Doner kebab

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Doner kebab or döner kebabTemplate:Efn is a dish of Turkish origin made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Seasoned meat stacked in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly on the rotisserie, next to a vertical cooking element. The operator uses a knife to slice thin shavings from the outer layer of the meat as it cooks. The vertical rotisserie was invented in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, and dishes such as the Arab shawarma, Greek gyros, Canadian donair, and Mexican al pastor are derived from this.<ref name="Marks 2010">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Prichep 2015">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The modern sandwich variant of doner kebab originated and was popularized in 1970s West Berlin by Turkish immigrants.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This was recognized by the Berlin-based Association of Turkish Döner Manufacturers in Europe in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The sliced meat of a doner kebab may be served on a plate with various accompaniments, stuffed into a pita or other type of bread as a sandwich, or wrapped in a thin flatbread such as lavash or filo, known as a dürüm (literally meaning roll or wrap in Turkish). Kadir Nurman in the early 1970s introduced the sandwich or wrap form, which has become popular around the world as a fast food dish sold by kebab shops, and is often called simply a "kebab".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The sandwich generally contains salad or vegetables, which may include tomato; lettuce; cabbage; onion with sumac; fresh or pickled cucumber or chili; and various types of sauces.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

HistoryEdit

File:Cağkebabı5.jpg
Earlier method of horizontal cooking, here used with Cağ kebabı
File:Dönerci, 1855.jpg
The earliest known photo of döner, by James Robertson, 1855, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire

In the Ottoman Empire, at least as far back as the 17th century, stacks of seasoned sliced meat were cooked on a horizontal rotisserie, similar to the cağ kebab.<ref name="Isin 2018">Template:Cite book</ref> The vertical rotisserie was introduced no later than the mid-19th century.<ref name="Isin 2018" /><ref name="Marks 2010" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The town of Bursa, in modern-day Turkey, is often considered the birthplace of the vertically roasted doner kebab.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to Yavuz İskenderoğlu, his grandfather İskender Efendi as a child in 1850s Bursa had the idea of roasting the lamb at his father's restaurant vertically rather than horizontally; it was a success, and some years later became known as doner kebap.<ref name="Legend Of İskender">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Primary source inline However, he may have been preceded by Hamdi Usta from Kastamonu around 1830.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Zeit 1996-05-10">Template:Cite news</ref>

A version popular in the Arab world became known as shawarma. By at least the 1930s, it had been brought overseas, and was sold in restaurants in Mexico by Lebanese immigrants.<ref name="Prichep 2015"/> Doner kebab likely arrived in Greece in the 1920s with the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, later transforming into gyros.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

It was not until a century after its invention that doner kebab was introduced and popularized in Istanbul, most famously by Beyti Güler. His restaurant, first opened in 1945, was soon discovered by journalists and began serving doner and other kebab dishes to kings, prime ministers, film stars and celebrities.<ref name="skylife">Template:Cite magazine</ref> It has been sold in sandwich form in Istanbul since at least the mid-1960s.<ref name="Zeit 1996-05-10" />

The doner kebab and its derivatives served in a sandwich form as "fast food" came to worldwide prominence in the mid- to late 20th century. The first doner kebab shop in London opened in 1966<ref name="Telegraph 2015-01-08">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and such shops were a familiar sight in provincial cities by the late 1970s. Gyros was already popular in Greece and New York City in 1971.<ref name="The Food Timeline: history notes--sandwiches">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="New York 1971">Template:Cite magazine</ref> A Greek-Canadian variation, the donair, was introduced in 1972, eventually becoming the official food of Halifax, and spreading across the country.<ref name="coast" /><ref name="CBC 2015" /> By the 1960s, the taco al pastor in Mexico had evolved from the shawarma.<ref name="Prichep 2015" />

In Germany, the doner kebab was popularized by Turkish guest workers in Berlin in the early 1970s.<ref name="auto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The dish developed there from its original form into a distinctive style of sandwich with abundant salad, vegetables, and sauces, sold in large portions at affordable prices. It would soon become one of the top-selling fast food and street food dishes in Germany and much of Europe, and popular around the world.<ref name="USATODAY.com">Template:Cite news</ref>

EtymologyEdit

In the English name "Template:Linktext", the word doner is borrowed from the Turkish {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, with the Turkish letter ö usually anglicized as "o",<ref name="Collins doner kebab">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> though "döner kebab" is an alternative spelling in English.<ref name="OED doner kebab">Template:Cite OED2</ref> The word "Template:Linktext" is used, which comes to English from the Template:Langx (kabāb), partly through Urdu, Persian and Turkish; it may refer to a number of different kebab dishes made with roasted or grilled meat. Although kebab has been used in English since the late 17th century, doner/döner kebab is known only from the mid-20th century or later.<ref name="OED doner kebab" /> The Turkish word Template:Linktext comes from dönmek ("to turn" or "to rotate"), so the Turkish name {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} literally means "rotating roast".<ref name="Heine2004">Template:Cite book</ref> In German, it is spelled Döner Kebab; the sandwich is often called ein Döner. Particularly in British English, a doner kebab sandwich may be referred to simply as "a kebab".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A Canadian variation is donair. In Greek, it was originally called döner (Template:Langx) but later came to be known as gyros, from {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ("turn"), a calque of the Turkish name.<ref>Aglaia Kremezi, "What's in a Dish's Name", "Food and Language", Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 2009, Template:ISBN</ref> The Arabic name {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (shāwarmā) derives from another Turkish word, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, also meaning "turning". Persians refer to it as kebab torki.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Doner in TurkeyEdit

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There are many variations of doner in Turkey:

  • Porsiyon ("portion", doner on a slightly heated plate, sometimes with a few grilled peppers or broiled tomatoes on the side)
  • Pilavüstü ("over rice", doner served on a base of pilaf rice)
  • İskender (specialty of Bursa, served in an oblong plate, atop a base of pide (thin flatbread similar to pita), with a dash of pepper or tomato sauce and boiling fresh butter).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Kebapçı İskender" is trademarked by Yavuz İskenderoğlu, whose family still runs the restaurant in Bursa.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Dürüm, wrapped in a thin lavaş that is sometimes also grilled after being rolled, to make it crispier. It has two main variants in mainland Turkey:
    • Soslu dürüm or SSK (sos, soğan, kaşar; in English: sauce, onion, cheese) (specialty of Ankara, contains İskender kebap sauce, making it juicier)
    • Kaşarlı dürüm döner (speciality of Istanbul, grated kaşar cheese is put in the wrap which is then toasted to melt the cheese and crisp up the lavaş)
  • Tombik or gobit (literally "the chubby", doner in a bun-shaped pita, with crispy crust and soft inside and generally less meat than a dürüm)
  • Ekmekarası ("between bread", generally the most filling version, consisting of a whole (or a half) regular Turkish bread filled with doner)

Regional variationsEdit

Caucasus, Middle East and AsiaEdit

AzerbaijanEdit

In Azerbaijan, doner kebab (Template:Langx), served similarly to the European style of sandwich wrapped in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (flatbread) or in {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (bread, including tandoor bread), is one of the most widespread fast foods. It is usually made with {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (meat, essentially lamb or mutton), but sometimes {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (chicken).<ref name="Nikki Kazimova">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="John Noble, Michael Kohn, Danielle Systermans">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="A day in my Azerbaijani Life">Template:Cite news</ref>

JapanEdit

File:Moses kebab.JPG
A doner location in Ueno, Tokyo

In Japan, doner kebabs are now common, especially in Tokyo. They are predominantly made of chicken but occasionally beef, and called simply "kebab". The toppings include shredded lettuce or cabbage, sliced tomato, and usually a choice of sauces such as Thousand Island, spicy, and garlic.<ref name="Time Out Tokyo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

VietnamEdit

File:Doner Kebap in Hanoi.jpg
A döner street food cart in Hanoi, Vietnam

Doner kebab is increasingly becoming popular in Vietnam, mostly because of Vietnamese who used to live in Germany and introduced it to their homeland. Throughout Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City many doner kebab stalls can be found. Bánh mỳ Döner Kebab, the Vietnamese version of the doner kebab, has some fundamental differences with the original doner kebab. First of all, pork is used instead of beef and lamb. Second, the meat is topped with sour vegetables and chili sauce.<ref name="The New York Times 2009-11-08">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Monsters and Critics">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

EuropeEdit

AustriaEdit

Doner kebab shops can be found in all cities across Austria. Kebabs (often referred to as "Döner") outsell burgers or the traditional Würstel (sausage).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

BelgiumEdit

In Belgium, the first doner kebabs were already served in the 1970s, brought by immigrants to the country. In the mining region, mainly beef or variants with pieces of chicken was used for the doner kebab. Doner kebabs with mutton and lamb were more likely to be found in other regions of Belgium.Template:Citation needed

FinlandEdit

File:Döner kebab in Helsinki.jpg
A plate of döner kebab in Kamppi, Helsinki

In Finland, doner kebabs gained popularity after the 90s, when Turkish and other Middle-Eastern immigrants started to arrive in the country in considerable numbers, opening restaurants and importing their traditional dishes. Kebabs are generally seen as fast food, often served by late-night pizzerias.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

FranceEdit

Turkish immigrants also brought doner kebab to France, where it became especially popular with the country's large North African population, in the 1980s.<ref name="NYT Sciolino 2014">Template:Cite news</ref> A typical kebab consists of bread stuffed with doner meat shavings, lettuce, sliced tomato and onions, with a choice of sauce including sauce blanche, a mayonnaise-yogurt sauce. Kebabs are usually served with french fries, often stuffed into the bread itself. In Paris, this variation is called sandwich grec ("Greek sandwich").<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Doner kebab is the third most popular fast food in France, next to hamburgers and pizza, with more than 10,000 kebab shops selling about 300 million a year.<ref name="NYT Sciolino 2014" />

GermanyEdit

In Germany, the earliest claim to the introduction of Turkish doner kebab dates to 1969, when Bursa native Nevzat Salim and his father started to sell Iskender Kebap in Reutlingen.<ref name="schwaben">Template:Cite news</ref> However, the Association of Turkish Döner Producers in Europe (ATDID) connects the wide popularization of the dish to the stand of Turkish guest worker Kadir Nurman at West Berlin's Zoo Station in 1972, which helped establish the doner kebab sandwich as a fast food option.<ref name="schwaben" /><ref name="auto" /> Although the claims of multiple persons to have "invented" the doner may be hard to prove,<ref name="The Guardian 2013-10-28">Template:Cite news</ref> the further development of modern doner sandwich is connected to the city of Berlin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The doner kebap as it was first served in Berlin contained only meat, onions and a bit of salad.<ref name="berlin2011">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Over time, it developed into a dish with abundant salad, vegetables, and a selection of sauces to choose from. Even orders placed in the Turkish language in Berlin will ask for the hot sauce using the German word scharf, flagging the hybrid nature of the Berlin style of doner kebap.<ref name="boell">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Rp This variation served with pita bread has influenced the style of doner kebap in Germany and in other nations. A 2007 survey showed that many people consider the doner kebab to be the most characteristic food of Berlin.<ref name="boell"/>Template:Rp

Annual sales of doner kebabs in Germany amounted to €2.5 billion in 2010.<ref name="The Independent">Template:Cite news</ref> Beef or veal, and chicken, are widely used instead of the more expensive lamb. Turkey (Truthahn) and vegetarian versions have become increasingly popular.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Tarkan Taşyumruk, president of the Association of Turkish Döner Producers in Europe (ATDID), provided information in 2010 that, every day, more than 400 tonnes of doner kebab meat is produced in Germany by around 350 firms. At the same ATDID fair, Taşyumruk stated: "Annual sales in Germany amount to €2.5 billion. That shows we are one of the biggest fast-foods in Germany." In many cities throughout Germany, doner kebabs are at least as popular as hamburgers or sausages, especially with young people.<ref name="The Independent" />

In 2011 there were over 16,000 establishments selling doner kebabs in Germany, with yearly sales of €3.5 billion.<ref>Template:Cite interview</ref>

NetherlandsEdit

Kapsalon is a Dutch food item consisting of French fries topped with doner or shawarma meat, garlic sauce, and a layer of gouda cheese, baked or broiled until melted, and then subsequently covered with a layer of dressed salad greens and more sauce. The dish is usually served as fast food in a disposable metal tray. The term kapsalon means "hairdressing salon" or "barbershop" in Dutch, alluding to hairdresser Nathaniel Gomes who originated the dish when he requested his local kebab shop in Rotterdam to prepare it for him.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

United KingdomEdit

The doner kebab with salad and sauce is a very popular dish in the United Kingdom, especially after a night out.<ref name="The Guardian 2013-10-28" /> The meat is sometimes sold on its own, but more commonly with chips (fries), in naan bread or in pita bread. German Doner Kebab is a Glasgow-based chain operating 100 restaurants in the UK, which specialises in the dish.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

AmericasEdit

CanadaEdit

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File:King of Donairs.JPG
A King of Donair outlet in Halifax at Pizza Corner

A variation known as donair was introduced in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the early 1970s.<ref name="coast">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There are competing claims about the origin, but according to Halifax resident Leo Gamoulakos, his father, Greek immigrant Peter Gamoulakos, started selling Greek-style gyros at Velos Pizza in the Halifax suburb of Bedford. It did not catch on with the public, so in 1972<ref name="coast" /> he modified the customary pork and lamb recipe by using spiced ground beef, Lebanese flatbread, and inventing the distinctive sweet donair sauce made with condensed milk, vinegar, sugar, and garlic. He called it by the doner name rather than gyros, but it came to be pronounced, and spelled, as donair.<ref name="Globe"/><ref name="MacDonald 2015">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Dempsey 2015">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1973 Gamoulakos opened the first King of Donair restaurant on Quinpool Road in Halifax.<ref name="Jones 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2015, Halifax named donair the city's official food.<ref name="CBC 2015">Template:Cite news</ref> Historically found only in Atlantic Canada, the dish's popularity has expanded to other parts of Canada in various forms.<ref name="CBC 2023 h484">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Globe">Template:Cite news</ref>

MexicoEdit

Al pastor is a variation of doner kebab via Lebanese shawarma. Literally meaning "in the style of the shepherd", it references the lamb often used in shawarma, though it is normally made with pork.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

United StatesEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Doner kebab is best known in the United States in its Greek variation, now known as gyros. Numerous people have made competing claims to have introduced the dish sometime in the 1960s, and its mass production in the 1970s.<ref>The Gyro's History Unfolds, New York Times, David Segal, 14 July 2009</ref> Originally known in Greece as {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (doner), by 1970 in the United States the newly coined name gyros was commonly in use,<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref><ref name="Glaser & Snyder 1970">Template:Cite magazine</ref> though it was still known in some Greek restaurants by both names into the 1970s.<ref name="San Diego 1973">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="New York 1971"/> It was also available, possibly later, in some Turkish restaurants.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In recent years a number of restaurants and food trucks specializing in doner kebab have opened in various parts of the country; a substantial percentage are owned by German immigrants.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

OceaniaEdit

AustraliaEdit

With a multicultural population, the doner kebab in Australia competes with the Greek gyros and the Lebanese shawarma.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kebab sellers are subject to strict government food safety regulations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

A halal snack pack is a dish that originated in Australia. It consists of halal-certified doner kebab meat, chips (french fries), and sauces such as chili, garlic and barbecue. It is traditionally served in a styrofoam container, and has been described as a staple dish of takeaway kebab shops in Australia.<ref name="MTV 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Safi Hunt Wall 2016">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The name of the dish was selected by the Macquarie Dictionary as the "People's choice Word of the Year" for 2016.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Health concernsEdit

Health concerns regarding doner kebab, including the hygiene involved in overnight storage and re-heating of partially cooked meat, its quality, as well as high salt, fat, and calorie levels, have been reported in the media.<ref>Guardian Health – Kebab anyone?, The Guardian, 6 October 2006</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Some investigations have found poor-quality ingredients in doner kebab meat, or meat types other than what was advertised.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="norway">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Food safety regulations in most developed countries address the dangers of bacteria in undercooked meat of all kinds sold to the public. Some have guidelines specific to doner kebab handling and preparation. Following several outbreaks of E. coli food poisoning, the Canadian government in 2008 introduced a number of recommendations, including that the meat should be cooked a second time after being sliced from the rotisserie.<ref name="Health Canada">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Germany, any doner kebab meat placed onto the rotisserie must be sold the same day. It is a violation of German health regulations to freeze partially cooked meat for sale at a later date.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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Further readingEdit

  • {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}

  • Template:Ill, Aufgespießt. Wie der Döner über die Deutschen kam, 1996, Template:Isbn
  • Maren Möhring, "Döner kebab and West German Consumer (Multi-)Cultures", in Ulrike Lindner, et al., eds., Hybrid Cultures—Nervous States, 2010, Template:Isbn, p. 151-167

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