Swedish Meat Balls

And a little random movie star trivia.

While recipes for Swedish meatballs show up in the 1910s in American newspapers, they really started to become popular domestically at ladies’ luncheons in the 1930s, where they were likely to be served with ketchup, and the 1940s, where sour cream was more common. By the 1950s, most recipes included noodles.

Here’s a mention in a blurb from the December 13, 1951 edition of the Scottsdale Progress:

Loves To Eat Nancy Olson loves to eat, yet manages to retain her trim figure. The leading lady of Paramount’s “Submarine Command” munches on garlic bread before, during, and after meals, prefers curried and Spanish food but also goes for Swedish meatballs in a big way.

Well, she’d have to, or it’d be awkward at home. Olson itself is a Scandinavian name, but her mother Evelyn Bergstrom was the daughter of Swedish emigrants. She’s probably best recognized (she’s still working, now and then) for her role as Betty in Sunset Boulevard. Here’s a trailer:

Fun fact (depending on your idea of fun, I guess): while there was a pretty famous Scandinavian restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in the 1960s called Scandia, it served Danish food, including frikadeller, the delicious — but totally different — Danish meatballs.

Here’s their menu from 1981, with the Danish meatballs on page three:

So Nancy in Sunset Boulevard couldn’t get Swedish meatballs on Sunset Boulevard. Hey, it’s the little things in life that amuse me.

We talked a little bit about these in the post for Swedish Meatballs from Chicago, Illinois.

From a box sold in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. Thanks to Monica in the comments for filling in the blanks!

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