Hamburger

A hamburger, also called a burger, is a sandwich-like dish built around a cooked patty of ground meat, most often beef, which is fried or grilled and placed inside a sliced bun, sesame seed bun, or bread roll. Common additions include lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis, all tucked into the bun. Condiments like ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish, or a special sauce—frequently a version of Thousand Island dressing—are typical toppings. When the patty is topped with cheese, the result is a cheeseburger; in that context, "hamburger" usually means a burger without cheese. Some definitions classify the hamburger as a type of sandwich.

Hamburgers are frequently made at home and are strongly linked to fast-food restaurants, though they also appear on menus at other eateries, including upscale establishments. Numerous international and regional variations exist. Major global fast-food chains, such as McDonald's with its Big Mac and Burger King with its Whopper, have made burgers central to their menus, and these items have become iconic symbols of American culture. Burgers are a fast-food staple and are commonly served alongside french fries.

The word "hamburger" comes from Hamburg, Germany, though exactly how the food connects to the city is debated. Through a process called linguistic rebracketing, "burger" became an independent term used for many sandwiches similar to a hamburger but made with different meats—such as buffalo, venison, kangaroo, chicken, turkey, elk, lamb, or fish like salmon—as well as meatless versions like the veggie burger. The word "burger" can also refer to the meat patty alone. Because "hamburger" typically implies beef, the type of meat or substitute is often specified for clarity, as in beef burger, turkey burger, bison burger, or portobello burger.

Versions of this meal have existed for over a hundred years, but its exact origins remain unclear. A 1758 recipe in Hannah Glasse's *The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy* described "Hamburgh sausage" served roasted with toasted bread underneath. In Hamburg, a similar snack called "Rundstück warm" (warm bread roll) was popular by 1869 or earlier, possibly eaten by emigrants heading to America, though it may have used roasted beefsteak instead of a Frikadelle. Another theory suggests that Hamburg steak between two slices of bread, eaten by Jewish passengers on Hamburg America Line ships (which started in 1847), became so well known that the shipping company gave its name to the dish. Which of these stories is correct is unknown.

A reference to "Hamburg steak" appears in *The Boston Journal* as early as 1884. On July 5, 1896, the *Chicago Daily Tribune* specifically mentioned a "hamburger sandwich" in an article about a "Sandwich Car," noting that a popular five-cent item was a Hamburger steak sandwich, with meat kept ready in small patties and cooked to order on a gasoline range.

"Hamburger steak sandwiches" were advertised in U.S. newspapers from New York to Hawaii by the 1890s, but no single inventor is known. Credit has been given to various people, including Charlie Nagreen, Frank and Charles Menches, Oscar Weber Bilby, Fletcher Davis, and Louis Lassen. White Castle traces the burger's origin to Otto Krause in Hamburg, Germany. Others point to Hannah Glasse's 1758 recipe for "Hamburgh sausages" on toasted bread as an early source. The hamburger gained national attention in the U.S. at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, where the *New York Tribune* called it "the innovation of a food vendor on the pike." No conclusive evidence has settled the dispute. An ABC News article noted that little written history exists, the burger's spread happened largely at the World's Fair from temporary vendors, and it is possible that multiple people came up with the idea independently in different parts of the country.

Louis' Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, founded in 1895, has long claimed to be the "birthplace of the hamburger sandwich." Around 1900, Danish immigrant Louis Lassen, out of steaks when a customer wanted a quick hot meal, took ground beef trimmings, formed a patty, grilled it, and placed it between two slices of toast. Some critics, like *New York Magazine* food editor Joshua Ozersky, argue this was not a hamburger because the bread was toasted. *New York Magazine* reported in 1977 that the dish supposedly had no name until some rowdy sailors from Hamburg later called the meat on a bun after themselves. This story has been promoted by Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and the Library of Congress, despite earlier references to hamburgers elsewhere.

Another early claim comes from Charlie Nagreen, who in 1885 sold a meatball between two slices of bread at the Seymour Fair (now sometimes called the Outagamie County Fair). The Seymour Community Historical Society in Seymour, Wisconsin, credits Nagreen, also known as "Hamburger Charlie," with the invention. Nagreen was 15 when he reportedly sold pork sandwiches at the 1885 fair so customers could eat while walking.