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"Turkey’s döner kebab spat with Germany is turning nasty", by Daniel Thorpe, The Spectator (10/5/24)

Last April, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier decided to bring along a 60-kilogram döner kebab on his state visit to Turkey. It did not go down well. Turks found the stunt condescending; Germans were mortified. Ankara lodged an official request with the European Commission to make the dish a ‘traditional speciality’, thereby regulating what can be sold under the name ‘döner’ in Europe.

It's not just a culinary matter — it's political, cultural, and technical:

Though seemingly rather mundane, the latest disagreement over the classification of döner kebab indicates there is little love lost between the two capitals. Turkey aims to standardise and dictate through the European Commission what can be sold as döner kebab, breaking it down to the finest details, such as the meat composition, pH value, salt content, and the thickness of the slices that come off. German politicians and business owners, including those of Turkish background, are not happy.

I don't blame them — döner kebab has become a central element in German culture, especially among youth, but because of the garlic sauce and raw onions, you'd better be careful about when you eat it:

Today, the döner kebab is the most popular fast food in Germany, even more than the godforsaken currywurst. A German village so small that it does not even have a pub might still have a döner kebab eatery. It was introduced by the Turkish migrant workers in the 1960s and 1970s. As often happens with dishes cooked far from their motherlands, the döner kebab started to be prepared in ways different from the ‘original’, catering to local tastes with the available ingredients.

Customers are not too concerned about shops having to sell the product under different names, such as Greek gyros or Arabic shawarma,  What really grates is the rising cost of a döner kebab:

‘A few years ago, the price of a döner kebab was around four euros. Now you pay up to eight-thirteen euros,’ [Niko Schmitz] laments. Schmitz is not alone. ‘I’m paying eight euros for a döner,’ a protestor shouted at chancellor Olaf Sholz in 2022. ‘Speak with Putin, please. I want to pay four euros for a döner.’

A brief note on the history of the mouth-watering snack:

The döner itself can be traced back to the early 19th century Ottoman Empire, when someone had the ingenious idea of flipping the existing horizontal stack of marinated meat on an iron rod vertically. Turning the rotisserie upright not only saved much of the juices and fat from dripping into the fire but also rendered it more suitable for urban spaces.

Where is all this headed?  Over such contentious issues as those being argued about by the German and Turkish governments, the product may branch into different varieties, and the plethora of names for them will undoubtedly continue to proliferate.

Selected readings

• "Gyro" (6/26/20)
• "Gyro, part 2" (9/28/24)
• "Teen attacked by kebab van" (9/5/12)
• "Nontrivial script fail" (5/18/11) — 7th comment
• "'Ingenious herd of charcoal fire'" (4/5/11)
• "Why Do Canadians Eat Donair?" (4/13/07)
• "If you're uneducated you say it right" (2/2/09) — in the comments
• "Ajvar and caviar" (8/1/22)
• "Respect the local pronunciation: runza and Henri" (6/13/24)

[Thanks to Mark Metcalf]

October 7, 2024 @ 5:17 am · Filed by Victor Mair under Language and business, Language and culture, Language and ethnicity, Language and food, Language and politics

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