Hamburger
- This article is about the sandwich. For the patty (also known as a burger or beefburger) in a hamburger, see patty.
A hamburger is a sandwich (in the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa and Saudi Arabia, the patty alone is known as a beefburger or burger) that consists of a patty of ground meat that is usually beef. The meat can be grilled, fried, steamed, or broiled, and is generally served with various condiments and toppings inside a bun baked specially for this purpose. Burgers are often served with french fries, potato chips, or onion rings.
Hamburger can also refer to the meat itself. This type of meat can be used in boxed dinners such as "Hamburger Helper". Hamburger is actually a distinct product from ground round and other types of ground meat. However, ground beef of any form is often commonly referred to as "hamburger." A recipe calling for 'hamburger' (the non-countable noun) would require ground beef or beef substitute- not a whole sandwich.
Etymology
The word "Hamburger" comes from Hamburg, Germany; the inhabitants of this city are also known as "Hamburger" in German but as Hamburgians in English. In Germany, local traditional snacks are often named after the place of origin, like the Frankfurter (also known as a hotdog), the Berliner (a type of "doughnut") or (Nürnberger) Bratwurst. In Hamburg it was common to put a piece of roast pork into a roll, called Rundstück warm, although this is missing the "essence" of the modern hamburger, which is ground meat. Yet another theory however states that also in Hamburg, Germany, meatscraps, similar to modern ground beef were served on a Brötchen,[1] a round bun-shaped piece of bread. It is said that German immigrants then took the Hamburger to the United States, where the bun was added, creating the modern Hamburger.[1]
Precursors and origins
The hamburger as ground meat can be traced back to the time when the Mongols (c. 1209) carried flat patties of lamb or mutton as a food source. Mongol riders would place the meat under the saddle; the saddle would tenderize the meat and the meat would be eaten raw. It gave the Mongols the ability to carry food, and eat it, all without dismounting from the horse. When the Mongols invaded Moscow, the hamburger was also brought and in turn was adopted as a cuisine named steak tartare after the invading Mongols (who were also known as the Tatars). Later, the German port of Hamburg had ships that visited a Baltic (by that time Russian) port and thus brought with it the new "tartare steak" as they would later call it. Ships from Hamburg, Germany coincidently shipped to New York also, and brought what is now known as the Hamburg steak.
In the Middle Ages, Hamburg was an important center of trade between Arab and European merchants. The theory is that Arab traders introduced Kibbeh, which is ground lamb mixed with spices, often eaten raw. The locals then adapted the dish by replacing the lamb with pork and/or beef, and more significantly, by cooking it to make a filet of ground meat, such as a "Hamburg Steak" or "Hamburger" as it eventually came to be known. From this they made a new and unique kind of Rundstück warm that came to be strongly associated with the city.
There is still a German tradition of making ground beef sandwiches, thought to descend from the original "Hamburg Rundstück," and which tend to be elongated like an American sub sandwich, and feature very different condiments than the typical modern hamburger. These are often referred to as "German hamburgers" outside of Germany, and are served in many German-food restaurants.
Within Germany, the specific connection between the food and the city of Hamburg became lost as the sandwich spread throughout the country and became a somewhat common dish. In other countries, the historical term "Hamburger" remained in popular usage to describe ground meat rolls and sandwiches. In modern times, the term hamburger may refer to the meat patty used to make the sandwich or to the sandwich itself.
Development of modern hamburgers
Although Hamburg, Germany is credited for the precursor to the hamburger, the origins of the first "modern" hamburger are often debated among scholars. [1] Of much debate is what exactly constitutes the "modern" hamburger, although there is general consensus that it refers to a hamburger patty's placement in a hamburger bun (not just any piece of bread). The hamburger bun is said to have been invented in 1916 by Walter Anderson, a short-order cook, who went on to co-found White Castle in 1921. Before the bun, hamburgers are said to have been served between two pieces of bread. In fact, a ground beef patty was known as "Hamburger steak" (first mentioned in an American cookbook in 1891); when this was put between bread or in a bun it was called a "Hamburger sandwich".
One claim of inventing the Hamburger sandwich comes from Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin. In 1885, he tried selling fried meatballs at the Outagamie County fair, but customers found them hard to eat while walking around the fair, so Nagreen flattened it and made it into a sandwich he called the "hamburger". (Seymour is home to the Hamburger Hall of Fame and the world's largest hamburger, weighing in at 8,266 pounds [3,749 kg].)
Hamburg, New York, also claims credit for the invention of the hamburger. This village celebrates a "Burgerfest" every summer, held to mark the anniversary of the hamburger's creation at the Erie County Fair in 1885 by the Menches brothers who lived and worked in Akron, Ohio.
On January 12, 1974, the New York Times ran a story about Louis' Lunch and its impending doom. In this story it stated, "a serious challenge to the title is a theory supported by the McDonald's Corporation, the nationwide hamburger chain. McDonald's historians have researched the problem and claim the inventor was an unknown food vendor at the St. Louis Fair in 1904." This food vendor is most likely Fletcher Davis (1864-1941), also known as "Old Dave" or "Uncle Fletch". Fletcher operated a café at 115 Tyler Street on the north side of the courthouse square in Athens, Texas in the late 1880's. The late Texas historian, Frank X. Tolbert researched Fletcher Davis and claims that he invented the "hamburger sandwich". Local history also supports that Fletcher was selling an unnamed sandwich of ground beef between two slices of bread at his lunch counter in the late 1880's. In 1904 Davis and his wife Ciddy with backing from local business took their sandwich to the 1904 World's Fair. Fletcher and Ciddy lauched their invention from, "Old Dave's Hamburger Stand" located on the pike at the fair. ("pike" meaning the midway.) Evidence of this comes from a New York Tribune article written by a reporter at the fair of a new sandwich called a hamburger, "the innovation of a food vendor on the pike." Tolbert's investigation proved that "Old Dave" was Fletcher Davis from Athens (Tolbert 1983). In addition to McDonald's claim, Dairy Queen ran a commercial during the 1980's that was filmed in the Athens, TX square, stating that Athens was the birthplace of the hamburger.[citation needed] In November 2006, The Texas State Legislature introduced Bill HCR-15, designating Athens as the "Original Home of the Hamburger".
Due to widely prevalent anti-German sentiment in the USA during the First World War, an alternative name for hamburgers ("salisbury steaks") became more common for the duration. Even after the war, hamburger's popularity was severely depressed until the White Castle chain of restaurants created a business model featuring sales of large numbers of small hamburgers (later sometimes called "slyders", "grease grenades", "gut bombs" and other dysphemisms, though "slyder" is now a generic term for a small hamburger) in the mid-1920s. The original "Salisbury steak", however, was simply well-cooked plain, bunless hamburger, and was "invented" in 1888 by Dr. James H. Salisbury, an English physician. Today, Salisbury steak usually contains egg, bread crumbs or other extenders, and seasonings and is topped with gravy. A thin, fried, hamburger steak is sometimes referred to as a "minute steak". In many parts of the U.S., the same term is sometimes used for a thin, mechanically tenderized (nearly chopped) piece of round steak.
Hamburgers today
The fast-food hamburger began its ascent to modern popularity when Ray Kroc purchased the McDonald's hamburger chain from the McDonald brothers in California, and opened his first McDonald's franchise in Illinois in the mid-1950s. Richard and Maurice McDonald had started the chain in San Bernardino, California, in 1948.
The "cheese hamburger," now simply the cheeseburger, is said to have first appeared in 1924, and credited to grill chef Lionel Sternberger of The Rite Spot restaurant in Pasadena, California. The term "burger" has now become generic, and may refer to sandwiches that have ground meat, chicken, fish (or even vegetarian) fillings other than a beef patty, but share the characteristic round bun. By the mid 20th century both terms were commonly shortened to "hamburger" or simply "burger." A "hamburger" today can also be made with finely chopped beef as well as ground beef.
Hamburgers are generally served in fast food restaurants. The McDonald's fast-food chain sells a sandwich called the Big Mac that is one of the world's top selling hamburgers. Other major fast-food chains – including Burger King (known as Hungry Jacks in Australia), A&W, Whataburger, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Wendy's, Jack in the Box, Harvey's, White Castle, In-N-Out Burger, Five Guys, Fatburger, Burgerville, Back Yard Burgers, and Sonic – also rely heavily on hamburger sales. Fuddruckers and Red Robin are popular hamburger chains that specialize in mid-tier "restaurant-style" variety of hamburgers. The "slider" style of mini hamburger is still popular regionally in the White Castle and Krystal chains.
Often, hamburgers served as a common picnic and party food cooked outdoors on barbecue grills. Hamburgers are also very good for backyard grilling and for home use. Hamburger patties are raw when first bought and may contain harmful bacteria, therefore caution is needed when handling them. Hamburgers should be fully cooked to kill the bacteria.
Ingredients of the meat of the hamburger
In most countries, a commercial hamburger usually contains no ham or other pork product. It is made primarily of ground beef, although it may also contain spices and other ingredients. (In the 1930's ground liver was sometimes added to the mixture). This is also known as a beef hamburger or a "beefburger." A beef hamburger that contains no other ingredients besides the beef itself is often referred to as an "all beef hamburger" or "all beef patties." Some prepare their patties with egg, bread crumbs, onions or onion soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, parsley or other ingredients.
Recent years have seen the increasing popularity of new types of "burgers" in which alternatives to ground beef are used as the primary ingredient. For example, a turkey burger uses ground turkey meat, a chicken burger uses either ground chicken meat or chicken filets. A buffalo burger uses ground meat from a bison and some mix Cow and buffalo, thus creating a "Beefalo burger" and an ostrich burger is made from ground seasoned ostrich meat. A bambi burger uses ground venison from deer. [2]
Veggie Burgers
A veggie burger, garden burger, or tofu burger uses a meat analogue, a meat substitute such as tofu, TVP, seitan (wheat gluten), quorn or an assortment of vegetables, ground up and mashed into patties.
Many of these types of burgers are lower in saturated fat or calories than traditional hamburgers.
Cheeseburger
A cheeseburger is a hamburger with cheese in addition to the meat. In 1924, Lionel Sternberger grilled the first cheeseburger in Pasadena, California. When Sternberger died in 1964, Time magazine noted in its February 7 issue that:
"...at the hungry age of 16, [Sternberger] experimentally dropped a slab of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger while helping out at his father's sandwich shop in Pasadena, thereby inventing the cheeseburger..."
Serving style
Methods of serving hamburgers vary considerably in different countries.
North America
In North America restaurants, burgers can be divided into two main types, fast food hamburgers and ones served at sit down restaurants. The latter is traditionally offered "with everything" (or "all the way," "deluxe," "the works," or in some regions "dressed"), which includes lettuce, tomato, onion, and often a pickle (or pickle relish). Cheese (usually processed cheese slices but often cheddar, Swiss, or blue, either melted on the meat patty or crumbled on top), is generally an option. Condiments are usually added to the hamburger, but they may be offered separately ("on the side"), with the two most common condiments being mustard and tomato ketchup. However, mayonnaise, other salad dressings, and barbecue sauce are also popular. Traditional "Texas" hamburgers and cheeseburgers usually eschew other liquid condiments besides mustard. Conversely, in the New York City Tri-State Area, burgers at both fast food and sit down establishments are served without mustard.
Other popular toppings include bacon, avocado or guacamole, sliced mushrooms or mushroom sauce, chili (with or without beans), salsa and other kinds of chile peppers. Heinz 57 sauce is popular among burger enthusiasts. Less popular ingredients include fried egg, scrambled egg, feta cheese, slices of ham, tartar sauce, and potato chips.
Standard toppings on hamburgers can vary by geographical region, particularly at restaurants that are not national or regional franchises. In the Upper Midwest, particularly Wisconsin, burgers are often made with a buttered bun, butter as one of the ingredients of the patty or with a pat of butter on top of the burger patty. This is called a "Butter Burger." In portions of the Carolinas, for instance, a Carolina-style hamburger "with everything" may be served with cheese, chili, onions, mustard, and cole slaw (usually a vinegar-heavy slaw with little or no mayonnaise), and national chain Wendy's sells a "Carolina Classic" burger with these toppings in these areas. In Hawaii hamburgers are often topped with teriyaki sauce, derived from the Japanese-American culture, and locally grown pineapple. Waffle House claims on its menus and website to offer 70,778,880 different ways of serving a hamburger. In portions of the Midwest and east coast, a hamburger served with lettuce, tomato, and onion is referred to as a "California burger." This usage is sufficiently widespread to appear on the menus of fast-food restaurants, most notably in locations of the Dairy Queen franchise.
A hamburger with two patties is a "double decker" or simply a "double," of which the Big Boy claims to be the first commercially sold, while a hamburger with three patties is a "triple," with the Wendy's restaurant chain being among the first to offer this as a regular product. Doubles and triples are often combined with cheese and occasionally with bacon as well, yielding a "double cheeseburger" or a "triple bacon cheeseburger," or alternatively, a "bacon double/triple cheeseburger." A hamburger with one patty, bacon, and cheese is a "bacon cheeseburger;" hamburgers with bacon but no cheese are often called "bacon-burger"s. The Hardee's restaurant chain gained extensive publicity within the United States following its introduction of the Monster Thickburger, with two meat patties, three slices of cheese, six strips of bacon, 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat. Other restaurants, such as In-N-Out, offer multiple patties and cheese on a burger (for example, 4 X 4 which is 4 meat patties and 4 slices of cheese). One could order as many meat patties as desired.
A patty melt is a sandwich consisting of a hamburger patty, sautéed onions and cheese between two slices of rye bread. The sandwich is then grilled so that the cheese melts thoroughly. A patty melt can also be made with tuna salad in lieu of hamburger, yielding a tuna melt.
To decrease cooking and serving time, fast food hamburgers have thinner patties than their fancier counterparts. The Carl's Jr. restaurant chain acknowledged this with the introduction of the "Six Dollar Burger," featuring a patty the same size as those served by sit-down restaurants for a lower price. Hamburgers also tend to be described by their combined uncooked weight, with a single uncooked burger a nominal four ounces (a "quarter pounder" [113.5 grams]); so, instead of a "double hamburger" one might encounter a "half pounder" (i.e. eight ounces [227 grams]; burger weights are always specified in pounds).
Fast-food hamburgers are usually dressed with a variety of condiments, and in order to get a fast-food hamburger without one of these standard condiments a special order may be required. Due to the recent low carbohydrate fad (popularized by the Atkins diet), many restaurants currently offer their hamburgers without a bun, wrapping them instead with lettuce.
United Kingdom
Hamburgers in the UK are very similar to their US cousin and the high-street is dominated by the same big two chains as in the US - McDonalds and Burger King. The menus offered to both countries are virtually identical, although portion sizes tend to be smaller in the UK.
An original and indigenous rival to the big two US giants was the quintessentially British fast food chain Wimpy, or as it was originally known Wimpy Bar - which served its burgers or cheeseburgers with British style chips, served on a plate accompanied by silverware and delivered to the customer's table. Wimpy died out as a brand in the late 80s, disappearing from the UK high-street. However, they can still occasionally be found in Motorway service stations, resembling much more the US style system of counter-service..
Hamburgers are also available from mobile kiosks, particularly at outdoor events such as football matches. These are often known colloquially as "wagons of death," due to the often poor standards of food hygiene often on offer. Burgers from this type of outlet are usually served without any form of salad - only fried onions and a choice of sauce (mayo, ketchup, brown sauce, etc.)
Chip shops, particularly in the West Midlands and Scotland, serve battered hamburgers (along with battered sausages). This is where the burger patty, by itself, is deep-fat-fried in batter and served, sans bun, with chips.
Hamburgers and veggie burgers, usually of a better quality, served with chips and salad, are now standard pub grub menu items. Indeed, many pubs specialize in "gourmet" burgers. These are usually high quality minced steak patties, topped with items such as blue cheese, brie, avacado etc.
Many British pubs are also notable for their extreme fondness for burger patties made from more exotic meats - common examples include venison burgers (sometimes called Bambi Burgers), Bison burgers and in some Australian themed pubs even Kangaroo burgers can be purchased. All of these hamburgers are served in a similar way to the traditional hamburger but may come with a different condiment - ie: Redcurrant sauce, mint sauce, plum sauce etc.
Australia
Fast food franchises sell American style fast food hamburgers in Australia. The traditional Australian hamburger almost always includes tomato, lettuce, cheese, grilled onion, beet|beetroot (canned slices), and meat as minimum, and can optionally include a fried egg (usually with a hard yolk), bacon, and a grilled pineapple ring. The only condiments regularly used are tomato sauce, which is similar to ketchup but has less vinegar and more sugar, or BBQ sauce. Hamburgers in Australia tend to be less oily and fatty than their US counterparts, and are more likely to include a full salad if available. The McDonalds "McOz" Burger is partway between American and Australian style burgers, having beetroot and grilled onion in an otherwise typical American burger. The Hungry Jacks "Aussie Burger" has tomato, lettuce, onion, cheese, bacon, beetroot, egg, tomato sauce and a meat patty.
Hamburger meat is almost always ground beef. Outside of fast food restaurants, "home made" style burgers, generally known as 'Hamburgers with the Lot' are usually bought from fish and chip shops.
China
In China, restaurants such as McDonald's and KFC have been proliferating all across this country. In many parts of China, small hamburger chains have opened up to capitalize on the popularity of hamburgers with children. Restaurants such as Peter Burger, although they attempt to copy McDonald's, use hamburger patties that are not 100% beef, although they claim to be.[citation needed]
In supermarkets and corner stores, customers can buy "hamburgers" (hanbao) off the bread shelf. These unrefrigerated so-called "hamburgers" are nothing more than ultra-sweet buns cut open with a thin slice of pork or ham placed inside without any condiments or vegetables. These hanbao are a half-westernised form of the traditional Cantonese "hamburgers" called "Char Siu Bao" (BBQ Pork Bun), see Chinese cuisine. The Chinese word for hamburger (hanbao) often refers to all sandwiches containing cooked meat, regardless of the meat's origin. This includes chicken burgers, as KFC is very popular in China.
Japan
In Japan, hamburgers can be served in a bun, called hambāgā (ハンバーガー), or just the patties served without a bun, known as hambāgu (ハンバーグ) or "hamburg", short for "hamburg steak".
Hamburg steaks (served without buns) are similar to what is known as Salisbury steaks in the USA. They are made from minced beef, pork or a blend of the two, mixed with minced onions, egg, breadcrumbs and spices. They are served with brown sauce (or demi-glace in restaurants) with vegetable or salad sides, or occasionally in Japanese curries. It is a popular item at home, and in casual, western style suburban restaurant chains known in Japan as "family restaurants". It became popular in the 1960's.
Hamburgers in buns, on the other hand, are predominantly the domain of fast food chains. As well as American chains such as McDonald's (nicknamed Makku) and Wendy's, Japan has a few home grown hamburger chain restaurants such as MOS Burger which serve what many consider to be excellent hamburgers. Local varieties of burgers served in Japan include teriyaki burgers, katsu burgers (containing tonkatsu) and burgers containing shrimp korokke. Some of the more unusual examples include the "Rice Burger", where the bun is made of rice, and the luxury 1000-yen (US $10) "Takumi Burger" (meaning "artisan taste"), featuring avocados, freshly-grated wasabi, and other rare seasonal ingredients. McDonald's has been gradually losing market share in Japan to these local hamburger chains, due in part to the preference of Japanese diners for fresh ingredients and more refined, "upscale" hamburger offerings. Burger King has already retreated from Japan.
Other countries
Rice burgers, mentioned above, are also available in several East Asian countries such as Taiwan and South Korea. Lotteria is a big hamburger franchise in Japan owned by the South Korean Lotte group, with outlets also in China, South Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan. In addition to selling beef hamburgers, they also have hamburgers made from squid, pork, tofu, and shrimp. Variations available in Korea include bulgogi burgers and kimchi burgers.
Not surprisingly, the Philippines, with American influences going back to US domination of the islands at the beginning of the 20th Century, retains a strong bond with American trends. A wide range of major US fast-food franchises are well represented, together with local imitators, often amended to the local palate. The famous chain McDonalds (locally nicknamed "McDo"), which is immensely popular with Filipinos, have a range of burger and chicken dishes often accompanied by plain steamed rice and/or French fries. Most popular of all with locals, the Philippines boasts its own burger-chain called Jollibee - which offers credible burger meals and chicken, including a signature burger called "The Big Champ". It is perhaps ironic, but very encouraging, that Jollibee now has a number of outlets in the United States. Jollibee, as well as other rewith ground chicken and/or pork patties, and are served with coleslaw and generous amounts of a sauce made by mixing ketchup, mayonnaise and sour cream. In addition to tasting nothing like most Western burgers, the large amount of sauce makes it a very messy food to eat, and these hamburgers are generally served in special paper or plastic pouches to avoid spilling the sauce on oneself.
In India, burgers are usually made using a chicken or a vegetable patty.Eating Beef and Pork is a taboo among for most Indians in accordance with the religious beliefs of Hindus and Muslims in India.The majority of fast food chains and restaurants in India do not serve beef or pork,Burgers are made using a chicken patty or a vegetable patty. McDonalds restaurants in India do not serve beef or pork, and the 'Big Mac' is replaced with the 'Maharaja Mac' which substitutes the beef patties with chicken.
In Pakistan there are no Pork Burgers. Apart from American Fast food chains, Burgers can be found on stalls near shopping areas. The most famous and cheap being 'Shami Burger' made from 'Shami Kebab'. It is a Kebab made by mixing lentil and Minced lamb meat. Onions, scrambled egg and ketchup are the most common toppings.
In Malaysia, as an Islamic country, where a slight majority of the population are Muslim, does not sell pork burgers although the country has 300 Mc Donalds and 800 KFC. The menu in Malaysia also includes eggs and fried chicken on top of the regular burgers. Burgers are also easily can be found at nearby mobile kiosks especially Ramly Burger.
Cultural associations
In the 1930s (and TV re-runs through the 1970s), the best-known association to the hamburger was Wimpy, a moocher in the cartoon Popeye who would "gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today." The character was the inspiration behind the name of the Wimpy hamburger chain.
Another character associated with the hamburger is Jughead of Archie Comics. He would often beg his best friend Archie Andrews to buy him a hamburger and was constantly seen hanging out at Pop Tate's restaurant. At one point in the series, Jughead even entered a hamburger eating contest. After defeating his opponent, his only thoughts were to eat more hamburgers.
In 1984, Wendy's aired a series of TV advertisements for its hamburgers in which an elderly woman (played by Clara Peller) commented, "Where's the beef?" when examining competitors' burgers. The quip became a national catchphrase.
In the mid-1990s, some American fast food restaurants such as Hardee's and Burger King began intensely marketing eating "large hamburgers" (of one half pounds [681 grams] of beef or more) as a sign of masculinity. Using scantily clad women and images of construction workers eating hamburgers, they introduced the notion that eating large hamburgers is a sign of manliness.
Oprah Winfrey was sued for saying she would stop eating hamburgers when there was a mad cow disease scare.
The Video Game and anime character Viewtiful Joe loves to eat Cheeseburger, which are his favorite food. Everytime he sees a Hamburger Stand or Restaurant he says "Cheeseburger, please!"
Urban legends
There has been a great proliferation of urban legends related to hamburgers, particularly relating to the McDonald's fast food chain.
References
- ^ a b Cooper, Jeanne (4 June 2006). "Did you know?". San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco.
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- Edge, John T. (2005). Hamburgers & Fries : an American Story. G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0-399-15274-1. - History and origins of the hamburger
See also
- Vada pav, a popular Indian burger
- Veggie burger
- Burgerless burger
- Mechanically separated meat
- Advanced meat recovery
- Nutritional facts of some popular hamburgers
- Salisbury steak
- Meat grinder
- Super Size Me
External links
