Gyros

The name comes from the Greek (, or ). It is a calque of the Turkish , from , also meaning . The name döner was formerly used in Greece, spelled ντονέρ. and the word 'gyros' proposed to replace it. In Greek, "" is a nominative singular noun, but the final 's' is often interpreted in English usage as plural, leading to the singular back-formation "gyro". The standard Greek and English pronunciation is . Some English speakers pronounce it , because the word is a heteronym of the related word "gyro". In Athens and other parts of southern Greece, the skewered meat dish elsewhere called souvlaki| is known as , while is a term used generally for gyros, and similar dishes. In other regions, for example in Thessaloniki, only refers to the meat on the spit, and what English speakers refer to as a "gyros wrap" is called a (). Related dishes Gyros is similar to other dishes such as the Arab shawarma, Canadian donair, and Mexican al pastor, all of which are derived from the Turkish doner kebab. ==History==

Grilling a vertical spit of stacked meat and slicing it off as it cooks was developed in the city of Bursa during the 19th century in the Ottoman Empire. After the 1922–23 population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the Greeks of Asia Minor brought their variation with them to Greece. Following World War II, gyros made with lamb was present in Athens. The Greek version is normally made with pork and served with tzatziki, and became known as gyros. By 1970, gyros wraps were already a popular fast food in Athens, as well as in Chicago and New York City. At that time, although vertical rotisseries were starting to be mass-produced in the US by Gyros Inc. ==Preparation==

In Greece, gyros is normally made with pork, though other meats are used in other countries. The rate of roasting can be adjusted by varying the intensity of the heat, the distance between the heat and the meat, and the speed of spit rotation, thus allowing the cook to adjust for varying rates of consumption. In Greece, it is customarily served in an oiled, lightly grilled piece of pita, rolled up with sliced tomatoes, chopped onions, and fried potatoes, sometimes topped with tzatziki, or, sometimes in northern Greece, ketchup or mustard. ==See also==