What is the best known Turkish food in the world? Rather, the one food item that is the most widely available all around the world, originating from Anatolia? It is not Turkish coffee, baklava or even the simit. The ubiquitous Turkish food is doner kebab. Depending on where you live, you may know it as gyro (Greek, made mostly with pork), tacos del pastor (brought to Latin America by Lebanese immigrants), shawarma in Arabic, Kebab Torki (in Persian) or simply as doner in Turkey. Doner, after all, has become the one food item that travels rather well, adapting to the taste buds of different cultures. It is quite versatile, as it can take on cabbage, curry sauce or mozzarella cheese as condiments, or be served on its own, inside a wrap or over rice.

It has become the most sold food item all around Europe after midnight. Doner kebab stands are the most frequented between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. in many European towns. Doner has become the post-drinking binge snack, the must-have street food. That is how doner gained the reputation as the top competitor against the burger chains.

So what are the origins of doner? After speaking to multiple food writers, chefs and historians, one can only agree that the exact origins of doner are unknown. However, most pundits agree that it was not cooked on a vertical spit over a fire until the 18th century. Rather, it was prepared horizontally over a charcoal fire. You can still see this way of cooking in some parts of Turkey, such as the eastern city of Erzurum. It is called cag kebabi. As American food journalist Robyn Eckhardt, who has done years of research in Turkey looking for unique local tastes, told Al-Monitor, “Cag kebabi is the uber doner. It is called a kebab but cooked like a doner, right? You get the best of both words — an initial char from the spit and then, after the meat has been shaved onto a skewer and given a flash over coals again, you get the extra char and texture from the bits that become crispy.” Eckhardt, just like any other gourmet, dismisses any attempt to produce doner on a gas or electric grill.

Turkish-born chef Somer Sivrioglu, owner of Efendy Restaurant in Sydney, Australia, who has published “Anatolia,” a delightful book on Turkish cuisine, concurs with Eckhardt: Doner is not one of your 30-minute meals that can be whipped up at home. Decent doner takes at least 24 hours of preparation, and quite a few hours of roasting over the hot charcoals. Never coming in direct contact with fire, the well-marinated lamb or veal meat slowly roasts as it spins over the heat. While its fat drips over the hot coals, it releases a unique blend of smoke that enriches the flavor of the fresh meat. Ideally it is cooked in open air. It is shaved into thin slices as the cooking process continues: One side of it becomes ready to be trimmed, while the other is still roasting. That makes the preparation worthy for big gatherings, feasts or for commercial use.