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IKEA Finds A Way To Finally Claim Meatballs As A Swedish National Dish
By Izza Sofia, 15 Mar 2021
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Image via IKEA UAE
Previously, Sweden’s official Twitter account declared that Swedish meatballs weren’t Swedish at all.
It explained that they were originally from Turkey, and King Charles XII sneaked it over to Sweden in the 18th century, where it quickly became a national delight.
The confessions stirred the foodie world a bit, with Grub Street calling it “the greatest food scandal to rock the international community since Starbucks stole the Unicorn Latte.”
However, IKEA remained mum throughout the whole controversy. Until now.
The brand recently released a tweet reclaiming the Swedish meatball for its country. However, this time, it is a plant-based product developed straight from Sweden by IKEA’s “100-percent Swedish” chef Alexander Magnusson.
Continuing the theme of geographic exchange, IKEA’s UAE counterpart teamed up with Memac Ogilvy Dubai to spread the message of Swedish pride.
The plant-based meatballs are made with yellow pea protein, oats, potatoes, onion and apple. According to Memac Ogilvy, IKEA did not address the non-Swedish meatball issue as “they were waiting to have facts to reply with.”
🚨 NEW FACTS: Our new plant-based meatballs, with the same taste and texture as the regular ones, have been created by our chef Alex Magnusson (100% Swedish) in the early 21st century. Let's stick to these facts now!
— IKEA UAE (@IKEAUAE) March 9, 2021
(We can discuss later your regular meatballs fact)
😅 🇸🇪 😄 pic.twitter.com/7Hoj57kpE2
[via Memac Ogilvy, cover image via IKEA UAE]
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