Hamburger
Encyclopedia
A hamburger is a sandwich
consisting of a cooked patty
of ground meat
(usually beef
, but occasionally pork or a combination of meats) usually placed inside a sliced bread roll
. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce
, bacon
, tomato
, onion
, pickles
, cheese
and condiment
s such as mustard
, mayonnaise
, ketchup
and relish
.
The term hamburger or burger can also be applied to the meat patty
on its own, especially in the UK where the term "patty" is rarely used, although the term "hamburger" is rarely used in Commonwealth nations (other than Canada
and Australia
).
The term hamburger originally derives from Hamburg
, Germany
's second largest city, from where many people emigrated to the United States
. In High German, Burg means fortified settlement or fortified refuge; and is a widespread component of place names. Hamburger can be a descriptive noun in German
, referring to someone from Hamburg (compare London
-> Londoner) or an adjective describing something from Hamburg. Similarly, frankfurter
and wiener, names for other meat-based foods, are also used in Germany as descriptive nouns for people and as adjectives for things from the cities of Frankfurt
and Wien
(Vienna), respectively. The term "burger" is associated with many different types of sandwiches similar to a hamburger, using different meats, such as a buffalo burger, turkey burger, elk burger, salmon burger
, or even a veggie burger.
was brought back to Germany and called "tartare steak".
Immigrants to the United States from German-speaking countries brought with them some of their favorite foods. One of them was Hamburg Steak. The Germans simply flavored shredded low-grade beef with regional spices, and both cooked and raw it became a standard meal among the poorer classes. In the seaport town of Hamburg, it acquired the name Hamburg steak. Today, this hamburger patty is no longer called Hamburg Steak in Germany but rather "Frikadelle", "Frikandelle" or "Bulette", originally Italian and French words.
In the late 18th century, the largest ports in Europe were in Germany. Sailors who had visited the ports of Hamburg, Germany and New York, brought this food and term "Hamburg steak" into popular usage. To attract German sailors, eating stands along the New York city harbor offered "steak cooked in the Hamburg style". The Oxford English Dictionary
defined Hamburg steak as salt beef. It had little resemblance to the hamburger we know today. It was a hard slab of salted minced beef, often slightly smoked, mixed with onions and breadcrumbs. The emphasis was more on durability than taste.
during the 19th century. The meat grinder was purportedly invented by Dr. Karl Drais
in the 19th century. Patents were filed for some designs that were interpreted as meat choppers.
The first printed American menu which listed hamburger was an 1826 menu from Delmonico's in New York.
Between 1871-1884, “Hamburg Beefsteak” was on the “Breakfast and Supper Menu” of the Clipper Restaurant at 311/313 Pacific Street in San Fernando. It cost 10 cents—the same price as mutton chops, pig’s feet in batter, and stewed veal. It was not, however, on the dinner menu, only “Pig’s Head” “Calf Tongue” and “Stewed Kidneys” were listed.
Hamburger Steak, Plain and Hamburger Steak with Onions, was served at the Tyrolean Alps Restaurant at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
By the mid-18th century, German immigrants also began arriving in England. One recipe, titled "Hamburgh Sausage," appeared in Hannah Glasse's 1758 English cookbook called The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. It consisted of chopped beef, suet, and spices. The author recommended that this sausage be served with toasted bread. Hannah Glasse's cookbook was not published in the United States until 1805. This American edition also contained the "Hamburgh Sausage" recipe with slight revisions. In addition, the original Boston Cooking School Cook Book, by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln (Mary Bailey),
1844 had a recipe for Broiled Meat Cakes and also Hamburgh Steak. Moreover, the 1894 edition of the book The Epicurean: A Complete Treatise of Analytical & Practical Studies contains a listing for Beef Steak Hamburg Style.
The dish is also listed in French as Bifteck à Hambourgeoise.
Upton Sinclair
(1878–1968), American novelist, described the horrors of the Chicago meat packing plants in his book called The Jungle
; he was surprised that the public missed his intended point—treatment of workers—and instead took it to be an indictment of unhygienic conditions of the meat packing industry. This caused people to not trust chopped meat for several years, avoiding hamburgers.
, in New Haven, Connecticut
, is the original American Hamburger, being served since 1895.
As mentioned, the Texas
historian Frank X. Tolbert
attributes the American version of the Glasse cookbook to Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas
. Davis is believed to have sold hamburgers at his café
at 115 Tyler Street in Athens, Texas in the late 1880s, then brought them to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
. An article about Louis' Lunch
in The New York Times
on January 12, 1974 stated that the McDonald's
hamburger chain claims the inventor was an unknown food vendor at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Tolbert's research documented that this vendor was in fact Fletcher Davis. Dairy Queen
spokesman Bob Phillips
made a similar claim for Dairy Queen in a commercial filmed in Athens in the 1980s calling the town the birthplace of the hamburger.
Residents of Hamburg, New York
, which was named after Hamburg
, Germany
, attribute the hamburger to Ohio
ans Frank and Charles Menches. According to legend, the Menches brothers were vendors at the 1885 Erie County Fair
(then called the Buffalo Fair) when they ran out of sausage
for sandwiches and used beef instead. They named the result after the location of the fair. However, Frank Menches's obituary in The New York Times states instead that these events took place at the 1892 Summit County Fair in Akron, Ohio
.
The Seymour Community Historical Society of Seymour, Wisconsin
, credits Charlie Nagreen
, now known as "Hamburger Charlie", with the invention of the hamburger. Nagreen was fifteen when he reportedly made sandwiches out of meatball
s that he was selling at the 1885 Seymour Fair (now the Outagamie County Fair), so that customers could eat while walking. The Historical Society explains that Nagreen named the hamburger after the Hamburg steak with which local German immigrants were familiar.
The Library of Congress
credits Louis Lassen of Louis' Lunch, a small lunch wagon in New Haven, Connecticut
, for selling the first hamburger and steak sandwich
in the U.S. in 1895. New York
magazine states that, "The dish actually had no name until some rowdy sailors from Hamburg named the meat on a bun after themselves years later", noting also that this claim is subject to dispute.
There is good evidence that the first hamburger served on a bun was made by Oscar Weber Bilby of Tulsa, Oklahoma
in 1891.
"In April of 1995, the Dallas Morning News reported Oklahoma author says Tulsa beats out Texas as the birthplace of delicacy. Michael Wallis, author of "Route 66, The Mother Road", was quoted by the newspaper to say he had discovered Tulsa's place in culinary history. The discovery was made while researching the state’s tastiest hamburgers. What better place to start than the restaurant that has been voted Tulsa's best burger more often than any other restaurant since 1933…Weber’s Root Beer Stand. Mr. Wallis’ research revealed that Oscar Weber Bilby was the first person to serve a real hamburger. On July 4, 1891, ground beef was served on his wife’s homemade buns. The Fourth of July party took place on his farm, just west of present day Tulsa. Until then, ground beef had been served in Athens, Texas on simple slices of bread, known presently and then as a "patty melt
". According to the Tulsa-based author, the bun is essential. Therefore, in 1995, Oklahoma
Governor Frank Keating
cited Athens, Texas' feat of ground beef between two slices of bread to be a minor accomplishment. The Governor's April 1995 Proclamation also cites the first true hamburger on the bun, as meticulous research shows, was created and consumed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1891. The Governor's Proclamation on April 13, 1995 cites Tulsa as "The Real Birthplace of the Hamburger."
The hamburger bun was invented in 1916 by a fry cook named Walter Anderson, who co-founded White Castle
in 1921.
restaurant
s. The hamburgers served in major fast food establishments are usually mass-produced in factories and frozen for delivery to the site. These hamburgers are thin and of uniform thickness, differing from the traditional American hamburger prepared in homes and conventional restaurants, which is thicker and prepared by hand from ground beef
. Generally most American hamburgers are round, but some fast-food chains, such as Wendy's
, sell square-cut hamburgers. Hamburgers in fast food restaurants are usually grilled on a flat-top, but some firms, such as Burger King
use a gas flame grilling process. At conventional American restaurants, hamburgers may be ordered "rare" (occasionally requiring the signing of a waiver
), but normally are served medium-well or well-done for food safety reasons. Fast food restaurants do not usually offer this option.
The McDonald's
fast-food chain sells the Big Mac
, one of the world's top selling hamburgers. Other major fast-food chains, including Burger King
(also known as Hungry Jack's
in Australia), A&W
, Culver's
, Whataburger
, Carl's Jr.
/Hardee's
chain, Wendy's
(known for their square patties), Jack in the Box, Cook Out
, Harvey's, Shake Shack
, In-N-Out Burger
, Five Guys
, Fatburger
, Vera's, Burgerville
, Back Yard Burgers
, Lick's Homeburger
, Roy Rogers, Smashburger
and Sonic
also rely heavily on hamburger sales. Fuddruckers
and Red Robin
are hamburger chains that specialize in mid-tier "restaurant-style" variety of hamburgers.
Some North American establishments offer a unique take on the hamburger beyond what is offered in fast food
restaurant
s, using upscale ingredients such as sirloin or other steak along with a variety of different cheeses, toppings, and sauces. Some examples would be the Bobby's Burger Palace chain founded by well-known chef and Food Network
star Bobby Flay
.
Hamburgers are often served as a fast dinner, picnic or party food, and are usually cooked outdoors on barbecue grills.
Raw hamburger may contain harmful bacteria that can produce food-borne illness such as Escherichia coli O157:H7
, due to the occasional initial improper preparation of the meat, so caution is needed during handling and cooking. Because of the potential for food-borne illness, the USDA recommends hamburgers be cooked to an internal temperature of 170 °F (80 °C). If cooked to this temperature, they are considered well-done.
A high-quality hamburger patty is made entirely of ground (minced) beef and seasonings; this may be described as an "all-beef hamburger" or "all-beef patties" to distinguish them from inexpensive hamburgers made with added flour
, textured vegetable protein
, ammonia treated defatted beef trimmings what the company Beef Products
Inc, calls “lean finely textured beef”, Advanced meat recovery
(see below: Health-related controversies) or other filler
to decrease their cost. In the 1930s ground liver
was sometimes added to the patties. Some cooks prepare their patties with binders, such as eggs
or breadcrumb
s. Seasonings may be included with the hamburger patty including salt
and pepper
, and others such as parsley
, onion
s, soy sauce
, Thousand Island dressing
, onion soup
mix, or Worcestershire sauce
. Many name brand seasoned salt
products are also used.
meat, a chicken burger uses ground chicken
meat. A buffalo burger uses ground meat from a bison
, and an ostrich burger is made from ground seasoned ostrich
meat. A deer burger uses ground venison
from deer
.
Rehydrated textured vegetable protein
, TVP, has a more than 50 year safe-track record of inexpensively extending ground beef for hamburgers, without reducing its nutritional value.
A veggie burger, garden burger, or tofu burger
uses a meat analogue
, a meat substitute such as tofu
, TVP
, seitan
(wheat gluten), quorn
, beans, grains or an assortment of vegetables, ground up and mashed into patties.
In 2011, a Japanese scientist named Mitsuyuki created a synthetic burger made from human feces. The "burger" consisted of synthesized protein with soya and steak sauce for taste preservation. Mitsuyuki claimed the taste was similar to beef, and explained that the makeup of the burger was 63 percent protein, 25 percent carbohydrates, three percent lipids and nine percent minerals.
and Canada
, burgers may be classified as two main types: fast food hamburgers and individually prepared burgers made in homes and restaurant
s. The latter are traditionally prepared "with everything" , which includes lettuce
, tomato
, onion
, and often sliced pickles
(or pickle relish). Coleslaw
and french fries
usually accompany the burger. Cheese
(usually processed cheese slices
but often Cheddar
, Swiss
, pepper jack, or blue
), either melted on the meat patty or crumbled on top, is generally an option.
Condiment
s might be added to a hamburger or may be offered separately on the side including mustard
, mayonnaise
, ketchup
, salad dressings and barbecue sauce
.
Other toppings include bacon
, avocado
or guacamole
, sliced sautéed mushroom
s, cheese sauce and/or chili
(usually without bean
s), fried egg
, scrambled egg
, feta cheese, blue cheese
, salsa
, pineapple
, jalapeno
s and other kinds of chile peppers, anchovies
, slices of ham or bologna
, pastrami
or teriyaki
-seasoned beef, tartar sauce
, french fries
, onion rings
or potato chips.
Standard toppings on hamburgers may depend upon location, particularly at restaurants that are not national or regional franchises. A "Texas
burger" uses mustard
as the only sauce, and comes with or without vegetables, jalapeno slices, and cheese. 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 the Carolinas, for instance, a Carolina-style hamburger "with everything" may be served with cheese, chili, onions, mustard, and coleslaw
. 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 called a "California
burger". This usage is sufficiently widespread to appear on the menus of Dairy Queen
. In the Western U.S., a "California" burger often means a cheeseburger, with guacamole and bacon added. Pastrami burgers may be served in Salt Lake City, Utah
.
, burgers (called hamburgesas) are served with ham
and slices of American cheese
(locally called queso americano) fried on top of the meat patty. The toppings include avocado
, shredded lettuce, onion and tomato. The bun has mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard. In certain parts are served with bacon, which can be fried or grilled along with the meat patty. A slice of pineapple is also a usual option, and the variation is known as a "Hawaiian hamburger".
Some restaurant's burgers also have barbecue sauce, and others also replace the ground patty with sirloin, Al pastor meat, barbacoa
or a fried chicken breast. Many burger chains from the United States can be found all over Mexico, including Carl's Jr., Sonic, as well as global chains such as McDonald's and Burger King.
is dominated by the same big two chains as in the U.S. — McDonald's and Burger King. The menus offered to both countries are virtually identical, although portion sizes tend to be smaller in the UK. In Ireland the food outlet Supermacs is widespread throughout the country serving burgers as part of its menu. In Ireland, Abrakebabra (started out selling kebabs) and Eddie Rockets are also major chains.
An original and indigenous rival to the big two U.S. giants was the quintessentially British fast-food chain Wimpy
, originally known as Wimpy Bar (opened 1954 at the Lyon’s Corner House in Coventry Street London), which served its hamburgers on a plate with British-style chips
, accompanied by cutlery
and delivered to the customer's table. In the late 1970s, to compete with McDonald's, Wimpy began to open American-style counter-service restaurants and the brand disappeared from many UK high streets when those restaurants were rebranded as Burger Kings between 1989-90 by the then-owner of both brands, Grand Metropolitan
. A management buyout
in 1990 split the brands again and now Wimpy table-service restaurants can still be found in many town centers whilst new counter-service Wimpys are now often found at motorway service stations.
Hamburgers are also available from mobile kiosk
s, particularly at outdoor events such as football
matches. Burgers from this type of outlet are usually served without any form of salad — only fried onions and a choice of tomato ketchup, mustard or brown sauce.
Chip shops, particularly in the West Midlands, North-East, Scotland and Ireland, serve battered hamburgers called batter burgers. This is where the burger patty, by itself, is deep-fat-fried in batter and is usually served with chips.
Hamburgers and veggie burger
s served with chips and salad, are standard pub grub menu items. Many pubs specialize in "gourmet" burgers. These are usually high quality minced steak patties, topped with items such as blue cheese, brie, avocado et cetera. Some British pubs serve burger patties made from more exotic meats including venison
burgers (sometimes nicknamed Bambi Burgers), bison
burgers, ostrich
burgers and in some Australian themed pubs even kangaroo
burgers can be purchased. These burgers are served in a similar way to the traditional hamburger but are sometimes served with a different sauce including redcurrant sauce, mint sauce and plum sauce.
In the early 21st century "premium" hamburger chain and independent restaurants have arisen, selling burgers produced from meat stated to be of high quality and often organic
, usually served to eat on the premises rather than to take away. Chains include Gourmet Burger Kitchen
, Ultimate Burger, Hamburger Union and Byron Hamburgers in London.
In recent years Rustlers
has sold pre-cooked hamburgers re-heatable in a microwave oven
in the United Kingdom.
In the UK, as in North America and Japan, the term "burger" can refer simply to the patty, be it beef, some other kind of meat, or vegetarian.
(canned slices), pineapple, a fried egg (usually with a soft yolk) and bacon. If all these optional ingredients are included it is known in Australia as "The Lot". The only variance between the two countries' hamburgers is that New Zealand's equivalent to the "The Lot" often contains a steak (beef) as well. The only condiments regularly used are barbecue sauce and tomato sauce. The McDonald's
"McOz" Burger is partway between American and Australian style burgers, having beetroot and tomato in an otherwise typical American burger, however it is no longer a part of the menu. Likewise McDonald's in New Zealand created a Kiwiburger
, similar to a Quarter Pounder, but features salad, beetroot and a fried egg. The Hungry Jack's
(Burger King
) "Aussie Burger" has tomato, lettuce, onion, cheese, bacon, beetroot, egg, ketchup and a meat patty.
and KFC
have been proliferating all across the country. In many parts of China, small hamburger chains have opened up. Restaurants such as Peter Burger attempt to copy McDonald's
.
In supermarkets and corner stores, customers can buy unrefrigerated "hamburgers" (hanbao) off the bread shelf. These are 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 buns called "char siu
bao
" (BBQ Pork Bun). The Chinese word for hamburger (hanbao) often refers to all sandwiches containing hamburger buns and cooked meat, regardless of the meat's origin including chicken burgers.
In Japan
, hamburgers can be served in a bun, called hanbāgā (ハンバーガー), or just the patties served without a bun, known as hanbāgu (ハンバーグ) or "hamburg", short for "hamburg steak".
Hamburg steaks
(served without buns) are similar to what is known as Salisbury steak
s 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 may be served in casual, western style suburban restaurant chains known in Japan as "family restaurants
".
Hamburgers in buns, on the other hand, are predominantly the domain of fast food chains such as American chains known as McDonald's and Wendy's
. Japan has home grown hamburger chain restaurants such as MOS Burger
, First Kitchen
and Lotteria
. 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 avocado
s, freshly grated wasabi
, and other rare seasonal ingredients. In terms of the actual patty, there are burgers made with Kobe beef
, butchered from cows that are fed with beer and massaged daily. McDonald's Japan also recently launched a McPork burger, made with U.S. pork
. 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
once retreated from Japan, but re-entered the market in Summer 2007 in cooperation with the Japanese fast-food chain Lotteria.
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 South Korea include Bulgogi
burgers and Kimchi
burgers.
The Philippines
retains a strong bond with American trends. A wide range of major U.S. fast-food franchises are well represented, together with local imitators, often amended to the local palate. The chain McDonald's
(locally nicknamed "McDo") have a range of burger and chicken dishes often accompanied by plain steamed rice and/or French fries. The Philippines boasts its own burger-chain called Jollibee
, which offers burger meals and chicken, including a signature burger called "The Big Champ". Jollibee now has a number of outlets in the United States, the Middle East and East Asia.
In India
, burgers are usually made from chicken or a vegetable patties due to cultural beliefs against eating beef (which stem from Hindu
religious practice) and pork (which stems from Islamic religious practice). Because of this, the majority of fast food chains and restaurants in India do not serve beef. McDonald's in India, for instance, do not serve beef, offering the "Maharaja Mac" instead of the Big Mac, substituting the beef patties with chicken. Another version of the Indian vegetarian burger is the Wada Pav consisting deep-fried potato patty dipped in gramflour batter. It is usually served with mint chutney and fried green chili.
In Pakistan
, apart from American fast food chains, burgers can be found in stalls near shopping areas, the best known being the "shami burger". This is made from "shami kebab", made by mixing lentil and minced lamb. Onions, scrambled egg and ketchup are the most may be toppings.
In Malaysia there are 300 McDonald's
restaurants. The menu in Malaysia also includes eggs and fried chicken on top of the regular burgers. Burgers are also easily found at nearby mobile kiosks, especially Ramly Burger
.
In Mongolia
, a recent fast food craze due to the sudden influx of foreign influence has led to the prominence of the hamburger. Specialized fast food restaurants serving to Mongolian tastes have sprung up and seen great success.
In Turkey
, in addition to the internationally familiar variations of burgers, localized variations of the hamburger such as the Islak Burger (lit. "Wet-Burger"), lamb-burgers and offal
-burgers are offered by global chains McDonald's
and Burger King
and local fast food businesses alike. The Islak Hamburger, which is typically assembled with just the patty and bun, coated with seasoned tomato sauce and stemed within a glass chamber, has its origins in the Turkish fast food retailer Kizilkayalar. Furthermore, hamburger shops have also adopted a pizzaria-like approach when it comes to delivering and almost all major fast food chains deliver.
In Mexico, burgers are often accompanied by ham and avocado. They also usually have shredded lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and bacon, which can be fried or grilled along with the meat patty, cheese, and condiments. Some restaurant's burgers also have barbecue sauce, and others also replace the ground patty with sirloin, meat "al pastor", barbacoa, and other "guisados" or a fried chicken breast. In the city of Puebla, the hamburger is often served without the bun, accompanied by corn tortillas. Many burger chains from the United States can be found all over Mexico, including Carl's Jr., Sonic, as well as global chains such as McDonald's and Burger King.
is being used in amounts to obtain an obligatory pH
of 10 to remove E. coli
and Salmonella
; the ammonia is classified as a 'processing agent' and is not included on the list of ingredients. According to the Washington Post, this technology-based approach to reducing the risk of bacteria has received widespread support from the industry’s harshest critics at organizations such as Safe Tables Our Priority and the Food Safety Institute for the Consumer Federation of America
. Many experts point to the role of these processes in protecting the food supply against outbreaks such as the European E. Coli outbreak.
This ammonia-treated meat derivative contains defatted beef trimmings previously only used for pet food and rendered into cooking oil prior to the development of advanced safety and processing techniques. According to the New York Times, a study financed by Beef Products Inc.
, which makes the product they call "lean finely textured beef", from fatty beef trimmings. The product is now being utilized with USDA approval in hamburgers of the American fast-food industry, grocery stores and the federal school lunch program, as its price is substantially lower and said it saves about $1 million a year in school lunch costs. Products treated in this manner have been subject to complaints of an 'ammonia odor' if the percentage of ammonia is too high, leading to adjustments of the percentage of ammonia used, which may affect the efficacy of the process. According to The New York Times, information obtained from both government and industry sources call into question effectiveness claims for the treatment in the school lunch program, these records show that since 2005, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found twice in Beef Products Inc.
meat, which uses the process. The records include two consecutive incidents in August 2009 where two 27,000-pound batches were found to be contaminated. The contaminated product was removed before it could be distributed to students for consumption. That article and a similar one telling the story of a young woman paralyzed from eating one single E. coli
-infected hamburger, produced by agribusiness giant Cargill
, won a Pulitzer Prize
for its author Michael Moss on Tuesday, April 13, 2010.
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
consisting of a cooked patty
Patty
A patty is a flattened cake, often of meat.Patty may also refer to:* Patty , a family name* Patricia, a female given name, in all forms of English* Patrick , a male given name, in Australian English and Hiberno-English...
of ground meat
Ground meat
Ground meat is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. It is called minced meat or more usually mince outside North America....
(usually beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
, but occasionally pork or a combination of meats) usually placed inside a sliced bread roll
Bread roll
A bread roll is a piece of bread, usually small and round and is commonly considered a side dish. Bread rolls are often used in the same way as sandwiches are—cut transversely, with fillings placed between the two halves.-Various forms:...
. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
, bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, pickles
Pickled cucumber
A pickled cucumber is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.-Gherkin:A gherkin is not only...
, cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
and condiment
Condiment
A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...
s such as mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
, mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
, ketchup
Ketchup
Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
and relish
Relish
A relish is a cooked, pickled, or chopped vegetable or fruit food item which is typically used as a condiment.In North America, relish commonly alludes to sweet pickle relish-like sauce that often condiments hot dogs, hamburgers and other types of fast food.-Description and ingredients:The item...
.
The term hamburger or burger can also be applied to the meat patty
Patty
A patty is a flattened cake, often of meat.Patty may also refer to:* Patty , a family name* Patricia, a female given name, in all forms of English* Patrick , a male given name, in Australian English and Hiberno-English...
on its own, especially in the UK where the term "patty" is rarely used, although the term "hamburger" is rarely used in Commonwealth nations (other than Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
).
History
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's second largest city, from where many people emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In High German, Burg means fortified settlement or fortified refuge; and is a widespread component of place names. Hamburger can be a descriptive noun in German
Standard German
Standard German is the standard variety of the German language used as a written language, in formal contexts, and for communication between different dialect areas...
, referring to someone from Hamburg (compare London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-> Londoner) or an adjective describing something from Hamburg. Similarly, frankfurter
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
and wiener, names for other meat-based foods, are also used in Germany as descriptive nouns for people and as adjectives for things from the cities of Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and Wien
Wien
Wien is the German language name for Vienna, the city and federal state in Austria.* Wien , in Vienna, Austria* Theater an der Wien, a theater in Vienna located at the former river WienWien may also refer to:...
(Vienna), respectively. The term "burger" is associated with many different types of sandwiches similar to a hamburger, using different meats, such as a buffalo burger, turkey burger, elk burger, salmon burger
Salmon burger
A salmon burger is a type of fishcake made mostly from salmon in the style of a hamburger. It is challenging to make and cook as the salmon requires a binder to make it stick together and is easy to overcook which makes it too dry. Salmon burgers are especially common in Alaska where they are...
, or even a veggie burger.
15th century
Beginning in the 15th century, minced beef was a valued delicacy throughout Europe. Hashed beef was made into sausage in several different regions of Europe.17th century
Ships from the German port of Hamburg, Germany began calling on Russian ports. During this period the Russian steak tartareSteak tartare
Steak tartare is a meat dish made from finely chopped or minced raw beef. Tartare can also be made by thinly slicing a high grade of meat such as strip steak, marinating it in wine or other spirits, spicing it to taste, and then chilling it...
was brought back to Germany and called "tartare steak".
Hamburg steak
Immigrants to the United States from German-speaking countries brought with them some of their favorite foods. One of them was Hamburg Steak. The Germans simply flavored shredded low-grade beef with regional spices, and both cooked and raw it became a standard meal among the poorer classes. In the seaport town of Hamburg, it acquired the name Hamburg steak. Today, this hamburger patty is no longer called Hamburg Steak in Germany but rather "Frikadelle", "Frikandelle" or "Bulette", originally Italian and French words.
In the late 18th century, the largest ports in Europe were in Germany. Sailors who had visited the ports of Hamburg, Germany and New York, brought this food and term "Hamburg steak" into popular usage. To attract German sailors, eating stands along the New York city harbor offered "steak cooked in the Hamburg style". The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
defined Hamburg steak as salt beef. It had little resemblance to the hamburger we know today. It was a hard slab of salted minced beef, often slightly smoked, mixed with onions and breadcrumbs. The emphasis was more on durability than taste.
Invention of meat choppers
Referring to ground beef as hamburger dates to the invention of the mechanical meat choppersduring the 19th century. The meat grinder was purportedly invented by Dr. Karl Drais
Karl Drais
Karl Drais was a German inventor and invented the Laufmaschine , also later called the velocipede, draisine or "draisienne" , also nicknamed the dandy horse. This incorporated the two-wheeler principle that is basic to the bicycle and motorcycle and was the beginning of mechanized personal...
in the 19th century. Patents were filed for some designs that were interpreted as meat choppers.
- E. Wade received Patent #x5348 on January 26, 1829 for what may be the first patented "Meat Cutter." The patent shows choppers moving up and down onto a rotating block.
- G. A. Coffman received Patent #3935 on February 28, 1845 for an "Improvement in Machines for Cutting Sausage-Meat" using a spiral feeder and rotating knives something like a modern food grinder.
Restaurant menus
The first printed American menu which listed hamburger was an 1826 menu from Delmonico's in New York.
Between 1871-1884, “Hamburg Beefsteak” was on the “Breakfast and Supper Menu” of the Clipper Restaurant at 311/313 Pacific Street in San Fernando. It cost 10 cents—the same price as mutton chops, pig’s feet in batter, and stewed veal. It was not, however, on the dinner menu, only “Pig’s Head” “Calf Tongue” and “Stewed Kidneys” were listed.
Hamburger Steak, Plain and Hamburger Steak with Onions, was served at the Tyrolean Alps Restaurant at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.
Cookbooks
By the mid-18th century, German immigrants also began arriving in England. One recipe, titled "Hamburgh Sausage," appeared in Hannah Glasse's 1758 English cookbook called The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. It consisted of chopped beef, suet, and spices. The author recommended that this sausage be served with toasted bread. Hannah Glasse's cookbook was not published in the United States until 1805. This American edition also contained the "Hamburgh Sausage" recipe with slight revisions. In addition, the original Boston Cooking School Cook Book, by Mrs. D.A. Lincoln (Mary Bailey),
1844 had a recipe for Broiled Meat Cakes and also Hamburgh Steak. Moreover, the 1894 edition of the book The Epicurean: A Complete Treatise of Analytical & Practical Studies contains a listing for Beef Steak Hamburg Style.
The dish is also listed in French as Bifteck à Hambourgeoise.
Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
(1878–1968), American novelist, described the horrors of the Chicago meat packing plants in his book called The Jungle
The Jungle
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking...
; he was surprised that the public missed his intended point—treatment of workers—and instead took it to be an indictment of unhygienic conditions of the meat packing industry. This caused people to not trust chopped meat for several years, avoiding hamburgers.
American hamburgers
According to the Library of Congress, Louis' LunchLouis' Lunch
Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, advertises itself as the first restaurant to serve hamburgers and as being the oldest hamburger restaurant still operating in the U.S. Opened as a small lunch wagon in 1895, Louis' Lunch was also one of the first places in the U.S...
, in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, is the original American Hamburger, being served since 1895.
As mentioned, the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
historian Frank X. Tolbert
Frank X. Tolbert
Francis Tolbert , better known as Frank X. Tolbert, was a Texas journalist, historian, and chili enthusiast. For the Dallas Morning News, he wrote a local history column called Tolbert's Texas that ran from 1946 until his death in 1984.-Biography:Tolbert was born in Amarillo, and was raised in...
attributes the American version of the Glasse cookbook to Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas
Athens, Texas
Athens is a city in Henderson County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,710. It is the county seat of Henderson County. According to the Texas Legislature, Athens is the "Original Home of the Hamburger"...
. Davis is believed to have sold hamburgers at his café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
at 115 Tyler Street in Athens, Texas in the late 1880s, then brought them to the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
. An article about Louis' Lunch
Louis' Lunch
Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, advertises itself as the first restaurant to serve hamburgers and as being the oldest hamburger restaurant still operating in the U.S. Opened as a small lunch wagon in 1895, Louis' Lunch was also one of the first places in the U.S...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
on January 12, 1974 stated that the McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
hamburger chain claims the inventor was an unknown food vendor at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Tolbert's research documented that this vendor was in fact Fletcher Davis. Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen, often abbreviated DQ, is a chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc, who also owns Orange Julius and Karmelkorn. The name "Dairy Queen" is taken from the name of their soft serve product, which the company refers to as "Dairy Queen" or...
spokesman Bob Phillips
Bob Phillips
Robert Leon Phillips, known as Bob Phillips , is an American television journalist best known for his long-running program Texas Country Reporter...
made a similar claim for Dairy Queen in a commercial filmed in Athens in the 1980s calling the town the birthplace of the hamburger.
Residents of Hamburg, New York
Hamburg (town), New York
Hamburg is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 56,259.The Town of Hamburg is on the western border of the county and is south of Buffalo, New York. Hamburg is one of the "Southtowns" in Erie County...
, which was named after Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, attribute the hamburger to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
ans Frank and Charles Menches. According to legend, the Menches brothers were vendors at the 1885 Erie County Fair
Erie County Fair
The Erie County Fair is a fair held in Hamburg in Erie County, New York every August. It is the second largest fair in New York topped only by Great New York State Fair which is larger, and the third largest county fair in the United States, often drawing over one million in attendance.The first...
(then called the Buffalo Fair) when they ran out of sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
for sandwiches and used beef instead. They named the result after the location of the fair. However, Frank Menches's obituary in The New York Times states instead that these events took place at the 1892 Summit County Fair in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
.
The Seymour Community Historical Society of Seymour, Wisconsin
Seymour, Wisconsin
Seymour is a city in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,451 at the 2010 census. The city is located within the Town of Seymour and the Town of Osborn.-History:...
, credits Charlie Nagreen
Charlie Nagreen
Charles "Hamburger Charlie" Nagreen was an American claimant to the title of inventor of the hamburger.This claim is supported by various local history organizations, but not widely accepted; see History of the hamburger in the United States....
, now known as "Hamburger Charlie", with the invention of the hamburger. Nagreen was fifteen when he reportedly made sandwiches out of meatball
Meatball
A meatball is made from an amount of ground meat rolled into a small ball, sometimes along with other ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, minced onion, spices, and possibly eggs...
s that he was selling at the 1885 Seymour Fair (now the Outagamie County Fair), so that customers could eat while walking. The Historical Society explains that Nagreen named the hamburger after the Hamburg steak with which local German immigrants were familiar.
The Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
credits Louis Lassen of Louis' Lunch, a small lunch wagon in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, for selling the first hamburger and steak sandwich
Steak sandwich
A steak sandwich is a sandwich that is made out of steak that has been broiled, fried, grilled, barbecued or seared using steel grates or gridirons then served on bread or a roll...
in the U.S. in 1895. New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
magazine states that, "The dish actually had no name until some rowdy sailors from Hamburg named the meat on a bun after themselves years later", noting also that this claim is subject to dispute.
There is good evidence that the first hamburger served on a bun was made by Oscar Weber Bilby of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
in 1891.
"In April of 1995, the Dallas Morning News reported Oklahoma author says Tulsa beats out Texas as the birthplace of delicacy. Michael Wallis, author of "Route 66, The Mother Road", was quoted by the newspaper to say he had discovered Tulsa's place in culinary history. The discovery was made while researching the state’s tastiest hamburgers. What better place to start than the restaurant that has been voted Tulsa's best burger more often than any other restaurant since 1933…Weber’s Root Beer Stand. Mr. Wallis’ research revealed that Oscar Weber Bilby was the first person to serve a real hamburger. On July 4, 1891, ground beef was served on his wife’s homemade buns. The Fourth of July party took place on his farm, just west of present day Tulsa. Until then, ground beef had been served in Athens, Texas on simple slices of bread, known presently and then as a "patty melt
Patty melt
A patty melt is a type of sandwich consisting of a hamburger patty, pieces of sautéed or grilled onion, and Cheddar or Swiss cheese between two slices of bread...
". According to the Tulsa-based author, the bun is essential. Therefore, in 1995, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
Governor Frank Keating
Frank Keating
Francis Anthony "Frank" Keating is an American politician from Oklahoma. Keating served as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma. His first term began in 1995 and ended in 1999...
cited Athens, Texas' feat of ground beef between two slices of bread to be a minor accomplishment. The Governor's April 1995 Proclamation also cites the first true hamburger on the bun, as meticulous research shows, was created and consumed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1891. The Governor's Proclamation on April 13, 1995 cites Tulsa as "The Real Birthplace of the Hamburger."
The hamburger bun was invented in 1916 by a fry cook named Walter Anderson, who co-founded White Castle
White Castle (restaurant)
White Castle is an American regional fast food hamburger restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States and in the New York metropolitan area, and the first of its kind in the US. It is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as "sliders", the burgers were priced at five...
in 1921.
Early major vendors
- 1921 — White CastleWhite Castle (restaurant)White Castle is an American regional fast food hamburger restaurant chain in the Midwestern United States and in the New York metropolitan area, and the first of its kind in the US. It is known for its small, square hamburgers. Sometimes referred to as "sliders", the burgers were priced at five...
, Wichita, KansasWichita, KansasWichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
. Due to widely prevalent anti-German sentiment in the U.S. during World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, an alternative name for hamburgers was Salisbury steakSalisbury steakSalisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of minced beef and other ingredients, which is shaped to resemble a steak, and usually is served with gravy / brown sauce. Hamburger steak is a similar product, but differs in ingredients....
. Following the war, hamburgers became unpopular until the White Castle restaurant chain marketed and sold large numbers of small 2.5-inch square hamburgers, known as sliders. They started to punch five holes in each patty, which help them cook evenly and eliminates the need to flip the burger. White Castle was the first to sell their hamburgers in grocery stores and vending machines. - 1940 — McDonald'sMcDonald'sMcDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurant, San Bernardino, CaliforniaSan Bernardino, CaliforniaSan Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
, opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Their introduction of the "Speedee Service System" in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The McDonald brothers began franchising in 1953. In 1961, Ray KrocRay KrocRaymond Albert "Ray" Kroc was an American fast food businessman who joined McDonald's in 1954 and built it into the most successful fast food operation in the world. Kroc was included in Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century, and amassed a fortune during his lifetime...
(the supplier of their multi-mixer milkshake machines) purchased the company from the brothers for $2.7 million and a 1.9% royalty.
Hamburgers today
Hamburgers are usually a feature of fast foodFast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s. The hamburgers served in major fast food establishments are usually mass-produced in factories and frozen for delivery to the site. These hamburgers are thin and of uniform thickness, differing from the traditional American hamburger prepared in homes and conventional restaurants, which is thicker and prepared by hand from ground beef
Ground beef
Beef mince, ground beef, hamburger meat , hamburg or minced meat is a minced meat food, made of beef finely chopped by a mincer. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers and cottage pie...
. Generally most American hamburgers are round, but some fast-food chains, such as Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
, sell square-cut hamburgers. Hamburgers in fast food restaurants are usually grilled on a flat-top, but some firms, such as Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
use a gas flame grilling process. At conventional American restaurants, hamburgers may be ordered "rare" (occasionally requiring the signing of a waiver
Waiver
A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege.While a waiver is often in writing, sometimes a person's actions can act as a waiver. An example of a written waiver is a disclaimer, which becomes a waiver when accepted...
), but normally are served medium-well or well-done for food safety reasons. Fast food restaurants do not usually offer this option.
The McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
fast-food chain sells the Big Mac
Big Mac
The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by McDonald's, an international fast food restaurant chain. It is one of the company's signature products...
, one of the world's top selling hamburgers. Other major fast-food chains, including Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
(also known as Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd, often colloquially abbreviated to HJ's, Hungry's or Hungie's, is the exclusive Australian master fast food franchisee of Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin...
in Australia), A&W
A&W Restaurants
A&W Restaurants, Inc., is a chain of fast-food restaurants, distinguished by its draft root beer and root beer floats. A&W was arguably the first successful food franchise company, starting franchises in 1921 in California. Today it has franchise locations throughout the world, serving a typical...
, Culver's
Culver's
Culver’s is a privately owned and operated fast casual restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Midwestern United States. The first Culver’s opened in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin...
, Whataburger
Whataburger
Whataburger is a privately held, regional restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers. The company, founded by Harmon Dobson, opened its first restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1950...
, Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. is an American fast-food restaurant chain located mostly in the Western and Southwestern United States. The first store has opened in Canada in Kelowna, BC. They are in the process of expanding to Mexico, Malaysia, Denmark, Costa Rica, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Vietnam,...
/Hardee's
Hardee's
Hardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Southeast and Midwestern regions of the United States. It has evolved through several corporate ownerships since its establishment in 1960. It is currently owned and operated by CKE Restaurants. Along with its sibling restaurant chain, Carl's...
chain, Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
(known for their square patties), Jack in the Box, Cook Out
Cook Out (restaurant)
Cook Out is a fast food privately owned restaurant chain in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia. Founded in Greensboro, the chain has since expanded throughout the state and now has drive-thru restaurants in over fifty cities. Most locations consist of a double...
, Harvey's, Shake Shack
Shake Shack
Shake Shack is a restaurant chain serving hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, milkshakes and similar foods. There are currently eleven restaurants within the chain, six in New York City. There are two more locations opening soon: one in Grand Central Terminal, and one in Downtown Brooklyn.The...
, In-N-Out Burger
In-N-Out Burger
In-N-Out Burger is a regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations in the western United States. Founded in 1948 by Harry Snyder and his wife Esther, establishing the first In-N-Out burger in Baldwin Park and headquartered in Irvine, California, In-N-Out Burger has since expanded outside...
, Five Guys
Five Guys
Five Guys is a fast casual restaurant chain focused on hamburgers, hot dogs, and French fries. Originating in Arlington, Virginia, the company's headquarters are now in Lorton, Virginia.-Food:...
, Fatburger
Fatburger
Fatburger is a fast casual restaurant chain. It uses the slogan The Last Great Hamburger Stand. While it is a fast food restaurant, the food is cooked and made to order and the restaurant has a liquor license...
, Vera's, Burgerville
Burgerville, USA
Burgerville is a privately held American restaurant chain in Oregon and southwest Washington, owned by The Holland Inc. As the chain's name suggests, Burgerville's sandwich menu consists mostly of hamburgers, though it also offers chicken and turkey sandwiches, vegetarian burgers, and halibut fish...
, Back Yard Burgers
Back Yard Burgers
Back Yard Burgers is a regional franchise chain of quick serve restaurants. Its headquarters is located in Nashville, Tennessee. As of August 2008, there are 171 Back Yard Burgers locations in 20 states throughout the Southern and Midwestern United States, chiefly in Tennessee and...
, Lick's Homeburger
Lick's Homeburger
Lick's Homeburgers & Ice Cream is a privately-owned Canadian restaurant chain founded in 1980 with a $5,000 loan by Denise Meehan, the president and sole shareholder. It is known for its burgers, which are called "homeburgers".- History :Meehan, a native of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario, grew up in a...
, Roy Rogers, Smashburger
SmashBurger
Smashburger is an American chain of fast casual burger restaurants originating in Denver, Colorado. Its mission is to “be every city’s favorite place for burgers.” The Smashburger name comes from the process used to cook burgers, which entails smashing a ball of 100% Certified Angus ground beef on...
and Sonic
Sonic Drive-In
Sonic Drive-In is an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, complete with carhops who sometimes wear rollerskates. As of August 31, 2010, there were 3,500 restaurants in 43 U.S. states. Sonic serves approximately 3 million customers daily.-1950s:Following...
also rely heavily on hamburger sales. Fuddruckers
Fuddruckers
Fuddruckers is an American fast casual, franchised, restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers. In 2011 Fuddruckers had 56 company-operated restaurants and 129 franchises across the United States with one in Saskatchewan, Canada and four in Puerto Rico...
and Red Robin
Red Robin
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers is a chain of casual dining restaurants founded in 1969 in Seattle, Washington, and now headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.-History:...
are hamburger chains that specialize in mid-tier "restaurant-style" variety of hamburgers.
Some North American establishments offer a unique take on the hamburger beyond what is offered in fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, using upscale ingredients such as sirloin or other steak along with a variety of different cheeses, toppings, and sauces. Some examples would be the Bobby's Burger Palace chain founded by well-known chef and Food Network
Food Network
Food Network is a television specialty channel that airs both one-time and recurring programs about food and cooking. Scripps Networks Interactive owns 70 percent of the network, with Tribune Company controlling the remaining 30 percent....
star Bobby Flay
Bobby Flay
Robert William "Bobby" Flay is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur and reality television personality. He is the owner and executive chef of 12 restaurants: Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, New York City, and the Bahamas ; Bar Americain in New York City and Uncasville, Connecticut; Bobby Flay Steak...
.
Hamburgers are often served as a fast dinner, picnic or party food, and are usually cooked outdoors on barbecue grills.
Raw hamburger may contain harmful bacteria that can produce food-borne illness such as Escherichia coli O157:H7
Escherichia coli O157:H7
Escherichia coli O157:H7 is an enterohemorrhagic strain of the bacterium Escherichia coli and a cause of foodborne illness. Infection often leads to hemorrhagic diarrhea, and occasionally to kidney failure, especially in young children and elderly persons...
, due to the occasional initial improper preparation of the meat, so caution is needed during handling and cooking. Because of the potential for food-borne illness, the USDA recommends hamburgers be cooked to an internal temperature of 170 °F (80 °C). If cooked to this temperature, they are considered well-done.
A high-quality hamburger patty is made entirely of ground (minced) beef and seasonings; this may be described as an "all-beef hamburger" or "all-beef patties" to distinguish them from inexpensive hamburgers made with added flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, textured vegetable protein
Textured vegetable protein
Textured or texturized vegetable protein , also known as textured soy protein , soy meat, or soya meat is a meat analogue or meat extender made from defatted soy flour, a by-product of extracting soybean oil...
, ammonia treated defatted beef trimmings what the company Beef Products
Beef Products
Beef Products Inc. of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, is a processor of beef trimmings. The company uses a patented process to enhance the pH in beef trimmings with ammonia that reduces the incidence of E. coli in downstream products...
Inc, calls “lean finely textured beef”, Advanced meat recovery
Advanced meat recovery
Advanced meat recovery is a slaughterhouse process by which the last traces ofusable meat are removed from bones and other carcass materials after the primal cuts have been carved off manually....
(see below: Health-related controversies) or other filler
Filler
In general, a filler is something that is used to fill gaps. Specialized meanings of the word "filler" include:* Filler , dietary fiber and other ingredients added to pet foods to provide bulk...
to decrease their cost. In the 1930s ground liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
was sometimes added to the patties. Some cooks prepare their patties with binders, such as eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
or breadcrumb
Breadcrumb
Breadcrumbs or bread crumbs are small particles of dry bread, which are used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening stews, and adding inexpensive bulk to meatloaves and similar foods. They are documented in cookbooks as early as 1716...
s. Seasonings may be included with the hamburger patty including salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
and pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
, and others such as parsley
Parsley
Parsley is a species of Petroselinum in the family Apiaceae, native to the central Mediterranean region , naturalized elsewhere in Europe, and widely cultivated as an herb, a spice and a vegetable.- Description :Garden parsley is a bright green hairless biennial herbaceous plant in temperate...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
, Thousand Island dressing
Thousand Island dressing
Thousand Island dressing is a salad dressing and condiment, a variant of remoulade and Russian dressing.Its base commonly contains mayonnaise and can include olive oil, lemon juice, orange juice, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, vinegar, cream, chili sauce, tomato puree, ketchup, or Tabasco...
, onion soup
French onion soup
French onion soup is an onion and beef broth or a beef stock based soup traditionally served with croutons and cheese as toppings...
mix, or Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce , or Worcester sauce is a fermented liquid condiment; primarily used to flavour meat or fish dishes.First made at 60 Broad Street, Worcester, England, by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins, the Lea & Perrins brand was commercialised in 1837 and...
. Many name brand seasoned salt
Seasoned salt
Seasoned salt is a blend of table salt, herbs, spices, other flavourings, and sometimes monosodium glutamate . It is sold in supermarkets and is commonly used in fish and chip shops and other take-away food shops...
products are also used.
Variations
Burgers can also be made with patties made from ingredients other than beef. For example, a turkey burger uses ground turkeyDomesticated turkey
The domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird. The modern domesticated form descends from the wild turkey , one of the two species of turkey ; in the past the ocellated turkey was also domesticated.The turkey is raised throughout temperate parts of the world and is a popular form of poultry,...
meat, a chicken burger uses ground chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
meat. A buffalo burger uses ground meat from a bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
, and an ostrich burger is made from ground seasoned ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
meat. A deer burger uses ground venison
Venison
Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
from deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
.
Rehydrated textured vegetable protein
Textured vegetable protein
Textured or texturized vegetable protein , also known as textured soy protein , soy meat, or soya meat is a meat analogue or meat extender made from defatted soy flour, a by-product of extracting soybean oil...
, TVP, has a more than 50 year safe-track record of inexpensively extending ground beef for hamburgers, without reducing its nutritional value.
A veggie burger, garden burger, or tofu burger
Veggie burger
A veggie burger is a hamburger-style patty that does not contain meat. The patty of a veggie burger may be made, for example, from vegetables, textured vegetable protein , legumes, nuts, dairy products, mushrooms, wheat, or eggs....
uses a meat analogue
Meat analogue
A meat analogue, also called a meat substitute, mock meat, faux meat, or imitation meat, approximates the aesthetic qualities and/or chemical characteristics of specific types of meat...
, a meat substitute such as tofu
Tofu
is a food made by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into soft white blocks. It is part of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and others. There are many different varieties of tofu, including fresh tofu and tofu...
, TVP
Textured vegetable protein
Textured or texturized vegetable protein , also known as textured soy protein , soy meat, or soya meat is a meat analogue or meat extender made from defatted soy flour, a by-product of extracting soybean oil...
, seitan
Wheat gluten (food)
Wheat gluten, also called seitan , wheat meat, mock duck, gluten meat, or simply gluten, is a food made from the gluten of wheat...
(wheat gluten), quorn
Quorn
Quorn is the leading brand of mycoprotein food product in the UK and Ireland. The mycoprotein used to produce Quorn is extracted from a fungus, Fusarium venenatum, which is grown in large vats....
, beans, grains or an assortment of vegetables, ground up and mashed into patties.
In 2011, a Japanese scientist named Mitsuyuki created a synthetic burger made from human feces. The "burger" consisted of synthesized protein with soya and steak sauce for taste preservation. Mitsuyuki claimed the taste was similar to beef, and explained that the makeup of the burger was 63 percent protein, 25 percent carbohydrates, three percent lipids and nine percent minerals.
United States and Canada
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, burgers may be classified as two main types: fast food hamburgers and individually prepared burgers made in homes and restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s. The latter are traditionally prepared "with everything" , which includes lettuce
Lettuce
Lettuce is a temperate annual or biennial plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable. It is eaten either raw, notably in salads, sandwiches, hamburgers, tacos, and many other dishes, or cooked, as in Chinese cuisine in which the stem becomes just as important...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, and often sliced pickles
Pickled cucumber
A pickled cucumber is a cucumber that has been pickled in a brine, vinegar, or other solution and left to ferment for a period of time, by either immersing the cucumbers in an acidic solution or through souring by lacto-fermentation.-Gherkin:A gherkin is not only...
(or pickle relish). Coleslaw
Coleslaw
Coleslaw, sometimes simply called slaw in some American dialects, is a salad consisting primarily of shredded raw cabbage. It may also include shredded carrots and other ingredients such as fruits and vegetables, apples, onions, green onions, peppers and various spices.-History:The term "coleslaw"...
and french fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
usually accompany the burger. Cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
(usually processed cheese slices
Processed cheese
Processed cheese, process cheese, cheese slice, prepared cheese, cheese singles or cheese food is a food product made from normal cheese and sometimes other unfermented dairy ingredients, plus emulsifiers, extra salt, food colorings, or whey...
but often Cheddar
Cheddar cheese
Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese, produced in several countries around the world. It has its origins in the English village of Cheddar in Somerset....
, Swiss
Swiss cheese
Swiss cheese is a generic name in North America for several related varieties of cheese which resemble the Swiss Emmental. Some types of Swiss cheese have a distinctive appearance, as the blocks of the cheese are riddled with holes known as "eyes". Swiss cheese has a piquant, but not very sharp,...
, pepper jack, or blue
Blue cheese
Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or...
), either melted on the meat patty or crumbled on top, is generally an option.
Condiment
Condiment
A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...
s might be added to a hamburger or may be offered separately on the side including mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
, mayonnaise
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise, , often abbreviated as mayo, is a sauce. It is a stable emulsion of oil, egg yolk and either vinegar or lemon juice, with many options for embellishment with other herbs and spices. Lecithin in the egg yolk is the emulsifier. Mayonnaise varies in color but is often white, cream, or pale...
, ketchup
Ketchup
Ketchup is a sweet-and-tangy condiment typically made from tomatoes, vinegar, sugar or high-fructose corn syrup and an assortment of...
, salad dressings and barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce
Barbecue sauce is a flavoring sauce or condiment ranging from watery to very thick consistency. As the name implies, it was created as an accompaniment to barbecued foods. While it can be applied to any food, it usually tops meat after cooking or during barbecuing, grilling, or baking...
.
Other toppings include bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
, avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
or guacamole
Guacamole
Guacamole , is an avocado-based dip that originated in Mexico. It is traditionally made by mashing ripe avocados with a molcajete with sea salt. Some recipes call for limited tomato, spicy Asian spices such as white onion, lime juice, and/or additional seasonings.-History:Guacamole was made by...
, sliced sautéed mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
s, cheese sauce and/or chili
Chili con carne
Chili con carne is a spicy stew. The name of the dish derives from the Spanish chile con carne, "chili pepper with meat". Traditional versions are made, minimally, from chili peppers, garlic, onions, and cumin, along with chopped or ground beef. Beans and tomatoes are frequently included...
(usually without bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s), fried egg
Fried egg
A fried egg is a food made from an egg fried whole with minimal accompaniment. They are traditionally eaten for breakfast in western countries, but may be eaten at other times of the day.-China:...
, scrambled egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
, feta cheese, blue cheese
Blue cheese
Blue cheese is a general classification of cow's milk, sheep's milk, or goat's milk cheeses that have had cultures of the mold Penicillium added so that the final product is spotted or veined throughout with blue, blue-gray or blue-green mold, and carries a distinct smell, either from that or...
, salsa
Salsa (sauce)
Salsa may refer to any type of sauce. In American English, it usually refers to the spicy, often tomato based, hot sauces typical of Mexican and Central American cuisine, particularly those used as dips. In British English, the word typically refers to salsa cruda, which is common in Mexican ,...
, pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
, jalapeno
Jalapeño
The jalapeño is a medium-sized chili pepper that has a warm, burning sensation when eaten. A mature jalapeño fruit is 2–3½ inches long and is commonly picked and consumed while still green, but occasionally it is allowed to fully ripen and turn crimson red...
s and other kinds of chile peppers, anchovies
Anchovy
Anchovies are a family of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish.-Description:...
, slices of ham or bologna
Bologna sausage
Bologna sausage is an American sausage derived from and definitely not similar to the Italian mortadella . It is commonly called boloney, baloney or, more formally, bologna...
, pastrami
Pastrami
Pastrami , is a popular delicatessen meat usually made from beef and, traditionally in Romania, also from pork and mutton. In Israel, "Pastrama" is the term used for sliced chicken and turkey. Like corned beef, pastrami was originally created as a way to preserve meat before modern refrigeration...
or teriyaki
Teriyaki
Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade...
-seasoned beef, tartar sauce
Tartar sauce
Tartare sauce is a creamy white sauce frequently used to season fried seafood dishes.-Composition:...
, french fries
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
, onion rings
Onion rings
Onion rings are a form of fast food commonly found in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and some parts of Asia. They generally consist of a cross-sectional "ring" of onion dipped in batter or breading and then deep fried; a variant is made with onion paste...
or potato chips.
Standard toppings on hamburgers may depend upon location, particularly at restaurants that are not national or regional franchises. A "Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
burger" uses mustard
Mustard (condiment)
Mustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
as the only sauce, and comes with or without vegetables, jalapeno slices, and cheese. In the Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
, particularly Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, 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 the Carolinas, for instance, a Carolina-style hamburger "with everything" may be served with cheese, chili, onions, mustard, and coleslaw
Coleslaw
Coleslaw, sometimes simply called slaw in some American dialects, is a salad consisting primarily of shredded raw cabbage. It may also include shredded carrots and other ingredients such as fruits and vegetables, apples, onions, green onions, peppers and various spices.-History:The term "coleslaw"...
. National chain Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
sells a "Carolina Classic" burger with these toppings in these areas. In Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
hamburgers are often topped with teriyaki
Teriyaki
Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade...
sauce, derived from the Japanese-American culture, and locally grown pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
. Waffle House
Waffle House
Waffle House is a restaurant chain with over 1600 locations found in 25 states in the United States. Most of the locations are in the Southern United States, where the chain remains a regional cultural icon...
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 called a "California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
burger". This usage is sufficiently widespread to appear on the menus of Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen, often abbreviated DQ, is a chain of soft serve and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc, who also owns Orange Julius and Karmelkorn. The name "Dairy Queen" is taken from the name of their soft serve product, which the company refers to as "Dairy Queen" or...
. In the Western U.S., a "California" burger often means a cheeseburger, with guacamole and bacon added. Pastrami burgers may be served in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
.
- A hamburger with two patties is called a "double decker" or simply a "double", a hamburger with three patties is called a "triple". Doubles and triples are often combined with cheese and sometimes with bacon, yielding a "double cheeseburger" or a "triple bacon cheeseburger", or alternatively, a "bacon double or triple cheeseburger".
- A hamburger smothered in red or green chile is called a slopperSlopperA slopper is a cheeseburger served smothered in red chile or green chile or chile sauce. Sloppers generally include grilled buns and are often topped with freshly chopped onions and sometimes french fries...
. - A patty meltPatty meltA patty melt is a type of sandwich consisting of a hamburger patty, pieces of sautéed or grilled onion, and Cheddar or Swiss cheese between two slices of bread...
consists of a patty, sautéedSautéingSautéing is a method of cooking food, that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Ingredients are usually cut into pieces or thinly sliced to facilitate fast cooking. The primary mode of heat transfer during sautéing is conduction between the pan and the food being...
onions and cheese between two slices of rye breadRye breadRye bread is a type of bread made with various percentages of flour from rye grain. It can be light or dark in color, depending on the type of flour used and the addition of coloring agents, and is typically denser than bread made from wheat flour...
. The sandwich is then buttered and fried. - A sliderSlider (sandwich)A slider is a small sandwich, typically around across, served in a bun. The term primarily refers to small hamburgers, but can also cover any small sandwich served on a slider roll...
is a very small square hamburger patty sprinkled with diced onions and served on an equally small bun. According to the earliest citations, the name originated aboard U.S. Navy ships, due of the way greasy burgers slid across the galley grill while the ship pitched and rolled. Other versions claim the term "slider" originated from the hamburgers served by flight line galleys at military airfields, which were so greasy they slid right through you; or because their small size allows them to "slide" right down your throat in one or two bites. - In AlbertaAlbertaAlberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada a "kubie burger" is a hamburger made with a pressed Ukrainian sausage (kubasa). - In MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, a "Juicy LucyJucy LucyA Jucy Lucy or Juicy Lucy is a cheeseburger having the cheese inside the meat patty rather than on top. A piece of cheese is surrounded by raw meat and cooked until it melts, resulting in a molten core of cheese within the patty...
", or "Jucy LucyJucy LucyA Jucy Lucy or Juicy Lucy is a cheeseburger having the cheese inside the meat patty rather than on top. A piece of cheese is surrounded by raw meat and cooked until it melts, resulting in a molten core of cheese within the patty...
", is a hamburger having cheese inside the meat patty rather than on top. A piece of cheese is surrounded by raw meat and cooked until it melts, resulting in a molten core of cheese within the patty. This scalding hot cheese tends to gush out at the first bite, so servers frequently warn patrons to let the sandwich cool for a few minutes before consumption. - A low carb burger is a hamburger where the bun is omitted and large pieces of lettuce are used in its place, with mayonnaise and/or mustard being the sauces primarily used.
Mexico
In MexicoMexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, burgers (called hamburgesas) are served with ham
Ham
Ham is a cut of meat from the thigh of the hind leg of certain animals, especiallypigs. Nearly all hams sold today are fully cooked or cured.-Etymology:...
and slices of American cheese
American cheese
American cheese is a processed cheese. It is orange, yellow, or white in color and mild in flavor, with a medium-firm consistency, and melts easily. American cheese was originally only white, but is usually now modified to yellow. In the past it was made from a blend of cheeses, most often Colby...
(locally called queso americano) fried on top of the meat patty. The toppings include avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
, shredded lettuce, onion and tomato. The bun has mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard. In certain parts are served with bacon, which can be fried or grilled along with the meat patty. A slice of pineapple is also a usual option, and the variation is known as a "Hawaiian hamburger".
Some restaurant's burgers also have barbecue sauce, and others also replace the ground patty with sirloin, Al pastor meat, barbacoa
Barbacoa
Barbacoa is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, from which the term "barbecue" derives. In contemporary Mexico it generally refers to meats or a whole sheep slow-cooked over an open fire, or more traditionally, in a hole dug in the ground covered with...
or a fried chicken breast. Many burger chains from the United States can be found all over Mexico, including Carl's Jr., Sonic, as well as global chains such as McDonald's and Burger King.
United Kingdom and Ireland
Hamburgers in the UK and Ireland are very similar to their US cousins, and the High StreetHigh Street
High Street, or the High Street, is a metonym for the generic name of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in city centres, and is most often used in reference to retailing...
is dominated by the same big two chains as in the U.S. — McDonald's and Burger King. The menus offered to both countries are virtually identical, although portion sizes tend to be smaller in the UK. In Ireland the food outlet Supermacs is widespread throughout the country serving burgers as part of its menu. In Ireland, Abrakebabra (started out selling kebabs) and Eddie Rockets are also major chains.
An original and indigenous rival to the big two U.S. giants was the quintessentially British fast-food chain Wimpy
Wimpy (brand)
Wimpy is the brand name of a chain of fast-food hamburger restaurants based in the United Kingdom.-History:The Wimpy brand was created in the 1930s. The name was inspired by the character of J. Wellington Wimpy from the Popeye cartoons created by E. C. Segar...
, originally known as Wimpy Bar (opened 1954 at the Lyon’s Corner House in Coventry Street London), which served its hamburgers on a plate with British-style chips
French fries
French fries , chips, fries, or French-fried potatoes are strips of deep-fried potato. North Americans tend to refer to any pieces of deep-fried potatoes as fries or French fries, while in the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland and New Zealand, long, thinly cut slices of deep-fried potatoes are...
, accompanied by cutlery
Cutlery
Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. It is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery can have the more specific meaning of knives and other cutting instruments. This is probably the...
and delivered to the customer's table. In the late 1970s, to compete with McDonald's, Wimpy began to open American-style counter-service restaurants and the brand disappeared from many UK high streets when those restaurants were rebranded as Burger Kings between 1989-90 by the then-owner of both brands, Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan plc is a former United Kingdom-based company operating hotels, holiday centres, entertainment centres, public houses and casinos...
. A management buyout
Management buyout
A management buyout is a form of acquisition where a company's existing managers acquire a large part or all of the company.- Overview :Management buyouts are similar in all major legal aspects to any other acquisition of a company...
in 1990 split the brands again and now Wimpy table-service restaurants can still be found in many town centers whilst new counter-service Wimpys are now often found at motorway service stations.
Hamburgers are also available from mobile kiosk
Kiosk
Kiosk is a small, separated garden pavilion open on some or all sides. Kiosks were common in Persia, India, Pakistan, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward...
s, particularly at outdoor events such as football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
matches. Burgers from this type of outlet are usually served without any form of salad — only fried onions and a choice of tomato ketchup, mustard or brown sauce.
Chip shops, particularly in the West Midlands, North-East, Scotland and Ireland, serve battered hamburgers called batter burgers. This is where the burger patty, by itself, is deep-fat-fried in batter and is usually served with chips.
Hamburgers and veggie burger
Veggie burger
A veggie burger is a hamburger-style patty that does not contain meat. The patty of a veggie burger may be made, for example, from vegetables, textured vegetable protein , legumes, nuts, dairy products, mushrooms, wheat, or eggs....
s served with chips and salad, are standard pub grub menu items. Many pubs specialize in "gourmet" burgers. These are usually high quality minced steak patties, topped with items such as blue cheese, brie, avocado et cetera. Some British pubs serve burger patties made from more exotic meats including venison
Venison
Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
burgers (sometimes nicknamed Bambi Burgers), bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
burgers, ostrich
Ostrich
The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...
burgers and in some Australian themed pubs even kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
burgers can be purchased. These burgers are served in a similar way to the traditional hamburger but are sometimes served with a different sauce including redcurrant sauce, mint sauce and plum sauce.
In the early 21st century "premium" hamburger chain and independent restaurants have arisen, selling burgers produced from meat stated to be of high quality and often organic
Organic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
, usually served to eat on the premises rather than to take away. Chains include Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Gourmet Burger Kitchen is a restaurant business in United Kingdom specialising in gourmet burgers from a fully traceable West Country herd....
, Ultimate Burger, Hamburger Union and Byron Hamburgers in London.
In recent years Rustlers
Rustlers
Rustlers are a range of burgers and hot sandwiches produced by Kepak Convenience Foods, based in Kirkham, Lancashire, England. The parent company, Kepak, is based in Dublin, Ireland. Each product in the range comes packed with a sachet of sauce appropriate for the food...
has sold pre-cooked hamburgers re-heatable in a microwave oven
Microwave oven
A microwave oven is a kitchen appliance that heats food by dielectric heating, using microwave radiation to heat polarized molecules within the food...
in the United Kingdom.
In the UK, as in North America and Japan, the term "burger" can refer simply to the patty, be it beef, some other kind of meat, or vegetarian.
Australia and New Zealand
Fast food franchises sell American style fast food hamburgers in both Australia and New Zealand. The traditional Australasian hamburgers are usually bought from fish and chip shops or milk bars. The hamburger meat is almost always ground beef, or "mince" as it is more commonly referred to in Australia and New Zealand. They almost always include tomato, lettuce, grilled onion and meat as minimum, and can optionally include cheese, beetrootBeetroot
The beetroot, also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet or informally simply as beet, is one of the many cultivated varieties of beets and arguably the most commonly encountered variety in North America, Central America and Britain.-Consumption:The usually deep-red roots of beetroot are...
(canned slices), pineapple, a fried egg (usually with a soft yolk) and bacon. If all these optional ingredients are included it is known in Australia as "The Lot". The only variance between the two countries' hamburgers is that New Zealand's equivalent to the "The Lot" often contains a steak (beef) as well. The only condiments regularly used are barbecue sauce and tomato sauce. The McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
"McOz" Burger is partway between American and Australian style burgers, having beetroot and tomato in an otherwise typical American burger, however it is no longer a part of the menu. Likewise McDonald's in New Zealand created a Kiwiburger
Kiwiburger
The KiwiBurger is a hamburger sold at McDonald's restaurants in New Zealand. It consisted of a four-ounce beef patty, griddle egg, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, cheese, onions, tomato sauce, and mustard on a toasted bun. The egg is poached in a round shape. The burger was also sold in Australia under...
, similar to a Quarter Pounder, but features salad, beetroot and a fried egg. The Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd, often colloquially abbreviated to HJ's, Hungry's or Hungie's, is the exclusive Australian master fast food franchisee of Burger King Corporation. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin...
(Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
) "Aussie Burger" has tomato, lettuce, onion, cheese, bacon, beetroot, egg, ketchup and a meat patty.
China
In China, restaurants such as McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
and KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
have been proliferating all across the country. In many parts of China, small hamburger chains have opened up. Restaurants such as Peter Burger attempt to copy McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
.
In supermarkets and corner stores, customers can buy unrefrigerated "hamburgers" (hanbao) off the bread shelf. These are 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 buns called "char siu
Char siu
Char siu , otherwise known as barbecued meat in China or Chinese-flavored barbecued meat outside China, is a popular way to flavor and prepare pork in Cantonese cuisine. It is classified as a type of siu mei, Cantonese roasted meat...
bao
Baozi
A bāozi or simply known as bao, bau, humbow, nunu, bausak, pow or pau is a type of steamed, filled bun or bread-like item in various Chinese cuisines, as there is much variation as to the fillings and the preparations...
" (BBQ Pork Bun). The Chinese word for hamburger (hanbao) often refers to all sandwiches containing hamburger buns and cooked meat, regardless of the meat's origin including chicken burgers.
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, hamburgers can be served in a bun, called hanbāgā (ハンバーガー), or just the patties served without a bun, known as hanbāgu (ハンバーグ) or "hamburg", short for "hamburg steak".
Hamburg steaks
Salisbury steak
Salisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of minced beef and other ingredients, which is shaped to resemble a steak, and usually is served with gravy / brown sauce. Hamburger steak is a similar product, but differs in ingredients....
(served without buns) are similar to what is known as Salisbury steak
Salisbury steak
Salisbury steak is a dish made from a blend of minced beef and other ingredients, which is shaped to resemble a steak, and usually is served with gravy / brown sauce. Hamburger steak is a similar product, but differs in ingredients....
s 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
Brown sauce
Brown sauce may refer to:* Brown sauce , in French and Scandinavian cuisines* Steak sauce, a spiced condiment containing fruits and vinegar** A1 Steak Sauce, an American brand of steak sauce** HP Sauce, a British brand of sauce...
(or demi-glace
Demi-glace
Demi-glace is a rich brown sauce in French cuisine used by itself or as a base for other sauces. The term comes from the French word glace, which used in reference to a sauce means icing or glaze...
in restaurants) with vegetable or salad sides, or occasionally in Japanese curries
Japanese curry
is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is commonly served in three main forms: , karē udon and karē-pan . Curry rice is most commonly referred to simply as ....
. It is may be served in casual, western style suburban restaurant chains known in Japan as "family restaurants
Casual dining
This is a list of casual dining restaurant chains around the world, arranged in alphabetical order. A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere...
".
Hamburgers in buns, on the other hand, are predominantly the domain of fast food chains such as American chains known as McDonald's and Wendy's
Wendy's
Wendy's is an international fast food chain restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. It has been owned by Triarc since 2008...
. Japan has home grown hamburger chain restaurants such as MOS Burger
MOS Burger
, doing business as , is a fast-food restaurant chain that originated in Japan. It is now the second-largest fast-food franchise in Japan after McDonald's, and owns numerous overseas outlets over East Asia, including Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, Indonesia, and until 2005, Hawaii...
, First Kitchen
First Kitchen
is a Japanese fast food restaurant chain operated by First Kitchen Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Suntory Holdings.Its first shop opened in Ikebukuro, Tokyo in 1977. Currently, stores operate in 14 prefectures, in the Kantō, Chūbu, and Kinki regions. Of the 126 stores, 100 exist in Kantō...
and Lotteria
Lotteria
Lotteria is a chain of fast-food restaurants similar to McDonald's headquartered in Japan, and now with branches in South Korea, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam. It takes its name from its parent company, Lotte. Lotteria opened its first shop in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, Japan in September 1972.-History:The...
. Local varieties of burgers served in Japan include teriyaki
Teriyaki
Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade...
burgers, katsu burgers (containing tonkatsu
Tonkatsu
Tonkatsu , invented in the late 19th century, is a popular dish in Japan. It consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet one to two centimeters thick and sliced into bite-sized pieces, generally served with shredded cabbage and/or miso soup...
) and burgers containing shrimp korokke
Korokke
Korokke is the Japanese name for a deep fried dish originally related to a French dish, the croquette. It was introduced in the early 1900s. This dish is also popular in South Korea where it is typically sold in bakeries....
. 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 avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
s, freshly grated wasabi
Wasabi
, also known as Japanese horseradish, is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages, horseradish, and mustard. Its root is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard rather than the capsaicin in a chili pepper,...
, and other rare seasonal ingredients. In terms of the actual patty, there are burgers made with Kobe beef
Kobe beef
refers to cuts of beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyū cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The meat is generally considered to be a delicacy, renowned for its flavour, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture. Kobe beef can be prepared as steak,...
, butchered from cows that are fed with beer and massaged daily. McDonald's Japan also recently launched a McPork burger, made with U.S. pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
. 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
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
once retreated from Japan, but re-entered the market in Summer 2007 in cooperation with the Japanese fast-food chain Lotteria.
Other countries
Rice burgers, mentioned above, are also available in several East Asian countries such as TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. 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 South Korea include Bulgogi
Bulgogi
Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated barbecued beef, although chicken or pork may also be used. It is listed at number 23 on World's 50 most delicious foods readers' poll complied by CNN Go in 2011.-Etymology:...
burgers and Kimchi
Kimchi
Kimchi , also spelled gimchi, kimchee, or kim chee, is a traditional fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings. There are hundreds of varieties of kimchi made with a main vegetable ingredient such as napa cabbage, radish, green onions or cucumber. It is the most common...
burgers.
The Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
retains a strong bond with American trends. A wide range of major U.S. fast-food franchises are well represented, together with local imitators, often amended to the local palate. The chain McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
(locally nicknamed "McDo") have a range of burger and chicken dishes often accompanied by plain steamed rice and/or French fries. The Philippines boasts its own burger-chain called Jollibee
Jollibee
Jollibee Foods Corporation is the parent company of Jollibee, a fast-food restaurant chain based in the Philippines. Among JFC's popular brands are Jollibee, Chowking, Greenwich, Red Ribbon, Caffe Ti-amo, Mang Inasal and Burger King...
, which offers burger meals and chicken, including a signature burger called "The Big Champ". Jollibee now has a number of outlets in the United States, the Middle East and East Asia.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, burgers are usually made from chicken or a vegetable patties due to cultural beliefs against eating beef (which stem from Hindu
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
religious practice) and pork (which stems from Islamic religious practice). Because of this, the majority of fast food chains and restaurants in India do not serve beef. McDonald's in India, for instance, do not serve beef, offering the "Maharaja Mac" instead of the Big Mac, substituting the beef patties with chicken. Another version of the Indian vegetarian burger is the Wada Pav consisting deep-fried potato patty dipped in gramflour batter. It is usually served with mint chutney and fried green chili.
In Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, apart from American fast food chains, burgers can be found in stalls near shopping areas, the best known being the "shami burger". This is made from "shami kebab", made by mixing lentil and minced lamb. Onions, scrambled egg and ketchup are the most may be toppings.
In Malaysia there are 300 McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
restaurants. The menu in Malaysia also includes eggs and fried chicken on top of the regular burgers. Burgers are also easily found at nearby mobile kiosks, especially Ramly Burger
Ramly Burger
The Ramly Burger, also known as the Burger Ramly, is a Malaysian burger created by Ramly Moknin popular in Malaysia and Singapore. Though the term "Ramly Burger" may refer to any of the hamburgers sold in a Ramly Burger stall, it most commonly refers to the Ramly Burger Special...
.
In Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, a recent fast food craze due to the sudden influx of foreign influence has led to the prominence of the hamburger. Specialized fast food restaurants serving to Mongolian tastes have sprung up and seen great success.
In Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, in addition to the internationally familiar variations of burgers, localized variations of the hamburger such as the Islak Burger (lit. "Wet-Burger"), lamb-burgers and offal
Offal
Offal , also called, especially in the United States, variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal. The word does not refer to a particular list of edible organs, which varies by culture and region, but includes most internal organs other than...
-burgers are offered by global chains McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
and Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
and local fast food businesses alike. The Islak Hamburger, which is typically assembled with just the patty and bun, coated with seasoned tomato sauce and stemed within a glass chamber, has its origins in the Turkish fast food retailer Kizilkayalar. Furthermore, hamburger shops have also adopted a pizzaria-like approach when it comes to delivering and almost all major fast food chains deliver.
In Mexico, burgers are often accompanied by ham and avocado. They also usually have shredded lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and bacon, which can be fried or grilled along with the meat patty, cheese, and condiments. Some restaurant's burgers also have barbecue sauce, and others also replace the ground patty with sirloin, meat "al pastor", barbacoa, and other "guisados" or a fried chicken breast. In the city of Puebla, the hamburger is often served without the bun, accompanied by corn tortillas. Many burger chains from the United States can be found all over Mexico, including Carl's Jr., Sonic, as well as global chains such as McDonald's and Burger King.
Controversies
AmmoniaAmmonia
Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...
is being used in amounts to obtain an obligatory pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
of 10 to remove E. coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
and Salmonella
Salmonella
Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...
; the ammonia is classified as a 'processing agent' and is not included on the list of ingredients. According to the Washington Post, this technology-based approach to reducing the risk of bacteria has received widespread support from the industry’s harshest critics at organizations such as Safe Tables Our Priority and the Food Safety Institute for the Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Federation of America
The Consumer Federation of America is a non-profit organization founded in 1968 to advance consumer interests through research, education and advocacy....
. Many experts point to the role of these processes in protecting the food supply against outbreaks such as the European E. Coli outbreak.
This ammonia-treated meat derivative contains defatted beef trimmings previously only used for pet food and rendered into cooking oil prior to the development of advanced safety and processing techniques. According to the New York Times, a study financed by Beef Products Inc.
Beef Products
Beef Products Inc. of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, is a processor of beef trimmings. The company uses a patented process to enhance the pH in beef trimmings with ammonia that reduces the incidence of E. coli in downstream products...
, which makes the product they call "lean finely textured beef", from fatty beef trimmings. The product is now being utilized with USDA approval in hamburgers of the American fast-food industry, grocery stores and the federal school lunch program, as its price is substantially lower and said it saves about $1 million a year in school lunch costs. Products treated in this manner have been subject to complaints of an 'ammonia odor' if the percentage of ammonia is too high, leading to adjustments of the percentage of ammonia used, which may affect the efficacy of the process. According to The New York Times, information obtained from both government and industry sources call into question effectiveness claims for the treatment in the school lunch program, these records show that since 2005, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found twice in Beef Products Inc.
Beef Products
Beef Products Inc. of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, is a processor of beef trimmings. The company uses a patented process to enhance the pH in beef trimmings with ammonia that reduces the incidence of E. coli in downstream products...
meat, which uses the process. The records include two consecutive incidents in August 2009 where two 27,000-pound batches were found to be contaminated. The contaminated product was removed before it could be distributed to students for consumption. That article and a similar one telling the story of a young woman paralyzed from eating one single E. coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
-infected hamburger, produced by agribusiness giant Cargill
Cargill
Cargill, Incorporated is a privately held, multinational corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Founded in 1865, it is now the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. If it were a public company, it would rank, as of 2011, number 13 on the Fortune 500,...
, won a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for its author Michael Moss on Tuesday, April 13, 2010.
Unusual hamburgers
- At $499, the world's largest hamburger commercially available, tips the scales at 185.8 pounds and is on the menu at Mallie's Sports Grill & BarMallie's Sports Grill & BarMallie's Sports Grill & Bar is a restaurant, sports grill, and bar located in Southgate, Michigan. It was established in 2005. It is best known for setting the world record of the biggest hamburger commercially available....
in Southgate, MichiganSouthgate, MichiganSouthgate is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 30,047 at the 2010 census.Southgate was the last city to incorporate from the former Ecorse Township, gaining city status in October 1958...
. It is called the "Absolutely Ridiculous Burger", which takes about 12 hours to prepare. It was cooked and adjudicated on 30 May 2009. - A $777 Kobe beefKobe beefrefers to cuts of beef from the black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyū cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The meat is generally considered to be a delicacy, renowned for its flavour, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture. Kobe beef can be prepared as steak,...
and Maine lobster burger, topped with caramelized onion, Brie cheese and prosciutto, was reported available at Le Burger Brasserie, inside the Paris Las VegasParis Las VegasParis Las Vegas is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, USA, that is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
casino. - New York chef Daniel BouludDaniel BouludDaniel Boulud is a French chef and restaurateur with restaurants in New York City, Palm Beach, Miami, Montreal, Beijing, and Singapore...
created an intricate dish composed of layers of ground sirloin, foie gras, and wine-braised short ribs, assembled to look exactly like a fast-food burger. It is available with truffles in season.
Slang
- "$100 hamburger" (formerly "$50 hamburger") is aviationAviationAviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
slang for a private general aviation flight for the sole purpose of dining at a non-local airportAirportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
. It is most often used by pilots who are looking for any excuse to fly. A $100 hamburger trip usually involves flying a short distance (fewer than two hours), eating at an airport restaurant, and flying home.
See also
- CheeseburgerCheeseburgerA cheeseburger is a hamburger with cheese that has been added to it. Traditionally, the cheese is placed on top of the patty, but the burger can include many variations in structure, ingredients, and composition...
- Back-formationBack-formationIn etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889...
(linguisticsLinguisticsLinguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, etymologyEtymologyEtymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
) - FrikadellerFrikadellerFrikadeller are flat, pan-fried dumplings of minced meat, often likened to the Danish version of meatballs. They are a popular dish in Germany, where they are known as Frikadellen, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Poland , Russia, Ukraine and the Netherlands...
- KoftaKoftaKofta is a Middle Eastern and South Asian meatball or meatloaf.In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced or ground meat—usually beef or lamb—mixed with spices and/or onions...
- Bun KababBun KababBun Kebab is a Pakistani sandwich. It is usually found in road side stalls and in restaurants. It is usually eaten along with a soft drink or by itself.-Ingredients:...
- Pakistan's burger - Meat grinderMeat grinderA meat grinder or meat mincer is a kitchen appliance for grinding, fine mincing or mixing raw or cooked meat, fish, vegetables or similar food. It replaces tools like the mincing knife, for example, which has been used to produce minced meat, filling etc. The producer puts the minced food into a...
- PljeskavicaPljeskavicaPljeskavica is a Serbian patty dish popular in the Balkan region of Southeastern Europe.Pljeskavica is eaten in Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia and Croatia, and can be found in Romania, and Bulgaria. Traditional pljeskavica is made from mixture of ground meats...
- traditional Balkan meal - Chicken sandwichChicken sandwichA chicken sandwich or chicken burger is a boneless, skinless, breast of chicken on a hamburger bun topped with condiments and trimmings. Invented by Chick-fil-A in 1964, the chicken sandwich has become a popular American food choice....
- List of sandwiches