ThoughtGallery.org > Having A Ball: How the Meatball Became a Global Citizen

Having A Ball: How the Meatball Became a Global Citizen

When many Americans think about meatballs, they envision the Italian American dish served with marinara sauce over spaghetti.

Yet there are few dishes that transcend modern borders like the humble meatball. From Ancient Roman recipes that feature peacock and dolphin, to the Persian kofta that radiated out from the Levant and found its way across North Africa and into South Asia, to the poetically named Lion’s Head of Shanghai; virtually all cultures have a version of the globular comfort food, varying in animal protein, spice, and size from menu to menu, country to country.

So how did the meatball make its way around the world? And how in turn did this unassuming peasant dish shape the world around it?

Join our panel of chefs and experts to discuss the globetrotting meatball through trade routes, colonization, globalization, and all the way the frozen food aisle at the local supermarket.

A tasting of meatballs from around the world and refreshments will follow the panel discussion.

This program is part of our Global Cultures, Global Cuisines series.











When: Thu., Nov. 1, 2018 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Where: Museum of Food and Drink
62 Bayard St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718-387-2845
Price: $30
Buy tickets/get more info now
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When many Americans think about meatballs, they envision the Italian American dish served with marinara sauce over spaghetti.

Yet there are few dishes that transcend modern borders like the humble meatball. From Ancient Roman recipes that feature peacock and dolphin, to the Persian kofta that radiated out from the Levant and found its way across North Africa and into South Asia, to the poetically named Lion’s Head of Shanghai; virtually all cultures have a version of the globular comfort food, varying in animal protein, spice, and size from menu to menu, country to country.

So how did the meatball make its way around the world? And how in turn did this unassuming peasant dish shape the world around it?

Join our panel of chefs and experts to discuss the globetrotting meatball through trade routes, colonization, globalization, and all the way the frozen food aisle at the local supermarket.

A tasting of meatballs from around the world and refreshments will follow the panel discussion.

This program is part of our Global Cultures, Global Cuisines series.

Buy tickets/get more info now