This article, written by Cat Carter, appears in Charlotte Magazine.
Roll With It: It’s National Meatball Day
March 9 is National Meatball Day. While meatballs of some sort can be found everywhere from Sweden to China, most Americans probably think first of the ones that come on a bed of spaghetti.
According to the Smithsonian Institute, this dish evolved from the polpette and the much smaller polpettine found in Italy, but it is American at heart. The late 1800s and early 1900s saw millions of Italian immigrants moving to the United States—particularly those from the southern region, where economic and political strife left many in distress. As Escoffier Online notes, these immigrants went from spending 75% of their income on food to just 25%.
