A few years ago, a food journalist had the audacity to suggest Swedish meatballs weren’t Swedish at all, and had been imported from Turkey. This caused much uproar in Sweden, seeing as a large part of the national identity can be found in a plate of minced meat that’s been rolled into spheres and served alongside mash and a dollop of lingonberry jam. They’re considered to be as Swedish as a little red cottage by the lake, or as the famous furniture store.
The history of the humble meatball is, in fact, more complex than that. And what makes the dish truly special is the way each country adapts it. From Turkey and Italy to Denmark and Finland, that’s largely led by the availability of local minced
