| America Burger (View) Cheddar - Tomato - Salad |
Mountain Burger (View) Cheese - Deli Meats |
The word "hamburger" comes from Hamburg, a city in Germany. In the 19th century, German immigrants leaving Hamburg for the United States brought with them a recipe called the "Hamburg steak," a seasoned beef hash, often served raw or lightly cooked.
In the United States, the Hamburg steak evolved. For hygiene reasons, cooks began to cook it thoroughly, then they came up with the idea of serving it between two slices of bread, which made it more convenient for workers to eat and avoided the need for washing dishes. It was this transformation that gave birth to the hamburger as we know it today.
The first hamburger chains appeared in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, with the industrialization of fast food. The very first hamburger chain was 'White Castle' founded in 1921 in Kansas. It wasn't until 1940 that a small drive-in appeared in California, which focused on very low prices and, above all, fast service, making it the first 'fast food' in history. It was the brainchild of two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald.
The idea is certainly excellent, but it's not what made McDonald's the largest fast-food chain in the world. The tipping point came in 1955 with the arrival of Ray Kroc, who transformed the concept into a franchise (see the excellent film "The Founder" by John Lee Hancock -2016-). Burger King was founded in 1954 and launched the Whopper in 1954, and Wend'ys in 1969.
A hamburger is a sandwich made primarily from a cooked minced meat patty (usually beef) and two slices of round bread, most often brioche (the top bun is called the "hat" and the bottom bun the "base"). It often contains, but is not obligatory, cheese (Cheeseburger), lettuce, tomato, pickle, and a sauce (ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, special sauce, etc.).
Let's not lie to ourselves, since the Burger is a combination of products, it goes without saying that the quality of said products will have a very significant impact on the final taste quality of the Burger! A minced steak bought from the butcher and therefore minced in front of you will generally be better than an industrial minced steak, a tomato from a small producer will have a flavor that the industrial tomato full of water does not have... In short, you get the idea!
A burger press is a kitchen utensil used to form perfectly round, flat, and even burger patties, perfect for hamburgers. It's available for a few euros online. Choose metal models instead. I have two sizes: one for 100-gram burgers (classic burger buns) and one for 150-gram burgers (giant burger buns).
A steak spatula (often called a burger spatula or grill spatula) is a flat, rigid kitchen utensil used for turning, pressing, or handling steaks, especially when cooking hamburgers. Very practical and, like the press, a few euros online...
I usually cook my burger steaks on the electric grill. I've had several but the current one is by far the most satisfactory (I've had it for 3 years). It's a Chinese model from the AMZCHEF brand found on Amazon and it's very practical because you can precisely adjust the desired heat and cooking time. The plates are resistant and haven't moved (unlike those of my two previous Tefal grills whose non-stick coating started to deteriorate after a year with the same treatment as the current one)
