Tuesday 29 November 2016

History of the Gyros

A World History of the Gyro

The word "gyros" comes from the Greek word meaning "to spin" or "to turn". The very name conjures the spin of a gyroscope, which in food terms, evolved over time into the cylinders we now see at our favorite restaurants, set into motion by hydraulic pressure. However, the modern gyro is actually a scion of a long history of meat feasts, dating back to Alexander the Great and his massive armies, known for skewering meat on long, sword-like blades over fires. A recent discovery by Julie Hruby of Dartmouth, showed that the ancient Mycenaen's used portable grills to make a skewered meat called "souvlaki", which served as the culinary backdrop for Homer's "Odyssey". The ancient souvlaki pans were rectangular and made out of ceramic, and were likely used by chefs cooking for the Mycenaen ruling class. While the traditions of the gyro were upheld by Greeks, Arabs, and Turks alike, it wasn't until 1922 that the modern version of the gyro became popularized.

Photo Credit: http://blog.oup.com/2014/02/death-alexander-the-great-poison/

As hundreds of thousands of refugees poured into Greece from Asia Minor (present day Turkey), the first gyro masters were born, many of whom had Armenian origins.  After World War 2, the gyro traveled westward, following the immigration patterns of the Greeks themselves, and shops began popping up all over Europe, the United States, and Australia...popularizing gyros as one of the world's first global fast foods.

Photo Credit: http://www.heritagedaily.com/2014/10/spectacular-finds-from-ancient-greek-shipwreck-new-antihythera-discoveries-prove-luxury-cargo-survives/105250


In 1965, George Apostalou opened Parkview Restaurant in Chicago, and soon thereafter, opened a 3,000 square foot gyro plant named 'Central Gyros Wholesale'. Apostalou's success spread the model throughout Chicago, until 1973, when Andres Papantoniou started 'Gyros Inc.', and put the dish on route to Atlanta.  As the fame of the meat sandwiches spread, innovations naturally followed suit. A man named John Garlic invented the first assembly-line gyro cones, which put the spiced meats on an vertical, inverted cone rotisserie. This paved the way for companies like Kronos Foods to manufacture the meat on a massive scale. Today, consumers eat more than 300,000 gyros a day...almost 100 million a year!!!

 Photo Credit: Hubs Gyros I, Inc.

It seems that as longs as the world is "spinning", the gyro will be one of its most beloved foods!!!

 Photo Credit: Hubs Gyros I, Inc.