Knorr renames "Gypsy Sauce" and receives heavy criticism: "Unbelievable, ashamed of yourselves"

The name “gypsy sauce” was discussed for years. Now it is to be changed. But there is heavy criticism on social media.

• The name of a popular sauce from the Knorr brand has been discussed for a long time.
• Now the manufacturer of the "Knorr Gypsy Sauce" is drawing conclusions.
• The Knorr sauce has now been renamed.

Update from August 19, 11:25 am : After Knorr , other providers want to rename their "Gypsy sauce" . The food manufacturers Homann and Bautz'ner informed the dpa that their respective seasoning sauces will soon be called differently. "We have been planning the name change for a long time and the timing only depends on production-related circumstances," said a spokeswoman for the Saxon company Bautz'ner.

The discussion has also been going on for some time at the Lower Saxony company Homann, based in Dissen, as a spokesman for the Theo Müller group of companies announced. The term is still seen as a pure brand name , but “we will rename this brand in a way that suits the product during the next relaunch of the packaging design”. The companies initially gave no information about the new names.

"Gypsy sauce": Edeka / Netto are also considering renaming

From Edeka it was said that a renaming of the seasoning sauces of the own brands of Edeka and Netto was being examined. On Sunday it became known that Knorr was renaming its “Gypsy Sauce” to “Hungarian Style Paprika Sauce” (see original report) . "Since the term" gypsy sauce " negative can be interpreted, we have decided to give our Knorr sauce a new name", the parent company had Unilever the Bild am Sonntag reported.

Knorr renames "Gypsy Sauce" and receives heavy criticism: "Unbelievable, ashamed of yourselves"

Original notification from August 17th : Berlin - The name has been discussed for years, now it's a done deal: the name of a well-known Knorr sauce is being renamed, as was officially announced. In 2013 the brand refused to rename it.

Knorr decides to rename the "Gypsy Sauce" - "because the term can be interpreted negatively"

Against the background of the discussion about racist names and terms, the so-called "Gypsy sauce" is being renamed by Knorr . As the parent company Unilever informed "Bild am Sonntag" at the request of "Bild am Sonntag" , consumers will find "these as" Hungarian style paprika sauce "on the shelf". "Since the term" gypsy sauce "can be interpreted negatively, we have decided to give our Knorr Sauce a new name," the company continues.

Knorr renames "Gypsy Sauce": Central Council of German Sinti and Roma welcomes decision

"It is good that Knorr is responding to the complaints of many people," said Romani Rose , chairman of the Central Council of German Sinti and Roma, to the newspaper regarding the name change. However, he himself is more worried about the growing antiziganism in Germany and Europe . The naming of the Knorr sauce is "not of the utmost urgency." He considers it much more important to evaluate terms such as "Gypsy" depending on the context, "when, for example," Gypsies "or" Jews "are chanted with openly insulting intent in football stadiums."

“Gypsy sauce”: Knorr confirms the renaming - and sparked heated debate on Facebook and Twitter

The future renaming of Knorr's sauce sparked a heated debate on Twitter and Facebook . “You can only punish such companies with a boycott,” writes a user under a Facebook post. "Because you use mindful language?" Answered another user directly. “I don't buy anything from you anymore,” comments another, adding, “I'm starting to feel like I'm in the GDR. Incomprehensible. Shame on you."

Numerous users are also discussing on Twitter under the hashtag #Knorr . “For Knorr, Gypsies and Hungarians are probably the same thing. You may find that harmless, I don't, ”tweeted a user. Another wrote: "For some people (often they are racists) it must be terrible if the Z ******* sauce is renamed now. As if it tasted different just because it got a different name. These people are pretty childish. ”Another sums it up in a seemingly ironic way:“ How incredibly stable and stable people have to be whose world can be shaken by the renaming of a condiment. ”

A biscuit concert also thought of changing the product name after accusations of racism. The company had to contend with a huge shit storm.

How unbelievably stable and stable people have to be, whose world can be shaken by the renaming of a condiment. # Knorr

Knorr renames "Gypsy Sauce": Origin and sensation of the term "Gypsy"

The term "gypsies" is an old collective term for various ethnic groups that probably spread from India, especially through south-eastern Europe. The Central Council of the Sinti and Roma ethnic groups, who mainly live in Germany, calls the term “an alien description of the majority society, superimposed by clichés, which is rejected as discriminatory by most members of the minority”. The term is also perceived this way in public usage.

The term “gypsy sauce” has been used in kitchen technology for more than 100 years. It can be found in Escoffier's reference book for classic cuisine as early as 1903. Traditionally, consumers associate the sauce with a Hungarian and spicy flavor . According to Sinti and Roma, however, the sauce did not come from their kitchen. (dpa / mbr)

List of rubric lists: © afp / MacDougall