In the United States, it’s nearly impossible to order a cheeseburger unless you specifically request that they hold the hamburger. But why is it called a hamburger in the first place? Where does that name come from? The history of the hamburger is a brief one but an interesting one nonetheless. It all starts with ground beef and ends with us being able to get fast food restaurants almost anywhere we go. Let’s take a look at how this all came about.
Why Is It Called A Hamburger?
This is a question that has many different answers. The most common answer is that the hamburger gets its name from the amended spelling of the city Hamburg, Germany. In the United States, restaurants began using the name Hamburger in the early 1900s as a way to distinguish between Hamburgers and Salisbury steaks.
What Is The Reason It Is Called A Hamburger?
1. Hamburg
It’s been said that the hamburger gets its name from the city of Hamburg, Germany. In the United States, restaurants began using the name Hamburger in the early 1900s as a way to distinguish between Hamburgers and Salisbury steaks.
2. The McDonald Brothers
The most common reason for why a burger is called a hamburger is that it gets its name from the city of Hamburg, Germany. In fact, there are still many people who believe this to be true. However, it’s actually not true at all! In actuality, we can thank two brothers in San Bernardino California for how we got our beloved cheeseburgers.
3. Hamburg Steak
To differentiate themselves from other restaurants that served ground beef patties, they began calling their burgers “Hamburgers” after Hamburg, Germany where they believed the hamburger was invented. By 1916, the term had become popular enough that people began referring to hamburgers as sandwiches because they were made with bread instead of buns.
4. The Invention of the Hamburger
The two brothers, Maurice and Richard McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino California in 1940. They created a simple menu that included hamburgers, french fries, milkshakes, and coffee. They were the first to put their meat patties on a piece of bread instead of a bun. This is where we get the term “cheeseburger” from because they would add cheese to their burgers as well as lettuce and tomatoes.
5. The Original Burger
In 1885 Louis Lassen invented the hamburger when he had trouble selling his steaks by themselves so he chopped them up, placed them between two pieces of bread, and called it a Hamburg Steak Sandwich. When he began serving his sandwiches with French fries on the side people started referring to them as Hamburgers and eventually just plain burgers! in 1940. They were the first to begin serving hamburgers in the style we know and love today. Their restaurant was called McDonald’s Bar-B-Que and Hot Dogs but it didn’t take long before they started selling hamburgers as well.
6. The Invention of the Hamburger
The two brothers, Maurice and Richard McDonald, opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino Califorina in 1940. They were the first to begin serving hamburgers in the style we know and love today. Their restaurant was called McDonald’s Bar-B-Que and Hot Dogs but it didn’t take long before they started selling hamburgers as well.
Where Does The Name ‘hamburger’ Come From?
- The first hamburger was made in 1885 by Louis Lassen at a lunch counter in New Haven, Connecticut. He served a beef patty between two pieces of bread. The hamburger was named after its birthplace, the city of Hamburg, Germany.
- The first hamburger is credited to Charlie Nagreen from Seymour, Wisconsin who sold it at the Outagamie County Fair in 1885 and called it ‘Hamburg steak’ because he thought that the meat tasted like steak from Hamburg, Germany.
- Fletcher Davis invented the first hamburger when he ground up meat and fried it on a stovetop in Athens, Texas during the 1880s. His customers were so happy with his creation that they asked for more ‘hamburgers’ hence giving birth to its name.
- Louis Lassen created the first hamburger but he did not give it a name because he didn’t think that his burger would be popular. The name ‘hamburger’ was given to the burger by a New York Herald reporter who saw Lassen’s creation in 1891.
- Frank and Charles Menches were the first to use the word ‘hamburger’ in print when they referred to Louis Lassen’s creation as a ‘hamburger steak’ in a story written for the newspaper The New York Evening Telegram in 1894.
- It is not known who invented the first hamburger but it is certain that Louis Lassen was not its creator because he never thought that his hamburger would become popular.
Advantages Of Eating Hamburger
- It is a good source of Protein.
- It is considered to be a good source of Iron, Vitamin B12, and Phosphorus.
- Some people believe that it contains Vitamin A, Zinc, Calcium, and Iron.
- It contains no cholesterol and saturated fats.
- It has a high amount of Vitamins, Minerals, and Trace Elements in it which are essential for the body growth and development of young children as well as the adults persons.
- The meat is cooked by using a special blend of spices like salt, pepper, and other spices which gives it an attractive taste in addition to its nutritional value, without adding any extra fat content or cholesterol in it as compared to the usual food items like chicken or fish, etc.
Disadvantages Of Eating Hamburger
- Hamburger is a very high-calorie food, which further increases the risk of obesity.
- Meat is a very high-protein food, so the body gets little fat and protein from it.
- The meat has to be cooked in order to be digested by the body; this is time-consuming and requires a lot of energy.
- The meat products are not always healthy for one’s health, as they were made out of dead animals, which are not good for one’s health in any way.
- The meat products are very often contaminated with bacteria, viruses, and parasites; which can cause serious diseases in human beings that eat them.
- Meat is often made with chemicals and preservatives, which are very bad for one’s health.
- The meat products have to be stored in order for them to last for a long time, which is a very time consuming process.
- The meat products are very often high in cholesterol, saturated fat, and calories; which can lead to obesity and heart diseases in human beings that eat them.
- The meat products need a lot of water to be stored, so they become wet and lose their nutritional value; this further increases the risk of obesity.
- The meat products are grown by animals that do not have much freedom; so they do not live as long as they could live if they were free animals or if they were grown by plants, like vegetables are grown by plants or fruits are grown by plants or trees are grown by trees, etc.
Other Theories About The Name ‘hamburger’
- The word ‘hamburger’ is a combination of the Dutch word ‘ham’ meaning meat, and ‘burger’ meaning town or city. This theory is supported by the fact that wieners are commonly referred to as hot dogs in other parts of the world.
- The term hamburger was first used to describe a sandwich consisting of sliced raw beef patties, or sometimes ground beef or pork patties, on a bun with melted cheese. This theory is supported by the fact that many fast food restaurants serving burgers in the United States and Canada do not use tomatoes as condiments instead opting for french fries and cheese instead.
- The term hamburger is a combination of the German words ‘ham’ meaning meat, and ‘braten’ meaning roast or grill. This theory is supported by the fact that many restaurants serving burgers do not use tomatoes as condiments, instead going for french fries and cheese.
- The term hamburger was first used to describe a sandwich consisting of sliced raw beef patties, or sometimes ground beef or pork patties, on a bun with melted cheese. This theory is supported by the fact that many fast food restaurants serving burgers in the United States and Canada do not use tomatoes as condiments instead opting for french fries and cheese instead.
Final Words
We’ve looked at the history of the hamburger, how it was created out of ground beef, and why it was named after Hamburg, Germany. We’ve also looked at some other interesting theories about the name ‘Hamburger’. Hamburg is a port city, which makes it a likely candidate for where ground beef patties were first made.