Doner kebab

Döner kebab

Döner meat being sliced from a rotating spit.
Course	Snack or main course
Place of origin	Turkey
Region or state	Ankara,[1] Bursa, Erzurum
Creator	Ottomans (dates to 18th century)[2]
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Lamb, beef or chicken
Variations	İskender, Cağ
Cookbook: Döner kebab  Media: Döner kebab

Döner kebab (/ˈdɒnər kəˈbæb/, /ˈdoʊnər/; Turkish: döner or döner kebap, [døˈnɛɾ ˈcebɑp], in English often spelled doner) is a Turkish dish made of meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, normally lamb but sometimes beef, or chicken.^[3] In British English, it may be abbreviated as kebab, though kebab can also refer to shish kebab and other forms of kebab with the pieces of food cooked on skewers, which are widespread in the cuisine of Mediterranean countries, Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisine. Other versions cooked on a vertical rotisserie are the Arab shawarma and the Greek gyro.

The sliced meat of a döner kebab may be served wrapped in a flatbread such as lavash or pita or as a sandwich, tortilla, instead of being served on a plate. Seasoned meat in the shape of an inverted cone is turned slowly against a vertical rotisserie, then sliced vertically into thin, crisp shavings. The sandwich version, depending on location, generally contains salad or vegetables, which may include tomato, lettuce, cabbage, onion with sumac, fresh or pickled cucumber, or chili, and sometimes various types of sauces.

History

Cağ kebabı, a related dish. Note that the meat is horizontally stacked.

Döner being carved in Bursa to prepare İskender kebap

The earliest known photo of döner, by James Robertson, 1855, Ottoman Empire.

Before taking its modern form, as mentioned in Ottoman travel books of the 18th century,^[4][5] the döner used to be a horizontal stack of meat rather than vertical, like the cağ kebabı of Erzurum. Grilling meat on horizontal skewers has an ancient history in the Eastern Mediterranean, but it is unknown when slices of meat, rather than chunks, were first used.

In his own family biography, İskender Efendi of 19th century Bursa writes that "he and his grandfather had the idea of roasting the lamb vertically rather than horizontally, and invented for that purpose a vertical mangal". Since then, Hacı İskender is known as the inventor of Turkish döner kebap.^[6][7] With time, the meat took a different marinade, got leaner, and eventually took its modern shape.^[5]

Etymology

A döner kebab is sometimes spelled döner kebap (the Turkish spelling), lit. "rotating roast", or can be shortened to döner (Turkish: döner), lit. "turn around",^[8] also spelled "donar", "donair", "doner", or sometimes "donner". In German, it is spelled Döner, which can also be spelled Doener if the ö character is not available.

In Greece, döner kebab is called gyros. The most common form of gyros is prepared with pork, due to its broad availability and low price in Greece. The name comes from Greek γύρος ("turn"), a calque of the Turkish name döner kebap; the dish was formerly called ντονέρ [doˈner] in Greece as well. Today, ντονέρ refers to gyros prepared with lamb or beef.^[9][10]

Döner in Turkey

There are many variations of döner in Turkey:

• Porsiyon ("portion", döner on a slightly heated plate, sometimes with a few grilled peppers or broiled tomatoes on the side)^[11][12]
• Pilavüstü ("over rice", döner served on a base of pilaf rice)^[13][14]
• İskender (specialty of Bursa, served in an oblong plate, atop a base of thin pita, with a dash of pepper or tomato sauce and boiling fresh butter)^[15][16] "Kebapçı İskender" is trademarked by Yavuz İskenderoğlu, whose family still runs the restaurant in Bursa.^[17][18][19]
• 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:^[20]
  • 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)^[21]
• Tombik or gobit (literally "the chubby", döner in a bun-shaped pita, with crispy crust and soft inside, and generally less meat than a dürüm)^[22]
• Ekmekarası ("between bread", generally the most filling version, consisting of a whole (or a half) regular Turkish bread filled with döner)^[23]

• 

  İskender or "Bursa kebabı"

• 

  Döner served in a "tombik pide" ("chubby" pita) also called in Turkish: gobit.

Regional variations

Caucasus, Middle East and Asia

Armenia

In Armenia Ġarsi khorovats, šaurma or in the Armenian diaspora, "Tarna" (literally, "it turns"); it is usually lamb, pork or chicken on a vertical rotisserie, sliced and wrapped in lavaş, served with tahini, yogurt or garlic sauce and with a side dish of pickled vegetables or tourshi.^[24]

Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, döner is called shaurma (Azerbaijani: şaurma) or döner (Azerbaijani: dönər). Şaurma is made with chicken and always includes garlic sauce, whereas döner can be made with either chicken or beef, and does not include garlic sauce. Both can be served in bread, in lavash or on a plate. Döner also can be served in tandoor bread. The most popular variety is Turkish döner ^[25]

Japan

A döner location in Ueno, Tokyo

In Japan, döner kebabs are now quite common, especially in Tokyo. They are predominantly made of chicken but occasionally beef, and are often sold from parked vans. Called simply "kebab", they have been simplified to suit Japanese tastes; the salad is usually omitted in favour of shredded cabbage, usually with a choice of sauces such as regular (often just a mix of mayonnaise and ketchup), spicy, and garlic, and often a slice of tomato.^[26]

South Korea

Döner kebab is available throughout much of Seoul, particularly in the foreigner-dominated neighborhood of Itaewon. There are two main varieties: the first, sold from street carts, is modified to suit Korean tastes, with chicken rather than lamb, shredded white cabbage, and honey mustard; the second is offered at permanent takeaways such as Ankara Picnic, Mr. Kebab and Sultan Kebab, and features a lamb option along with more traditional sauces.^[27][28]

Vietnam

Döner kebab is increasingly becoming popular in Vietnam. Throughout Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City many döner kebab stalls can be found. Bánh mỳ Döner Kebab, the Vietnamese version of the döner kebab, has some fundamental differences with the original döner kebab. First of all, pork is used instead of beef and lamb. Second, the meat is served in a Vietnamese baguette. Thirdly, the meat is topped with sour vegetables and chili sauce. In contrast to many other countries in Asia, the döner kebab in Vietnam has been localized and is primarily consumed by the locals, while in other countries in the Far East, kebabs are primarily sold to expats, tourists and the middle class, and the original recipe is used.^[29][30]

Europe

Austria

A kebab stand in Vienna, Austria

Döner kebab shops can be found in all cities across Austria. Kebabs (rarely referred to as "Döner") outsell burgers or the traditional Würstel (sausage).^[31]

Belgium

Döner kebab restaurants and food stands can be found in almost all cities and smaller towns in Belgium, where they are known as dürüm when served in a wrap. The variety served is similar to that of Germany and the Netherlands. However, it is not uncommon to see döner served with French fries, often stuffed into the bread itself (similar to the German "Kebab mit Pommes"). This is probably done to suit local taste, as fries are still the most common Belgian fast food. Many different sauces are typically offered, including plain mayonnaise, aioli, cocktail sauce, sambal oelek or harissa paste, andalouse sauce, "américaine" sauce and tomato ketchup or curry ketchup. Another basic ingredient of the typical Belgian döner kebab is two or three green, spicy, Turkish peppers.^[32]

Finland

A plate of döner kebab in Kamppi, Helsinki

In Finland, döner kebabs have gained a lot of popularity since Turkish immigrants opened restaurants and imported their traditional food. Kebabs are generally regarded as fast food, often served in late-night restaurants also serving pizza, as well as shopping malls.^[33] There are over 1000 currently active restaurants that serve kebab foods^[34] in Finland, making one kebab restaurant for every 5000 people in mainland Finland.^[35]

France

Most kebab shops (themselves known simply as kebabs) are generally run by North African immigrants in France. The basic kebab consists of either "pain de maison" (Turkish soft bread) or "pain arabe" (unleavened flatbread) stuffed with grilled lamb shavings, onions and lettuce, with a choice of sauce from sauce blanche (yogurt sauce with garlic and herbs), harissa (spicy red sauce originally from North Africa), ketchup, or several others. Kebabs are usually served with french fries, often stuffed into the bread itself. In Paris, this variation is called Sandwich grec ("Greek sandwich"). Other variations include beef, turkey, chicken, veal, and replacing the Turkish bread with pita bread or baguette.^[36]

Germany

Annual sales of doner kebabs in Germany amount to €2.5 billion.^[37] Veal, chicken, and becoming increasingly more popular, turkey ("Truthahn"), are widely used instead of lamb, particularly by vendors with large ethnic German customer bases, for whom lamb is traditionally less preferred.

Döner, common German style (Berlin)

Döner kebab in a dürüm

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 döner kebab meat is produced in Germany by around 350 firms. At the same ATDID fair, Taşyumruk stated that, "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, döner kebabs are at least as popular as hamburgers or sausages, especially with young people.^[37]

In 2011 there were over 16,000 establishments selling döner kebabs in Germany, with yearly sales of €3.5 billion.^[38]

Netherlands

A Dönerschotel at a snack bar in the Netherlands: sliced "döner-style" grilled veal, French fries, and a simple salad.

Döner kebab is available in the Netherlands. As a snack, it is usually served in or with a pita as a "broodje döner" (döner sandwich) with lettuce, onion, tomato slices and sauces, mainly garlic and sambal.

The Dutch television programme Keuringsdienst van Waarde analyzed döner kebab sandwiches advertised as lamb and found that only one of them contained 100% lamb meat, while most consisted of mixes of lamb and beef. Some consisted of 100% beef, chicken, turkey or pork.^[39]

United Kingdom

Döner kebab served in a partitioned tray

Introduced by Turkish immigrants, the döner kebab with salad and sauce is a very popular dish in the United Kingdom, especially after a night out.^[40]

Americas

Canada

A variation known as "donair" was introduced in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada in the early 1970s. Peter Gamoulakos immigrated to Canada in 1959.^[41] When he failed in his attempt to sell traditional gyros, Gamoulakos adapted the dish to local tastes. He substituted beef for lamb and created a sweet sauce. Tom Maynard claimed he invented the donair in 1972 and that it debuted at King of Donair's Quinpool Road location in 1973, but this cannot be confirmed.^[42]

A King of Donair outlet in Halifax at Pizza Corner

In the summer of 2008, after numerous cases of E. coli related food poisoning due to the consumption of undercooked donair meat in Alberta, the federal government came out with a set of guidelines for the preparation of donairs.^[43] The principal guideline is that the meat should be cooked at least twice: once on the spit, and then grilled as the donair is being prepared.

United States

In the United States, döner kebab is becoming more popular especially in cities with Mideastern immigrant communities, such as New York,^[44] Chicago, Detroit,^[45] Omaha,^[46] Seattle,^[47] San Diego,^[48] and Los Angeles.^[49]

A sign for döner kebab is briefly seen in the first few minutes of Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, indicating that it already had at least a small presence in New York by 1976.^[50]

Mexico

Al pastor is a probable variation of döner kebab. Literally "in the style of the shepherd", it references the lamb often used in döner kebab, Greek gyro and Arab shawarma.^[51]

Health concerns

Döner kebab is popular in many countries in the form of fast food, often as an end to a night out when preceded by the consumption of an excessive amount of alcohol.^[52] Health concerns surrounding döner kebab in the UK and Western Europe, including the hygiene involved in overnight storage and re-heating of partially cooked meat, as well as high salt and fat levels, have been reported in the European media.^{[52][53][54][55]} However, high fat and salt contents are often due to dressings, as lean kebab meat, salad and bread are wrongly perceived to be healthy.^[56]

See also

• Cağ kebab
• Dürüm
• Iskender kebap
• Street food
• Gyros
• Al pastor
• Shawarma
• List of kebabs
• Halal snack pack

References

1. "Hangi İlimiz Nesiyle Meşhur? ~ Tarihi ve Turistik Yerler".
2. Yerasimos, Marianna (2005). 500 Yıllık Osmanlı Mutfağı (500 Years of Ottoman Cuisine) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Boyut Kitapları Yayın Grubu. p. 307. ISBN 975-23-0111-8.
3. https://books.google.com.tr/books?id=5a1ub6Q_0rEC&pg=PA109&dq=d%C3%B6ner+beef&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CE4Q6AEwCWoVChMI9a31ndDgxgIVQRYsCh2Y-gWE#v=onepage&q=d%C3%B6ner%20beef&f=false
4. "Döner Hakkında – Dönerin Tarihçesi" (in Turkish). Dönercibaşı- Özbilir Grup. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
5. İskenderoğlu, Yavuz (2008). "Yavuz İskenderoğlu-Kebapçı İskender Tarihçesi" (in Turkish). Kebapçı İskender. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
6. Kenneth F. Kiple, Kriemhild Coneè Ornelas, eds., Cambridge World History of Food, Cambridge, 2000. ISBN 0-521-40216-6. Vol. 2, p. 1147.
7. İskenderoğlu, Yavuz (2008). "Yavuz İskenderoğlu-Kebapçı İskender Tarihçesi" (in Turkish). "Yüzyıllardır yerdeki ateşe paralel olarak pişirilen kuzuyu, dik mangalda ayağa kaldırma!": Kebapçı İskender. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2009
8. Peter Heine (2004). Food culture in the Near East, Middle East, and North Africa. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-313-32956-2. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
9. Babiniotis, Λεξικό της Νεας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας; Andriotis et al., Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής
10. Aglaia Kremezi, "What's in a Dish's Name", "Food and Language", Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 2009, ISBN 1-903018-79-X
11. "zagkebap.com". zagkebap.com. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
12. Archived 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
13. Archived 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
14. farm1.static.flickr.com
15. "Kebapçı İskender – Yavuz İskenderoğlu". Kebapciiskender.com.tr. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
16. Archived 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
17. http://istanbuleats.com/tag/iskender-ebap/
18. "The Best Iskender Kebab in Istanbul". Culinary Backstreets.
19. http://trademark.markify.com/trademarks/ctm/kurulus+1867+kebap%C3%87i+iskender/000680397
20. Archived 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
21. bambicafe.com.tr
22. Archived 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
23. Archived 5 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
24. Tumanyan Shwarma, Yerevan - Restaurant Reviews - TripAdvisor
25. http://newspaper.russiancarolina.net/enarticle/55-a-day-in-my-azerbaijani-life
26. 5 to try: Döner kebabs - Time Out Tokyo
27. SeoulFoodYo.com: The Leading Seoul Food Yo Site on the Net
28. SeoulFoodYo.com: The Leading Seoul Food Yo Site on the Net
29. Banh mi Doner Kebabs, Hanoi June 2012
30. Banh Mi- the kebab of the Far East November 2012
31. "Punkt" (in German). punkt.kurier.at. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
32. "Bosporus.be".
33. "A kebab restaurant in the mall "Skanssi"" (in Finnish). pernionkebab.fi.
34. "Main page statistics (number of restaurants)" (in Finnish). kebabille.com.
35. "Kebab restaurant densities by municipality" (in Finnish). kebabille.com.
36. The Glorious "Le Grec" Sandwich in Paris | Food Republic
37. "Cutting edge robots at Germany's first doner kebab fair". The Independent. Agence France-Presse. 2010-03-28. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
38. (German) FR, accessed 24.9.2011
39. "Keuringsdienst van Waarde".
40. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/oct/28/kadir-nurman-invent-doner-kebab
41. "Best Donair". The Coast. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
42. "KOD". KOD. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
43. "Health Canada". Health Canada. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
44. Doner kebab houses in New York. Retrieved on 21 March 2009.
45. Döner Kebab House, Chicago, IL. Retrieved 21 March 2009.
46. Amsterdam Falafel and Kabob. Retrieved on 12 July 2013.
47. The Berliner Döner Kebab Seattle, Retrieved 14 August 2011.
48. The Kebab Shop. Retrieved on 9 September 2009.
49. Spitz in Eagle Rock, CA. Retrieved on 21 March 2009.
50. Martin Scorsese (director) (1976). Taxi Driver (Motion picture). Columbia Pictures. Event occurs at 0:06:05.
51. "The Urban Matrix: Mérida - The Lebanese connection :: LOS DOS Cooking school". www.los-dos.com. Retrieved 2015-08-01.
52. "How unhealthy is a döner kebab?". BBC News Magazine. 21 January 2009.
53. Guardian Health – Kebab anyone?, The Guardian, 6 October 2006
54. "UK study reveals 'shocking' kebab". BBC News. 27 January 2009.
55. "Results of council survey on doner kebabs". LACORS. 27 January 2009.
56. "How unhealthy is a döner kebab?". BBC News. 21 January 2009.

Further reading

• Cardin, Geoff (July 29, 2011). "The Dish: Döner Kabob". Feast Magazine. Retrieved 2013-04-18.

External links

• Döner kebab at Wikibook Cookbooks
• Media related to Döner kebab at Wikimedia Commons
• The 10 best döner places in Turkey