• nednobbins@lemm.ee
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      4 days ago

      Ikea really managed to pull off a magnificent marketing stunt.

      They have the same furniture quality that you can get off of Amazon, Wayfair, or Walmart but you have to go get it out of their warehouse and deal with the logistics of getting it to your house. But they hand out some meatballs and give everything funky Swedish names; so people get the impression that it’s a fancy European experience.

      China is the single largest manufacturer of Ikea products. I found that when I went directly to the source, I could get the same item cheaper or a better item at the same price. That deal is likely to die with the new tariff regime but that same regime will have similar impacts on Ikea.

  • Strakh@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Their plant based meatballs are good too. I pan fry them then toss them into a slow cooker with some bachans barbecue sauce, green onion, and sesame seeds for parties and potlucks.

  • curiousaur@reddthat.com
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    6 days ago

    Me too. Quick story time. It was the day before COVID lockdown. My now wife and I had just moved in together the day before and were at IKEA buying furniture for our new apartment. Being at IKEA, knowing the new fridge and freezer at home were empty, and having poor impulse control, I threw three bags of frozen meetballs with sauce and fixings into the cart near checkout.

    The following day lockdown was announced with all restaurants to be closed, and stores to enforce limited occupancy with lines down the block waiting to get in. We feasted the first two weeks.

    • Dhrystone@infosec.pubOP
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      6 days ago

      It was all I could do not to buy a couple bags of the meatballs and gravy at the checkout. Something about the flavor, don’t know what it is but I was stuffed after 16 meatballs and STILL wanted to eat more.

      • EtherCityRule@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        Niklas Ekstedt’s recipe is authentic, Swedish, and tasty AF. If you can’t find venison, beef will do.

        EDIT: I imagine this is one of those things where there are 1,000’s of different “proper” recipes. I shared this one as the guy who wrote it is Swedish, so I thought there must be some authenticity there, and I’ve made it, so can testify that it’s good. Not saying it’s the best or the most authentic, so slightly confused by the commenters saying it’s somehow wrong?

        • snowst0mper@lemm.ee
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          5 days ago

          Beeing Swedish I can confirm that a recipe by Ekstedt’s is not only authentic but probably really really good as well. He’s gotten a few Michelin stars over the years.

        • Minnels@lemm.ee
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          5 days ago

          Proper Swedish meatballs are easy to make. Wtf is this fancy stuff? Nah man… Source: I’m Swedish.

        • guy@piefed.social
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          5 days ago

          Well you took a treasured national meal and linked a recipe more advanced and different than the basic one most Swedes eat/do at home and said this is what meatballs is. That’s set up for comments 😄

      • waldwesen@feddit.org
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        4 days ago

        I improved the taste of my version a lot by making my own Piffi Allkrydda mixture fur the sauce. Its a spice mixture that goes really well with the taste of the berries!

  • werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    They got the vegan option too. If you don’t want to think about the poor horse that gave his life for you, go eat vegan stuff. Often times vegan options are just a bridge. There are other ways to eating healthy nutritious foods.

    • viking@infosec.pub
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      6 days ago

      The vegan alternative tastes terrible.

      And the meatballs are a blend of beef and pork in most countries. In Muslim places it’s beef with chicken, in Sweden you sometimes get moose variants for special occasions.

      Horse is not typically used for meatballs since the meat is too lean, you need fat as a binding agent and to prevent it from drying out.

      • Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee
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        6 days ago

        I disagree - I thought the vegan ones were fine! Cheapest meal out I’d had in a long time. They also had a lots of beds in their restaurant, so I could relax and let my food go down on-site.

      • GreenMartian@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 days ago

        The horse joke was a reference to the massive recall a decade ago, when they found horse meat in their balls and sausages.

        Also, as a non vegan, I find the veg balls to be as good as their meat ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ As long as one doesn’t expect it to taste anything like meat…

  • gnygnygny@lemm.ee
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    5 days ago

    Anglais Ikea has marketed fecal-contaminated horse meatballs and chocolate pies. Bon appétit!

  • Noit@lemm.ee
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    6 days ago

    They haven’t been as nice since they took the horse out.

    • Alk@sh.itjust.works
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      6 days ago

      They do. The one near me has a whole menu that changes regularly, aside from a few permanent options. Some of the items can be very good.

      It’s a whole cafeteria setup with trays and a line with workers dishing out different things. Then you pay at the end of the line.