When we think about diverse and widespread dishes that we can find almost at any restaurant, burgers are the first to come to mind. But why is demand for this impressively simple dish so high? Get ready to dive into the burgers’ origins and discover why so many restaurants’ clients prefer them.
Burger’s Brief History
Even though the burger is one of the most popular dishes worldwide, its history is quite vague. Just think about it, two buns of bread and the burger meat between them: it is a recipe which could be cooked since people learned to use a pan!
But if we appeal to distinctive historical data, we can find the first mention of the burger-like dish in the “Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy” written by Hannah Glasse in England in 1758. The recipe was called a “Hamburg Sausage” and was supposed to be served with toasted bread.
But if we want to find something that sounds more like a traditional burger, we would need to examine the Boston Journal of 1884, where you can find a mention of “Hamburg steak.” Later, other American journals started writing articles about burgers, calling them “Hamburger Sandwich” and saying that it is a perfect dish to be cooked while you wait on the gasoline range.
The first specialized establishment to sell burgers was a “White Castle” in 1921 in Kansas. But due to WW1, using a German word (Hamburg) was inappropriate, so the dish was called Salisbury Steak.
Reason for Burgers’ Popularity
Knowing how burgers appeared in our history, we are ready to find out why they were even a thing then and remain till now. So these are the biggest advantages of burgers:
- They come at different prices. Everybody who lives in a city with at least a few restaurants serving burgers knows they can fit different budgets. For example, some premium burger shops with Michelin stars use exquisite ingredients and sprinkle the buns with golden dust; that’s going to be a hell of a price. Conversely, you can move away from the fancy stuff and visit a cheap burger-serving establishment. Of course, the ingredients will not be that good, but the price will be much lower. And still, it is going to have that authentic beefy taste that we all love;
- Various recipes. Even though the world has established a standard burger recipe which we call hamburgers, chefs from all over the world couldn’t help to improve it. As a result, a simple bread and hamburger concept was turned into a crazy rollercoaster of flavors and servings. For example, one of the simplest yet most popular ingredients to add is a piece of cheese, which will turn a hamburger into a cheeseburger. While some other restaurants changed the idea of the classic buns and put a hamburger between sliced in a half croissant. So regardless of your taste, you will definitely be able to find a perfect burger for yourself;
- Quick and accessible. Fast food is not an empty word when describing a burger. They are super quick and easy to be served: they take up to 15 minutes to be cooked. As a result, the dish is adored by busy people who look for a quick and energy-packed dish before their working day. What also makes them perfect in such cases is that burger-serving restaurants can be found all around the city and work 24/7;
- Food combos. Even though a burger is considered a full-fledged dish, eating it with some additions is much better. Thus, a pack of french fries and a cup of soda is what we usually have with our burger, and it goes great with it. So most of the fast food restaurants serve food combos of those three products, making them all together cheaper than if buying them separately;
- Portable and easy to eat. The problem with, let’s say, Carbonara is that it is almost impossible to take it away from the restaurants. But with the burgers, it is a whole different story. They are often served in a small cardboard box or wrapping paper, which makes transporting them super easy. And so, if you are in a crazy hurry, you can grab a burger and eat it right on your way. As a result, you are fed up and get no penalty at the job or university; thanks, burgers!
So now you can combine all those advantages, and you will understand why we love those buns with meat so much. Even though some people state that burgers can be bad for your health, it also depends on what the burger is made of and what you consume with it. Just maintain balance in your lifestyle and diet, and no burger will ever harm you!