15 Interesting Facts About Hamburger That Will Surprise You

Hamburger is a small but delicious beef patty between two buns. It is often served with tomatoes, onions, pickles and lettuce. Popular toppings include cheese, bacon and various vegetables. Originating in the 19th century in the United States, it was adopted by other countries around the world during the 20th century. Hamburgers are a popular food because it is easy, quick and cheap to make. The growing number of people have high demand for this food especially at lunch time. 

If you are one of the hamburger lovers, then you should know some surprising facts about hamburgers to broaden your knowledge. Let’s take a look at some interesting facts in the list below to answer your curiosity behind this fast food. From the history of hamburgers to some interesting trivia facts that you may never know, we have compiled them all just for you.

1. The Name Comes From Hamburg Steaks

In case you are wondering why Hamburgers use beef patties instead of ham? In fact, the Hamburger name does not come from ham or pork. The Hamburg steaks that German immigrants brought to the United States are where the word “Hamburger” comes from. The word “hamburger” originates from the German port city of Hamburg, where it’s believed that 19th-century sailors brought back the concept of beef tartare after trading in Russia’s Baltic provinces

The beef was determined to be prepared by an unnamed German chef. The first hamburger was consumed in the United States in 1904 at the St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition. One of America’s favorite foods is the hamburger. It comprises a cooked ground beef patty sandwiched between two pieces of bread, typically in the shape of a bun.

2. Americans Are World’s Biggest Hamburger Consumers

Here are interesting facts about hamburgers: Americans are the world’s top fast food consumer and they love hamburgers more than any other food. Hamburger consumption is highest in the US compared to other nations according to BurgerBarn. Americans typically consume three hamburgers every week. That translates to a yearly national total of close to 50 billion hamburgers.

This is the cause of America’s worrisome rise in obesity rates. The most popular locations to go are McDonald’s, Subway, and Wendy. The majority of Americans are also quite obese and ill as a result of this practice, it can be seen.

3. The Perfect Meat-Fat Ratio Of Delicious Hamburger

Did you know that the ideal beef-fat ratio is required to make a delicious hamburger? The traditional hamburger is created with ground chuck steak, which is ideally made up of roughly 80% meat and 20% fat. Chuck steak is rich in flavor and fat. A hamburger that has less fat will be drier. On the other hand, too much fat can result in problems that are just as problematic and are a jumble in terms of both fact and flavor.

Furthermore, select ground beef that is 70% lean and 30% fat for the juiciest, most delicious burgers. Meanwhile, choose ground beef that is 80% lean and 20% fat which is based on the traditional one to create burgers that are more nutritious but that are still juicy and flavorful.

4. Hamburger Has Its Own Museum

Did you know that Florida is also home to the International Hamburger Hall of Fame in addition to Disney World and beaches? Â Harry Sperl, a German immigrant who fell in love with hamburgers for the cultural treasure that they are in America, founded The International Hamburger Hall of Fame, which is situated in Daytona Beach, Florida. He has thousands of hamburger-related objects in his collection, including the fabled HamburgerHarley and the Hamburger Bed.

He created the museum for those collections.More than 10,000 different hamburgers are represented in the collection, along with some fairly unique burger items, including the Nickelodeon Good Burger Mobile. Hamburger banks, biscuit jars, clocks, hats, trays, badges, magnets, music boxes, pencil holders, salt and pepper shakers, erasers, and badge holders are all present in the International Hamburger Hall of Fame.

5. The World’s Biggest Hamburger

Facts about hamburgers won’t be complete without some world records. The preparation and consumption of the World’s Largest Hamburger earned Rutland a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1982. It served as the “Grand Daddy of All Celebrations.” Between 8 and 10,000 visitors tried the delicious 3,591-pound burger that year.

Later, the 3591-pound hamburger that was cooked on the disk-shaped griddle is proudly on display for everyone to see. Sanderson Field in Rutland still has one half of the grill on exhibit. For many years, a DVD documentary from the 1982 world’s largest flipped hamburger Guinness World Record attempt was made and sold.

6. The First Burger Only Cost For $5 Cents

In the United States, a fast food restaurant served its first hamburger for 5 cents in 1921. White Castle has widely been acknowledged as the first fast-food hamburger franchise in the world after opening on September 13, 1921, in Wichita, Kansas. It is renowned for its “sliders,” or little square hamburgers. Up until 1929, the price of the hamburgers was five cents, and from 1929 until 1949, it stayed at ten cents.

White Castle starts with a stack of 100 percent beef or usually called beef log. Later it was sent through the Meat Horn, which created the holes in the log. The patties are then cut into slices and delivered to White Castle locations around the country so they may be steamed.

7. Liberty Sandwich During World War II

In an effort to avoid using German nomenclature, hamburgers were referred to as Liberty Sandwiches during World War 2. Germany was viewed as the primary offender and instigator of World War I. As a result, it sparked a movement in the US against Germans. German-Americans were able to express and advance their ethnic culture before the war through literature and the fine arts.

Furthermore, German-Americans experienced increased public scrutiny and marginalization once the war started. German culture was denigrated to develop the idea that American culture was superior in order to increase support for the war. Therefore, the term “liberty sandwich” was used in place of the Germanic term “hamburger.”

8. The First Hamburger Bun Invented 

Here’s another interesting fact about hamburgers: it used to have flat bread instead of bun shape. The first hamburger bun was made by a fry cook by the name of Walter Anderson in 1916. He helped co-found White Castle five years later.

Oscar Weber Bilby served a patty between the first hamburger buns in 1891, creating the first real hamburger. These buns, meanwhile, were more like rolls. Later, Walter Anderson created the first hamburger bun in the modern sense in 1916. The usual hamburger bread is now this short, squat shape.

9. Chuck Steak Is Used For Beef In Burgers

The most typical beef cut used in burger mixtures is chuck. Chuck is sliced from the shoulder, which is a fantastic option for hamburgers since it has enough fat to enhance taste and juiciness. Chuck steak is typically the main cut used in burger blends and is supplemented with one or two additional cuts of beef. It is marbled throughout, well-balanced in flavor, and has a respectable lean-to-fat ratio.

The fact that ground chuck has a larger fat percentage than ground beef from leaner primal cuts like round or sirloin is one of its benefits. Because of the added fat, ground chuck is more suited for shaped beef dishes like meatballs and hamburgers.

10. Burger Is Not A Sandwich

An interesting fact about hamburgers and sandwiches: Burger is not a sandwich, but a sandwich can be a burger. What distinguishes a burger from a sandwich? A burger will always consist of a grilled patty between two round buns, whereas sandwiches come in a wide variety of forms and ingredients.

Sandwiches can be made in a wide range of shapes due to the abundance of bread options. The most typical sandwich shape is a rectangle, but many establishments serve them as triangles. Burgers, on the other hand, consistently keep a rounded form that makes it possible to observe every layer.

11. Cheeseburger Was Invented By A Teenager

Cheeburger is definitely all Americans’ favorite. However, do you know how Cheeseburger was born? Many food historians give 16-year-old Lionel Sternberger the credit for adding an American cheese slice to a frying hamburger in 1924 at his father’s Rite Spot sandwich shop in Pasadena, California. He liked it, and his father agreed, which is how the cheeseburger came to be.

The word “cheeseburger” which was registered as a trademark in 1935 by Charles Kaelin’s restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky was given to the sandwich a decade later. To give the hamburger a new tang, Charles Kaelin claims to have invented the cheese-topped burger in 1934. The first instance of a menu claiming to be “the birthplace of the cheeseburger” can be found here.

12. The Most Big Mac Consumed Ever

According to Guinness World Records, Don Gorske, 68, of Fond du Lac, has eaten more than 32,000 Big Macs in his lifetime. Don Gorske has been downing Big Macs with the perseverance of Pac-Man for the past 50 years. He has held the record for the most Big Macs ingested in a lifetime for more than 20 years.

Gorske received his first award for the feat in 1999, according to the organization, when he had consumed 15,490 Big Macs. Gorske’s record was upgraded by Guinness in 2021, when they noted that his new official lifetime total had reached 32,340 Big Macs. Guinness reported a few months later that Gorske had only missed 8 days in 50 years of devouring Big Macs.

13. More Than Half Hamburger Consumers Are Young Adult

Because people love burgers so much, 71 percent of the meat consumed in restaurants is sandwiched between a hamburger bun. According to Technomic, a Chicago-based food industry research and consulting business, 56 percent of customers eat hamburgers at least once a week outside of the home. Additionally, consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 consume the most, accounting for 62%.

But why has it grown to be so well-liked among young adults? Asian and Latin American burgers are becoming more and more common, according to Cargill Protein. Additionally, young adult customers are very interested in international flavors and seek out eateries that let them sample cuisines from many nations.

14. The World’s Most Expensive Burger

The Golden Boy burger from Dutch restaurant De Daltons has broken the record for most expensive hamburger in the world with a hefty price tag of €5,000 EUR or about $5,964 USD. An Oregon restaurant’s 777-pound burger held the previous record. The A5 Wagyu beef, king crab, beluga caviar, vintage Iberico Jamon, smoked duck egg mayo, and other premium condiments are added in the Dom Perignon-infused gold-coated buns to make the Golden Boy burger. The dish is served on a platter of whiskey-infused smoke. The tastes are strong and the ingredients work well together.

You should still use your hands to eat this burger even though it is quite expensive since that is the only appropriate method. Your fingers will be covered in gold leaf by the time you’re done because the bun is. Guests must make a reservation at least two weeks in advance and pay a €750 EUR or $855 USD deposit to enjoy this burger at De Daltons.

15. The First Restaurant That Invented Hamburger Only Offers 3 Condiments

In New Haven, Connecticut, there is a hamburger joint called Louis’ Lunch that makes the claim to be the country’s first and oldest hamburger joint. It was one of the first venues in the US to serve steak sandwiches when it first started as a modest lunch wagon in 1895. Even though Louis Lunch is still around today, their uniqueness is that they exclusively sell cheese spread, onions, and tomatoes. Mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise are strictly prohibited, and anyone found sneaking one of these items into the cafe will be respectfully requested to leave.

The original hamburger served at Louis’ Lunch is produced with a special mixture of five kinds of meat that are freshly ground each day. Sirloin, rump skirt, rib, and brisket are all combined in Louis’ Lunch’s exclusive secret recipe. The hamburgers are then vertically flame-broiled.

Sharing is caring!