It began when you heard your stomach growling. You are hungry. Thus, to ease that feeling of general body weakness, and sudden but persistent surge of mental images comprised of mouthwatering foods — you’ve decided to surf the internet. After browsing handfuls of pictures, you came across what you think is the perfect sandwich. And before you knew what hit you — bam! You’re officially craving for that juicy and tasty hamburger!
These days its relatively easy to find a fast food joint, food truck or restaurant that offers this piece of heavenly goodness. Most menus now include the hamburger. It’s popularity could be attributed to it being a grab-and-go fare. Burgers could be tagged as the perfect food for this fast paced world. Hey, you could eat it with one hand; while the other is busy texting or browsing your Facebook timeline. Was it built for multitasking? No one is pretty sure, really. As popular as it is worldwide its origins are still riddled with mystery.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
One notable claim of its invention was from Charlie Nagreen. Charlie sold pork buns at the Seymour Fair in the year 1885 when he was fifteen. He reportedly made the buns as such so that those attending the fair could eat while they were walking. Local immigrants from Germany were some of his customers, the businessman that he is Charlie named his product after the Hamburg steak which they are familiar of.
Another was fromLouis Lassen of New Haven, Connecticut as stated in a New York Magazine article. The year was 1900 and Louis owns a small lunch wagon which one day ran out of steak. To make ends meet and to still be able to serve a customer who was in a hurry, Louis created a patty out of beef trimmings. He placed the meat between two toast slices after grilling it. Years afterwards, the bun remained unnamed until some sailors called the dish after Hamburg Germany, the place they were from.
World Domination
As a globally renowned food item, there are various versions of the hamburger. And when we say adaptations we mean it on a worldwide scale. Say, Mexican burger with a slice of a pineapple at burger truck in the United States or the American burgers Melbourne has on the menus in the restaurants there.
Because of intercontinental trade, immigration and cross cultural human activity, the popularity of the once lowly dish has grown immensely through the years. Recipes are based on what suits the palate of the masses per country. For example, in the United States hamburgers are normally made out of a meat patty placed in the middle of two bread buns with the addition of a cheese slice. In Asia however this is not the case. Japan has what they call the “rice burger”. The patty is still made of meat, but the bun is made out of rice. This food item was for a time launched in the Philippines, also a country in Asia, through a fast food chain – but was later discontinued.
Burger recipes and types are not of course limited per country. Try eating American burgers Melbourne has to offer, or find a Greek inspired one drizzled with a mixture yogurt and herbs while on a tour in Spain. What are we pointing at? It is simply that there is a wide plethora of burger recipes from across the globe, as chefs are always innovating to cater to the dynamic taste buds of customers these days. It’s not evil to grab a quick burger fix at a nearby fast-food but really if you are after the taste and the quality of food that you eat, you should sometimes be adventurous. Why not go try the burger menu of a gypsy food truck who got raving reviews based on an online article? Don’t just try to satisfy your hunger or cravings, with a wink, friend try something new.
