Famous Foods – Where Did They Come From?

​Food comes from all over the world. I picked three classic dishes for this post. Can you guess where they came from?

Part 1 – Swedish Meatballs
​
Where did they come from?
Sweden looks like the logical answer, but is it?

Italy       Sweden       Turkey     Norway

Take a look at the map. Then choose the right answer.

---

                                                                              And the answer is . . .  Turkey!

I know! I missed it too. In 2018 Sweden’s official Twitter account said that “Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century.” That always confuses me. Early 18th century – that really means the early 1700’s, when America was still a British colony.

The meatballs came from Turkish ‘kofte.’ You start with ground beef, lamb, chicken or pork. Mix in some onions and a few spices, and you have kofte. But the Swedes needed a little more flavor – so they added gravy! Everything’s better with gravy!
​
King Charles didn’t stop with those meatballs. He brought home Turkish stuffed cabbages and coffee too. Now coffee’s so popular that Sweden is one of the top coffee-drinking countries in the world. 

This is how the Swedes eat their meatballs – with mashed potatoes, brown sauce, lingonberry jam, and pickled cucumbers, AKA pickles.
​

Photo Source:
By Steffen Wurzel - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0,
​https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1102735
​
 Information Sources:
The Telegraph | Date Updated: June 17, 2020
https://www.traveltrivia.com/answer/where-did-swedish-meatballs-originate/XupMYPYObSFJCTQK

​

​Part 2 – Coleslaw

​​Coleslaw
Where did it come from?
Italy     Holland      Turkey    Germany
Take a look at the map. Then choose the right answer.

​                                                                                And the answer is . . .  Holland!

Coleslaw came from Holland, AKA the Netherlands. It’s two Dutch words, combined. Kool is cabbage, and sla is their abbreviation for salade.

Dutch settlers brought cabbage to New Amsterdam in the 1600’s. It didn’t exist in the New World so the Dutch started growing cabbages along the Hudson River. When they made coleslaw, they drenched it in melted butter and vinegar. Later the British took over the city. They renamed it New York, but they kept the Dutch coleslaw.
​
Coleslaw was on the table in Ancient Rome. They soaked it in vinegar before they ate it. As their Empire spread, so did their cabbage salad, to places like Germany, where they decided to add sour cream to some of their cabbage recipes. 
​​

​Coleslaw is part of restaurant platters from sea to shining sea, but with a small change in the recipe that came from Richard Hellman. He owned a deli in New York, and he bottled mayonnaise.  Would you believe his company is still making it for you today?        
​                                                                                             
This question came from one of my trivia sites, but I forgot to copy the address. They got the idea for this question from . . . www.wikipedia.org   

​​

Part 3 – Black Forest Cak

Black Forest Cake
Where did it come from? Where is The Black Forest?
Germany        France        Romania        Bulgaria
Take a look at the map. Then choose the right answer.

There’s only one Black Forest in the world. I was sure there had to be more, but I googled . . . There’s only one! It’s in the southwestern part of Germany in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg. It’s also Germany’s largest continuous forest.

The Germans call their cake schwarzwälder kirschtorte, and I’m glad I only have to spell it. But I can write that it’s made with layers of chocolate sponge cake, dark cherries, and whipped cream.

​Sponge cake is dry, but you soak this one in Kirschwasser or kirsch. That’s a special kind of brandy bottled only in the Black Forest. Don’t put any other kind in your cake if you’re in Germany or the European Union. It’s been against the law since 2013. Use cherry juice if you want it without alcohol, but whatever you do, don’t call it Black Forest Cake in Europe.

PS – if you want to make Black Forest cake, go to the link for Britannica. It has a video and text with the directions included.
​
Sources:  Britannica                                                     Black Forest gateau - Wikipedia                                                 
https://www.traveltrivia.com/answer/where-did-black-forest-cake-originate/YZKS6XCprcEU2Kxs