Vienna 5 (Schnitzel)
May 18th, 2009 at 13:21I love Schnitzel. I grew up with Schnitzel, on Schnitzel. My mother makes an excellent Wiener Schnitzel.
Traveling to Vienna from the U.S. I crave simple food. Slow food. Most of all I crave Wiener Schnitzel. I have one every other day. My Viennese friends make fun of me. It would never occur to them to order the Wiener Schnitzel on the menu.
Wiener Schnitzel is undeniably simple (though, like all simple dishes, difficult to prepare): veal, breading, lemon, cucumbers, potatoes sprinkled with parsley, a glass of Grüner Veltliner.
In its simplicity the Wiener Schnitzel is the antithesis of the often over-spiced food served in American restaurants.
Or is it?
Is the Wiener Schnitzel really so simple?
A quick search on Wikipedia tells me that in Austria the name Wiener Schnitzel is protected under federal law. Every Schnitzel offered by that name in any Austrian restaurant has to be made from veal. And why not? The Wiener Schnitzel is not the only food protected by law: Coca Cola, Nutella, Aspirin. While a Schnitzel can be made from pork, chicken, turkey, served with pasta or in pita, the Wiener Schnitzel® stays the same. Copyrighting and trademarking food items are common procedures in capitalist economies. They recognize and protect intellectual ownership. Copyrights + trademarks prevent unauthorized use of someone else’s ideas. But the ®Wiener Schnitzel works on a different level. It is a political statement on the nature of Austrian culture.
Every food is political in the sense that it may be used to express cultural stereotypes + national values. The ®Wiener Schnitzel is no exception. It is however unique in its aspiration. Wiener Schnitzel® is not about the protection of the rights of an individual or a company. Rather, the Wiener Schnitzel© Act aims at preserving the ‘purity’ & ‘authenticity’ of Austrian national culture. ®Wiener Schnitzel®: “Leitkultur” (leading culture) Vienna style. Similar in spirit to the German “Reinheitsgebot” (German beer purity law).
Now it makes sense to me that my friends rarely order Wiener®Schnitzel in a restaurant. There’s no need for them to become more Viennese, or more Austrian. The ®Wiener Schnitzel is for the stranger. Bite by bite the foreigner fills herself with Austria©. Bit by bit the stranger assimilates to national culture. At the end of the meal ©Austria® has infiltrated his body. Force feeding a là Viennese: charming, delicious, simple, efficient.
While Austrian law makers feel responsible for the survival + preservation of the ®Wiener©Schnitzel®, foreigners, Jews, Muslims remain unprotected. The assault of concentration camp survivors at a memorial service at Ebensee two weeks ago was not just an isolated incident by a group of misguided teenagers; anti-semitism and xenophobia are the violent consequences of a political culture that protects the ®©Wiener®Schnitzel®© and rejects diversity.
“Can I have the Schnitzel, please?”
Schnitzel (Gasthaus Inigo, Bäckerstrasse 18, Vienna)
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image 1: en. wikepedia.org image 2: ©author®Posted: May 18th, 2009
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