Where did Swedish meatballs originate?

According to a 2018 tweet from Sweden’s official Twitter account, Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century. So Swedish meatballs actually originate from Turkey.

Apparently, after losing a battle to the Russians, the Swedish monarch was exiled to a part of the Ottoman Empire which corresponds with modern Moldova. There he gained a taste for kofta – the Mediterranean’s own mixed ground meatballs that had been in the Ottomans’ imperial cookbook since the 15th century.When Charles returned to his own empire five years later he took the recipe – as well as coffee and cabbage – both because he liked it, and as a means of bolstering diplomatic relations. (full article here)