One of the most common fast foods in Greece is souvlaki with pita gyros or kebab. It is an ideal choice for those who want to eat something delicious and fast. The Greeks feed a love for this food. They combine it with different ingredients, such as lettuce, tomato etc. When we refer to souvlaki, we mean meat with stick. But it has not only greek origins, but Turkish origins too. Because many restaurants and canteens sell it in Turkey with some differences. Although it is the same thing. It comes with many variations in Greece, so you should taste each one separately. It is the heaven of fast food.
Now, let’s talk about pita gyros, souvlaki and kebab.
History Of
Pita Gyros
The gyros probably originates from the Ottoman Cuisine of the 17th century. In particular, kebab is a food which resembles baked gyros. The most potential reason for the arrival of gyros in Greece is due to the refugees from Smyrni and Istanbul. These people brought with them the donner kebab (1922-1923). As the years passed by, the donner kebab turned into gyros. You can see how linked gyros and kebab are. Nowadays, gyros is one of the top food in Greek Cuisine and is pretty famous in many places of the world, e.g United States and Australia.
This meat (gyros) was named from the process of rotation around its axis and then the meat is baked from one side. In the Greek language, this is “gyra”.
Pita Gyros >> Souvlaki
The recipe is known from greek antiquity. There have been some reports from “Athinaios” in his work “Deipnosofistes” which refer to a portion of food. It was similar to the souvlaki and they had named it “kandavlos”. Additionally, it contained baked meat and cheese and they served kandavlos with the meat juice.
Moreover, souvlaki with meat refers to the Roman texts of the1st century, where the salesmen gave it, except fruit or vegetables. The word comes from the “souvla” , which originates from the Latin subulus.
Kebab
Today’s doner kebab dawned from the oltu kebab. Oltu is a place near Erzurum in Turkey. Traditionally, they cooked the meat in horizontial directions and cut it in thick pieces. Even if many restaurants in Turkey serve it in the old-fashioned way. In current days, chefs make donner as a sandwich inside a pie. They combine it with salad and sauce.
Subsequently, the differences are in the details. These three treats differ in the process of cooking.
Pita Gyros
Firstly, it is made with either pork or chicken, but there are some alterations with lamb and minced meat. The cooks wrap the meat with a pie or a covered pie and add different ingredients.
Often serve it with tomato, onion, fried potatoes and a sauce. The sauce may differ, since there is a variety of them. It may be plain yoghurt, tzatziki, ketchup and mustard. In Corfu, they use stew sauce. Also, in Crete they pour a large amount of paprika in order to make it spicier.
Souvlaki vs Kebab
The first one is a traditional dish which is cooked on skewers. It can also be described as Greek Kebabs. Primarily, it comprises of meat, but sometimes vegetables. Usually, people eat kebabs directly from the skewers at roadside restaurants. On the opposite side, they serve these kebabs inside a pita or a sandwich. Secondly, the cooks can make it rapidly and it is not expensive at all. No matter how cheap might be, inflation has an impact on meat prices. So, the price of souvlaki has been constantly rising. The most loved choice is pork, but they use lamb and chicken.
Differences
- Kebab and Souvlaki are cooked on skewers. Many people believe that the first one has been originated in the Near East, while the second one is referred to as Greek.
- Souvlaki has a different process for cooking from Kebabs (referring to the kebabs).
- They made souvlaki with pork in Greece, but previously used lamb to make kebabs.
- They provide the souvlaki with sandwich pie, although give out kebabs only on plates.
- They use separate seasonings for Souvlaki and garlic is one of the most essential ingredients of it.
To sum up, these are one of the best meals in Greece, which are fast foods. The tourists select them and want to eat them constantly, especially pita gyros. In addition, they relieve you from hunger, depending on the quantity, and they are not expensive. You can have 2 “souvlakia” (plural) for dinner and pay only 5 euros. There are many taverns, which provide customers with this food. Even in the corner of your neighbourhood, you can see at least two. They are the most distinctive dishes in Greece and around the world, certainly. Many outsiders know this fast food, even from Turkey or Greece. There is also the opportunity to make your own souvlaki at home. If you gather all the right ingredients and have the urge to learn, then press here.
If you have an interest in grasping more about the differences between pita gyros, souvlaki and kebab, click here!