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Swedish Meatballs Aren't Originally Swedish

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Rachel Martin.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE MUPPET SHOW")

BILL BARRETTA: (As the Swedish Chef) Is good, the Swedish meatball.

MARTIN: (Laughter). That's, of course, the Swedish Chef from "The Muppet Show," making up a batch of Swedish meatballs. But the chef's going to be really disappointed when he finds out the famed national dish of his homeland is actually from Turkey. Here's the tweet from the Swedish government. (Reading) Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE MUPPET SHOW")

BARRETTA: (As the Swedish Chef) Bork, bork, bork (ph).

MARTIN: It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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