From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
Also pocket bread. A round Middle Eastern flatbread with a pocket, used for centuries to serve the function of plate and utensil, because the ingredients of a meal can be put inside. Developed by Arab nomads, who baked it during their caravan travel, the pita was used to take pit-roasted meats off their skewers (kebabs) by grabbing the meat with an open pita in one hand and sliding it off its spit.
