Hamburger: Encyclopedia II - Hamburger - Etymology and history

Hamburger - Etymology and history

Hamburger - Precursors and origins

The word "hamburger" originated from Hamburg, Germany. In Hamburg it was common to put a piece of roast pork into a roll, called Rundstück warm, although this is missing the "essence" of the modern hamburger, which is ground meat.

In the Middle Ages, Hamburg was an important center of trade between Arab and European merchants. The theory is that Arab traders introduced Kibbeh, which is ground lamb mixed with spices, often eaten raw. The locals then adapted the dish by replacing the lamb with pork and/or beef, and more significantly, by cooking it to make a fillet of ground meat, i.e., a "Hamburg Steak" or "Hamburger" as it eventually came to be known, and from this they made a new and unique kind of Rundstück warm that came to be strongly associated with the city.

There is still a German tradition of making ground beef sandwiches, thought to descend from the original "Hamburg Rundstück," and which tend to be elongated like an American sub sandwich, and feature very different condiments than the typical modern hamburger. These are often referred to as "German hamburgers" outside of Germany, and are served in many German-food restaurants.

Within Germany, the specific connection between the food and the city of Hamburg became lost as the sandwich spread throughout the country and became a somewhat common dish, while in other countries the historical term "Hamburger" remained in popular usage to describe ground meat rolls and sandwiches. In actuality, hamburger refers to the ground beef used to make the sandwich, rather than the sandwich itself.

Hamburger - Development of modern hamburgers

Although Hamburg, Germany is credited for the precursor to the hamburger, the origins of the first "modern" hamburger is often debated among scholars. [1] Of much debate is what exactly constitutes the "modern" hamburger, although there is general consensus that it refers to a hamburger patty's placement in a hamburger bun (not just any piece of bread). The hamburger bun is said to have been invented in 1916 by J. Walter Anderson, a short-order cook, who went on to found White Castle in 1921. Before the bun, hamburgers are said to have been served between two pieces of bread. In fact, a ground beef patty was known as "Hamburger steak" (first mentioned in an American cookbook in 1891); when this was put between bread or in a bun it was called a "Hamburger sandwich".

One claim of inventing the Hamburger sandwich comes from Charlie Nagreen of Seymour, Wisconsin, U.S.. In 1885, he tried selling fried meatballs at the Outagamie County fair, but customers found them hard to eat while walking around the fair, so Nagreen flattened it and made it into a sandwich he called the "hamburger". (Seymour is home to the Hamburger Hall of Fame and the world's largest hamburger, weighing in at 8,266 pounds [3,749 kg].)

Hamburg, New York, U.S. (not to be confused with the previously mentioned German city of Hamburg) also claims credit for the invention of the hamburger. This village celebrates a "Burgerfest" every summer, held to mark the anniversary of the hamburger's creation at the Erie County Fair in 1885 by the Menches brothers.

Another claim is made by a small lunch counter in the town of New Haven, Connecticut, U.S., named Louis' Lunch. It is sometimes credited with having invented this quick businessman's meal for busy office workers in 1900. Louis' Lunch was serving hamburgers from its closet-sized original location in the 1970s until it had to be re-located to 261-263 Crown Street to make room for a high-rise. Their burgers are made the same way they were since the beginning, which means toasted bread instead of a hamburger bun and no condiments; the only permitted garnishes are cheese, tomato, and onion.

Due to widely prevalent anti-German sentiment in the USA during the First World War, an alternative name for hamburgers ("salisbury steaks") became more common for the duration; hamburgers' popularity even after the war was severely depressed until the White Castle chain of restaurants created a business model featuring sales of large numbers of small hamburgers (later sometimes called "sliders", "grease grenades", "gut bombs" and other dysphemisms) in the mid-1920s. The original "Salisbury steak", however, was simply well-cooked plain, bunless hamburger, and was "invented" in 1888 by Dr. James H. Salisbury, an English physician. Today, Salisbury steak usually contains egg, bread crumbs or other extenders, and seasonings and is topped with gravy. A thin, fried, hamburger steak is sometimes referred to as a "minute steak". In many parts of the U.S., the same term is sometimes used for a thin, mechanically tenderized (nearly chopped) piece of round steak.

Hamburger - Hamburgers today

The fast-food hamburger began its ascent to modern popularity when Ray Kroc purchased the McDonald's hamburger chain from the McDonald brothers in California, and opened his first McDonald's franchise in Illinois in the mid-1950s. Richard and Maurice McDonald had started the chain in San Bernardino, California, in 1948.

The "cheese hamburger," now simply the cheeseburger, is said to have first appeared in 1924, and credited to grill chef Lionel Steinberger of The Rite Spot restaurant in Pasadena, California. The term "burger" has now become generic, and may refer to sandwiches that have ground meat, chicken, fish (or even vegetarian) fillings other than a beef patty, but share the characteristic round bun. By the mid 20th century both terms were commonly shortened to "hamburger" or simply "burger." A "hamburger" today can also be made with finely chopped beef as well as ground beef.

Hamburgers are often served as a common picnic and party food cooked outdoors on barbecue grills. Hamburgers are also very good for backyard grilling and for home use. Hamburger patties are raw when first bought and may contain harmful bacteria, therefore caution is needed when handling them. Hamburgers should be fully cooked to kill the bacteria.

Hamburgers are also served in many fast food restaurants. The McDonald's chain sells a burger called the Big Mac that is the world's best selling. Other major fast-food chains – such as Burger King, Whataburger, Carl's Jr., Hardee's, Wendy's, Jack-In-The-Box, White Castle, In-N-Out Burger, Fatburger, and Sonic – also rely heavily on hamburger sales. Fuddruckers is a popular hamburger chain that specializes in the higher-end "restaurant-style" variety of hamburgers. The "slider" style of mini hamburger is still popular regionally in the White Castle and Krystal chains.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Etymology and history", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki