Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 
From: dandmf@tricon.net (David and Maureen Fagerburg)
Subject: Swedish meatball recipe

Hi fellow Swede listers,
My wife is right now preparing a batch of Swedish meatballs from a receipe that my grandmother had and she wondered how authentic the receipe was. I, of course, said it must be because my grandmother was a first generation American. Then I got to thinking, maybe it might not quite be, so I thought I'd pose the question to the list as a way of determining autheticity. The basic receipe is a mixture of equal parts of ground beef, ground pork and ground veal, then there are breadcrumbs, milk, eggs, butter, some chopped onion and pepper, salt and allspice. The balls are first fried in butter until brown and then cooked in boiling water. What do you folks think? Thanks in advance.

Date:Fri, 17 Apr 1998 
From: Lil Judd <knytt@earthlink.net>

Well David: As a 100% Swede living in the US since 16 years........ According to any recipe I've ever used and from what I was taught in Hemkunskap, a Swedish subject where kids learn to cook as well as some other basic household skills......

I would say your recipe is pretty good, however, none of the books nor recipes I've ever used mixes all three kinds of meat. As a matter of fact, I have no recipe which includes ground veal. But as far as I'm concerned that really doesn't have to matter since there are recipes which only use ground beef and no ground pork. Nor do I use any Allspice, have no recipe requesting it. And I do not boil my meatballs. I fry them on a low heat until done, then if I'm lucky (husband and daughter eat them very fast if left alone) I'll be able to freeze some of them. Easy to heat up, just turn on the oven.

But please remember, there are many different recipes for meatballs. Who's to say what is right. Even chefs have their own little changes within the recipe.If this is the way you like them - just keep making them that way. That's your family recipe if nothing else. :-) Just enjoy your meatballs!

Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1998 
From: Georgia Gerritsen <73531.417@compuserve.com>

The ingredients sound the same as my grandmother's. I have never heard of boiling them in water. I don't fry them in butter, for simplicity's sake, I place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the oven. much less work and does eliminate some of the grease. What do you think? Would my grandmother be ashamed of me?

Date:Fri, 17 Apr 1998 
From: Lil Judd <knytt@earthlink.net>

Georgia: I seriously doubt your grandmother would be ashamed of you. By what we know today I'd say you're very smart to pull down on the fat in the meatballs. I would also say you probably have a far easier time keeping them round than when I fry them in a pan. And again, I don't boil them, no ground veal, and no Allspice.

Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 
From: Lynn Brod <LynnMBRN@aol.com>

David: this is the way I was taught to make the Swedish meatballs from my grandmother. Except I have never boiled them after frying in butter? What is the purpose in that? Makes my mouth water thinking about them. Guess I will need to make a batch this weekend now!

Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 
From: "Alexander Backlund" <alexander.backlund@mailbox.hogia.net>

Boiling them?

Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 
From: susan larsson <slarsson@ncia.com>

>>Would my grandmother be ashamed of me?

>Yes! :) [replied Alexander Backlund]
>
oh, come on:) - i learned that trick when i lived in sweden 25 years ago. it wasn't the 'right' way, but it was offered as a 'shortcut'. personally, i never thought they tasted as good.

Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 
From: susan larsson <slarsson@ncia.com>

on the great swedish meatball controversy (personally, i observed my mother-in-law for my excellent recipe:-) - those who boil meatballs probably are influenced by the danish frikadeller, which are boiled. i always finish my meatballs off after sautéing in a sauce, slightly tomato based, which imho makes them better.

as far as the meat mixture - in sweden, meat is expensive, and you can buy ground beef (expensive), ground pork (cheaper) or 'blandfärs' - a mixture of pork and beef which is priced in the middle. most recipes using ground meat in standard fare use the mixture. never did see ground veal in sweden, or much in the way of veal at all. 

Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 
From: Lil Judd <knytt@earthlink.net>

Yes, meat is very expensive in Sweden, and veal even more so. To ground it up would probably be considered not too smart if you have to pay so much for it per kilo.Lil

Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 
From: "Alexander Backlund" <alexander.backlund@mailbox.hogia.net>

> Lil commented, "none of the books nor recipes I've ever used mixes all three kinds of meat." Someone else added, "The swedish meatball recipe in _The New York Times CookBook_ includes all three, but in different proportions. Since I *assumed* that the mixing of meats was originally a poverty thing (whatever edible meat remaining in the house was thrown into the mixing bowl), I haven't followed that step exactly. Anyway, nobody mentioned finishing them in a cream sauce (which the NYT c.b. does); is that regional, or just plain bogus?"

Sometimes you do that. It makes the sauce taste better.

Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 
From: Lil Judd <knytt@earthlink.net>

I'm using Swedish cookbooks in Swedish. So to use a common comment from many of my American friends "consider the source". Not saying anything bad, but I would think a Swedish cookbook from Swedish would be a better source. But, like I said in previous posts, whatever you feel tastes better I think you should go with.

As for the poverty thing, it may well be a part of it, but my mother says it has to do with the taste. There are recipes for better, let's call them "party meatballs", and for regular everyday meatballs.

As for the sauce...... Well that's a taste thing. I'm used to seeing a brown sauce, in which cream is added. I white, or cream colored sauce, is probably slightly less common. Based on my personal experience. Personally I want my meatballs with Heinz ketchup. ;-) Lil

Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 
From: Karl Jacobson <swedecj@vcnet.com>

For the meatball fans on the list:

Tore Wretman, a widely recognized authority on Swedish "husmanskost," included without comment the following personal recipe in his cookbook "Svensk Husmanskost" (ISBN 91-37-08274-4). IIt is an interesting 300 page collection on basic Swedish dishes with his personal comments and historic notations. Published in Swedish only, as far as I know.

Meatballs

2 hg (7 oz) Ground beef
1 hg (3.5 oz) Ground pork - not too lean
1 hg (3.5 oz) Ground veal
2 dl (7 oz) Cream
1 dl (3.5 oz) Bread crumbs
1 Egg
1/2 Yellow onion - finely chopped

Soak bread crumbs in the cream and brown the onion lightly in butter. Mix all the ingredients to a smooth paste, with a wood spoon, until the meat fat starts coating the spoon. Add ground
pepper (white) and salt to taste.

Fry a couple of small meatballs in brown butter and taste. When satisfied, roll and fry the rest. Wretman suggests to make them the size of table-tennis balls for dinner, the size of walnuts for
the "smörgåsbord." 

Don't put too many meatballs in the frying pan at one time and fry them pleasantly brown, in ample butter, until done (sizzling dissipates). Put finished meatballs in a pot and cook out the frying pan with a little water, and reserve, between each "round." After the meatballs are all fried, powder the pan with flour. Return the reserved panfry-juices and make a gravy to taste. A
dash, or two, of Soy Sauce is helpful.

The measurement conversions are by me. Also, I ignore the veal, use 10 oz of beef with 4 oz of pork and ground the meat myself so that I know what I have. Meatballs are usually served with boiled or mashed potatoes and lingonberry preserves. Boiled carrots fit in nicely, for me, as well.

Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 
From: Curt Carlson <curt.carlson@ibm.net>

Hej alla,
Regarding the meat used in köttbullar: I've always used a mixture of beef, pork and veal - mostly because Lund's, on of the local grocery chains, sells a meatloaf mixture which becomes, by virtue of an extra pass through the grinder, Swedish meatball mixture around Christmas. The butcher will regrind it special any time if you ask. It also makes for a dynamite köttfärslimpa.

In fact, the cookbook that I first used to find methods for many Swedish dishes, one given to me by my mother many years ago (long before I cared), is called simply Swedish Food, published by Esselte in 1951, and its recipe for köttbullar calls for EITHER 1/2 ground beef and 1/4 each pork and veal OR 1/2 beef and 1/2 pork. My mother-in-law has made a family recipe of meatballs from plain ground beef, but with all humility I prefer my own.

I have also (once) tried the oven, and while this method may be less messy and less greasy, it also is less flavorful, in my experience. My good old Swedish cast-iron skillet works best.

Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 
From: dandmf@tricon.net (David and Maureen Fagerburg)

Hi all!

Just a short note to say thanks to everyone who has commented on my original question on the meatball receipe. I have really enjoyed the responses. My wife, by the way, pointed out that the "boiling in water" part was not strictly accurate. What my grandmother explained to her when she gave her the receipe was to add a cup of water to the pan and cover it and cook the meatballs that way. By the way, they WERE really good. Never seem to last very long around here. My grandmother's parents were from Skåne and were both from farming backgrounds so all of the comments in that vein just helped me understand the origin of the food itself.

By the way, while I am in the process of thanking for these replies, I really should add a belated thanks to the whole list, not just for being a generally agreeable list, but also for inspiring in me the confidence and also mentioning emmigration records. I used that info and confidence that I could actually make sense of the Swedish records to finally be able to find my grandmother's mother's emmigration record from Malmo (same grandmother with the meatball receipe). Without this list, I would not have tried as my Swedish is limited to what is in a dictionary and what is cognated to German. So, thanks Swede-listers!

Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 
From: Ssasiela <Ssasiela@aol.com>

My Swedish mother used a recipe she got from her mother. It was called kaldoma (spelling???). It was essentially a meatball. But I think it had rice added to it. The important difference was that it was wrapped in cabbage leaves. Strangely, I don't like cabbage, but these "meatballs" were especially good because of being cooked in cabbage. I just ate the meat, not the cabbage. Maybe they just put a "traditional" Swedish meatball in the cabbage. Maybe not. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing. I never have encountered it elsewhere - unfortunately. David S.

Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 
From: "Alexander Backlund" <alexander.backlund@mailbox.hogia.net>

The dish to which you are refering is "kåldolmar". If my memory serves me, they originally came from Turkey in the 18th century, when Charles XII (Karl XII) was there. Anyhow, they used vine-leaves, which we do not have in Sweden.