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History of Shawarma
There are few Mediterranean dishes as impressive as shawarma. Shawarma is made by stacking meat and fat alternately on a vertical rotisserie, often very high. The meat is cooked slowly this way, and then thin shavings are sliced off for customers to enjoy.
This traditional food has been enjoyed as far back as the 18th century Ottoman empire. Early shawarma was cooked over an open fire, but today a machine is used as well as an even heating source for food safety.
What hasn’t changed at all are the spices used to make shawarma what it is. Most shawarma is made with coriander, turmeric and ginger as well as many other spices. The mix of spices is iconic and encompasses a classic taste of Mediterranean food.
Meats Available
Although some people think that shawarma originally came from the way shepherds hung lambs over a fire to roast it, lamb is not the only meat that can be used to make shawarma. Shawarma can be lamb, chicken, beef, goat or turkey.
These meats can even be mixed together on the spit to make new and unique combinations. What sort of meat is used will vary depending on where you visit, but they are all cooked the same way with the same rich seasonings.
Why Shawarma is so Good
You may have noticed that shawarma tastes different than meat cooked in other ways—even without the spices. Way back in the Ottoman Empire, chefs realized that much of the flavor of meat was lost when turned on a spit horizontally, because the fat fell into the fire below.
They came up with the idea of the vertical spit. Instead of the fat falling below, gravity causes any melted fat to circulate through the meat instead, dripping downwards through the whole pile.
This keeps the flavor of the fat in the meat itself, without losing it from the positioning of the meat. The result is a particularly delicious cut of meat.
The meat is further improved on by the way it is cut. Trimming small shavings off the side gives shawarma a fine texture, and also enables it to be prepared very fast. Shawarma is considered a street food because it can quickly be prepared for hungry customers.
Just a quick shave off the spit and shawarma can be made into a wrap or sandwich right away. The success of this cooking method is the reason why it has been so popular for centuries.
The next time you take a bite of shawarma, take a moment to appreciate the ancient chefs who came up with this idea. Their hard work to invent a vertical spit and create this amazing food item is the reason we have it today.
Since this time period shawarma has globalized, and countries all over the world have put their own unique spin on what it should taste like. Although the flavor or meat may change depending on where you come from, the vertical spit and the method of cooking remain the same.