is usually served with gravy.
The controversy actually made me realize how little I know about the little Nordic country called Sweden. I knew where it lies on the globe; I’ve watched movies about WWII Swedish commandos fighting the Nazis. I once liked listening to the music of Abba. And I still like meatballs. But I guess we must scratch the “Swedish” misnomer, in the name of transparent accuracy.
Besides, the best meatballs are really just beef meatloaf rolled up into balls with a catsup sauce that my wife, Liz, cooks up and serves. So, forget all the silliness. When you’re eating “American” meatballs, life is good!