Facts about Meatballs

DID YOU KNOW that Meatballs are one of the most popular foods in the world? Some people say that it’s tradicional and classic Italian food. What do you think?

Lets check some facts about MEATBALLS

1. Nobody knows where the first Meatball was made.

Some historians think that all started in Italy, but others believe that the first meatballs were made in Persia.

2. Meatballs were born of necessity.

The truth about meatballs is that they are a clever way to dress up tough cuts of meat. Meatballs also use up stale bread, which extends the meat portion of the recipe. And so, the meatball was traditionally a great way to stretch ingredients and serve a hungry family.

3. Every culture has a meatball.

You may be most familiar with the Italian-American version of the dish, but there are also Swedish köttbullar, Spanish albondigas, Dutch bitterballen, Greek keftedes, South African skilpedjies, and from India through the Middle East, kofta. These are just a few examples of the widespread popularity of meatballs, which are often made with lamb, pork and other meats.

In Italy, prosciutto and Parmesan cheese go into the mix, while in Middle Eastern countries, where meatballs are called kofta, the dish contains onions and spices such as cinnamon, cumin, mace and coriander. Swedish meatballs, rich with the flavour of onions, allspice and a dash of cloves, are typically made with a mixture of pork and beef and served in a white or brown cream sauce, often with a generous sprinkling of fresh dill.

4. Meatballs appear in a variety of dishes.

From sweet and sour stir-fries to meatball sub sandwiches. They work in soups ranging from a simple vegetable broth to a Spanish version spiced with chiles and seasoned with cumin. And small meatballs are the right size for party appetizers, perhaps with an Asian-inspired soy dipping sauce or a Turkish-style sauce made with yoghurt and pomegranate molasses.

5. The World’s Largest Meatball was made in South Carolina.

The Italian-American Club of Hilton Head Island, SC, took the record in November of 2017 with a massive 1757 pound meatball that took a year of planning to create. Special equipment had to be custom-made and it took a week to cook the meatball, and Guinness World Records was there to make it official. Most of the staggering meatball went to local programs to feed the hungry.

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