Are Swedish meatballs really from Sweden – or did they plunder the recipe from the Turks?

Despite their belligerent Viking roots, modern Scandinavian people are not renowned for their fierce pride or strong sense of nationalism. The 21st century’s Nordic nations are considered models of stability and compassion – case studies of progressive politics, strong social support and gender equality; offering a warm welcome and understanding ear to other outlooks and cultures.

But if there’s one thing Scandinavians, and especially Swedes, apparently hold dear – it’s their meatballs.

A bitter furore recently erupted when Scandinavian Airlines, the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, released a witty advert debunking myths about where the Nordic nations’ most emblematic exports really come from.

“What is truly Scandinavian? Absolutely nothing”, the opening voice-over smugly declares, introducing a not-so-subtle ode to the virtues of travel by way of acknowledging the Nordic peoples’ pillaging past.

The Danish pastry, we learn, is actually Austrian; Norway’s proud paper clip is American; democracy is, of course, Greek; today’s eco-friendly windmills took inspiration from ancient Persia; and even Switzerland is thanked for the region’s notorious statutory paternity leave.

Then, halfway through, the music stops for climactic effect to announce the gutter punch – “Swedish meatballs might not be so Swedish,” before the grand unveil: they’re “really” Turkish in origin.

It backfired royally. The internet was having none of if, and the ad was pulled after less than 24 hours as the airline was targeted by a “coordinated attack” from vehement right wingers, only to be later republished in an edited form. The agency behind the clip was subject of a hoax bomb threat.

So what’s the truth? Where are Swedish meatballs really from?