Kebab: the fast food Europe can't quite explain
Kebab prices have gone from 3 to 6 euros, yet the queues keep forming. What's behind its success: price, addiction or a cultural mystery?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Kebab rules Europe and nobody can explain why
Kebab is the triumph of mediocre food over logic. Or at least it seems that way: in the middle of the era of conscious eating, kebab shops are still packed. The explanation isn't taste: it's the price-quantity-urgency equation.
From 3 to 6 euros: the price of a phenomenon
Kebab used to cost 3 euros and fill you up; today it costs between 5 and 6 and does almost the same. Even so, it remains the cheapest option for eating on the street. The industry plays on that advantage, and consumers turn a blind eye.
What's inside the wrap
The ingredient list is hardly appetising: non-commercial cuts such as rectum, udders, eyelids and ears, turned into spiced meat flour. Salt, sugar and fat do the rest. Nutritionists place it at the very bottom of the junk food scale, but the camouflage works.
Kebab is also a European phenomenon. In Muslim countries it barely exists and is considered junk food. Here it has become a late-night classic, an unpretentious fallback defended with a single word: it tastes good.
How long will the myth hold up?
With rising prices, kebab could lose its only competitive advantage. If it ends up costing as much as an average set menu, the empire will probably start to crumble. Or maybe not. The mystery of why we eat it remains unanswered.
Kebab is the triumph of mediocre food over logic. Or at least it seems that way: in the middle of the era of conscious eating, kebab shops are still packed. The explanation isn't taste: it's the price-quantity-urgency equation.
From 3 to 6 euros: the price of a phenomenon
Kebab used to cost 3 euros and fill you up; today it costs between 5 and 6 and does almost the same. Even so, it remains the cheapest option for eating on the street. The industry plays on that advantage, and consumers turn a blind eye.
What's inside the wrap
The ingredient list is hardly appetising: non-commercial cuts such as rectum, udders, eyelids and ears, turned into spiced meat flour. Salt, sugar and fat do the rest. Nutritionists place it at the very bottom of the junk food scale, but the camouflage works.
Kebab is also a European phenomenon. In Muslim countries it barely exists and is considered junk food. Here it has become a late-night classic, an unpretentious fallback defended with a single word: it tastes good.
How long will the myth hold up?
With rising prices, kebab could lose its only competitive advantage. If it ends up costing as much as an average set menu, the empire will probably start to crumble. Or maybe not. The mystery of why we eat it remains unanswered.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (33 replies).
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