Let's talk about the humble burger today!
The hamburger is probably one of the most commonly eaten foods in the world, and is so super versatile. Let's look at the history of the burger, where it comes from and different versions of it worldwide.
THE HISTORY OF THE HAMBURGER
Early Romans ate a simple version of the hamburger, although my research shows that it is unrelated to the modern day hamburger. Then, in the 12th century, travelling Mongols across Eastern Europe
came across an inventive way to eat their lunch. The Mongols were often too busy to stop and eat a meal during the day amd so they started to put pieces of meat under their saddles. The friction of the movement of the saddle, and the weight of the rider would cause the meat to crumble and heat up, thus, a very primitive form of mince meat.
Kublai Khan (one of the most vicious and prolific Mongols to live) invaded what is now Moscow in the 1200's, they introduced their minced meat to the Russians. It was given the name steak tartare.
IN the 1600's, the port of Hamburg (Germany) became one of the most commonly used ports in Europe, and later on in the 1800's when it became the main port used as the boarding station for trips to the American continent. This proved to be the introduction of European cuisine into America, and with it, our famous hamburger, now known as the Hamburg Steak
With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, meat grinders became more sophisticated than ever before, and made mincing meat an easy, at home task that was before left to restaurateurs.
Now that we have come this far with the basic history of the hamburger, our story takes a bit of halt in the early 1900's, where there is a debate on who served the hamburger in its modern form as we know it today.
There are two stories - the first, that a chef somewhere in the South, probably Texas, served the Hamburg Steak between two slices of bread, and the second, and in my opinion, more likely, when the now famous White Castle chain of restaurants served the Hamburger Sandwich as one of their menu items.
MODERN DAY BURGERS
Today, the burger is served at most restaurants in many forms and styles.
In my opinion, the most iconic and American burger is the good ole cheeseburger, served with fries and onion rings. Yum!
DID YOU KNOW?
- The biggest burger ever served weighed over a ton
- The Fleur de Lys restaurant in Las Vegas serves the most expensive burger in the world, for $5000. Made with Kobe beef and served with fois gras and truffles. DAMN!
- At an In βnβ Out Burger chain, someone once ordered a burger with 100 extra patties!
- McDonalds paid rappers $5 to mention Big Macs in their songs in the early 2000's.
Hope you loved reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
SOURCES
Random Facts About Burgers - Here and Here
History and Origin - Here and Here