And there are surprising stories of how these timeless meals came to B.

E.

When you think of Sweden, what comes to mind?

Ikea, ABBA.

Maybe those delicious cinnamon rolls.

But what about these Swedish meatballs, right?

Well, maybe not.

Welcome to the meatball mystery.

Let's cut straight to the chase.

It's hard to make the Swedes angry, but on one fateful day something happened that fired up the whole country.

This'll tweet was sent from the official Sweden Twitter account.

Swedish meatballs, actually, based on a recipe from King Charles, 12 brought back from Turkey in the early 18th century.

Let's stick to the fax.

Yeah, thanks.

Did you catch that?

The tweet said that Swedish meatballs actually come from Turkey.

As you can imagine, the tweet went viral.

Swedes were up in arms.

It was picked up all around the world.

The Swedish government has admitted Swedish meatballs are actually Turkish.

What?

What?

No, that's not effect.

The facts is really interesting.

Since we don't have any facts from that period.

Wait.

Who are you?

My name is Richard.

I'm a food historian.

Okay, here's what we know.

In the 17 hundreds, Swedish King Charles the 12th, lost a battle in the Great Northern War.

He was forced to flee to the Ottoman Empire, where for several years he negotiated his return.

The controversial tweet suggested that he brought back a local Turkish meat dish called Coughed er's.

However, there is no documented interest from him in food, no mentioning off the meatballs there they are not Turkish because we can't follow the original meatballs in the world.

There is no zero meatball where everything started, most likely already in often meatball ISS development in parallel ways in parallel food cultures.

Therefore, meatballs are very different all of the world, but they exist all over the world today.

It's one of Sweden's most popular dishes, traditionally served with mashed potatoes, brown gravy and a sweet lingonberry sauce.

Hmm.

Food gives us an example of how we are connected when it comes to culture.

Food is the sort off cultural network.

So take pride in your meatball Sweden and social Turkey, China, Italy and every meat ball rolling country.

Because if there's one thing the world can agree on, is that meatballs are delicious.

Mhm, mhm fondue.

It's this thing we do with cheese.

We melt it.

We dip it, we eat it.

In the seventies, it became super popular, but that didn't just happen.

By chance, there was an ominous force behind it.

A really life cheese cartel.

100 years ago, cheese was a hot commodity in Switzerland.

It was exported at high volumes and played a major role in the Swiss economy.

But that all changed after World War One.

European countries devastated by the war could no longer afford to buy expensive imported cheese, which was bad news for Switzerland.

So the government stepped in and they formed the cheese union.

Basically, it was a cartel, and it worked like this.

The first thing they did was forced every dairy farmer and cheese monger to fix the price of cheese, eliminating competition, meaning everyone could stay in the game.

The cheese cartel also told them exactly how much cheese to make and limited the varieties.

So instead of making thousands of different kinds of cheese, they only made seven, and it worked.

The cartel controlled the cheese supply for decades.

By the seventies, they got greedy and wanted to expand their cheese racket globally.

So they introduced the world to a dish already popular in the freezing cold Alps fondue.

By marketing cheese for fondue, the cartel was able to sell more.

I mean, think about it.

It takes a lot, and I mean ah lot of cheese to fill a pot.

But as with most cartels, things got shady.

Money went missing, people went to jail, and by the 19 nineties, the Swiss Cheese Union was dismantled.

So there you have it.

The reason we know and love fondue is because of a shady government program that convinced the world to consume massive amounts of melted cheese.

Whether you're in it for the bottomless mimosas, the decadent pancakes or the avocado toast, brunch is hands down the best part of the weekend while enjoying the finer things in life.

Did you ever stop to think about how this glorious eating tradition began?

Well, it all started with a man, a man with a hangover.

Back in 18 95 there was this guy named 12 guy, and he was a writer living in England at that time.

Sundays were a big deal, and early post church meat heavy meals were all the rage.

But for those nursing a hangover and recovering from the previous night's debauchery, those meals weren't always appetizing.

So Guy proposed a compromise and penned a prolific essay, appropriately named brunch.

A plea.

He envisioned a hybrid meal of sorts that was lighter than the typical meat spread and included a variety of pastries.

Friends could gossip about the previous night's indiscretions while chasing their hangovers with some hair of the dog.

But the delicious British invention took what seems like forever 30 years to catch on in the States when it did Sunday morning never looked the same again.

So the next time you're enjoying a French toast, chased by a bloody Mary, take a second to thank the hard drinking Englishmen by the name of guy.

When you think of Japanese cuisine, a few foods come to mind sushi.

Did you know that salmon sushi is actually Norwegian?

Yeah, we did a story on that one.

Maybe you think of mochi.

We did that one too, on tempura.

But guess what?

Tempura is actually a Portuguese dish.

Oh, boy.

Here we go.

Theo.

Japanese tempura, you know, is done two ways.

Either with seafood or with vegetables.

Right, and the batter is light made with cold water, wheat flour and egg.

Pretty standard, this tempura can be found dating back to the end of the 16th century in Japan.

But as we know, Japan is much older than that.

So why did it suddenly show up?

The answer is Portugal.

Around 15 43 a Chinese ship with three Portuguese sailors got off course and landed in Japan on Tanegashima Island.

Fast forward a bit, and the Portuguese, because of this happy accident, are now trading goods and arms with the Japanese.

Then, in 16 39 the Portuguese were kicked out of the country.

A few things, however, remained, including a dish of battered and fried beans called machines Aorta.

That's Manuela Brando, chef at Papa Sorta, one of the best spots in Lisbon.

To get machines, Dorota inform if it no second because racy, not lazy.

Now, of course, over the past 400 years, Japan has put its own spin on the dish.

But, you know, it's a fun fact next time somebody in your group orders tempura Uh, nothing, says Britain more than no.

Nope.

Keep going.

Ah, Yes, there it is.

A nice cup of tea.

We know we have China to thank for introducing T to the Western world.

But how did it make its way to England and become the cultural obsession is today?

Well, that's all thanks to one Portuguese woman the year 16 62 the person Katherine off Braganza.

So you just won the hand of England's King Charles.

The second, with the help of a very large dowery, including money, treasures on spices.

This worthwhile trade made her the Queen of England, Scotland, Andi Island.

When she arrived to her new homeland, she brought with her packets of loose leaf tea in creates labeled transport the nervous, aromatic US.

It's a theory that this was later abbreviated to T.

E A T now T could already found in England, but was only really is for medicinal purposes.

Catherine continue drinking tea to her heart's content.

And as the new royal, everything about her, including her beverage habits, was copied by other ladies desperate to be just like their idol.

Another thing Catherine brought to the table from Portugal was the idea of tea drinking experience.

She popularized the use of porcelain tea cups and mugs.

But the end of the 17th century, much of British aristocracy were enjoying the hot beverage, and soon enough, so was everyone else today.

While he could be found pretty much everywhere, it remains a special daily pastime for the Brits.

Mm.

So carry on and drink tea people of England.