You may think the origin of a hamburger involves a city named Hamburg… Guess what? You are absolutely RIGHT! However, there is much more to the story! The hamburger and the cheeseburger have national days assigned to their exclusive celebration. May 28th is National Hamburger Day and September 18th is National Cheeseburger Day. These are excellent reasons to celebrate, host a barbeque, and learn the unique origin of this delicious meal.
Who invented the hamburger?
The world does not agree on exactly WHO and exactly WHEN a Hamburger was invented. Hamburgers are an icon of America to the tune of over 50 billion eaten a year. This is by Americans alone! The history of the hamburger is fascinating. If you are comfortable with multiple theories and perhaps more research on your own, Let’s dive in!
Hamburgers are NOT exclusive to America, the beef patty – what a hamburger actually is, is a worldwide food. In fact, the origin of the hamburger begins with the beef patty itself.
The earliest record of hamburger history is a recipe by the Ancient Romans in the 4th or 5th century. For example, there is a recipe book containing minced beef that was formed into a patty. This shows us that hamburger history is centuries old, and we may never know the true inventor. If you’d like to try the recipe, there is a more modern-day version HERE. In all honesty, all these particular burgers are lacking is the bun!
Defining A hamburger
What IS a hamburger? The definition will depend on who you credit with inventing it!
For example, in 1855, 15-year-old Charlie Nagreen had the idea to help his meatballs sell better. He smashed meatballs between two slices of bread and began selling them at the fair, calling them “hamburgers” after the Hamburg Steaks that were popular at the time among the many German immigrants. Hamburger or meatball sandwich? You decide. In Seymour Wisconsin you can visit the Hamburger Charlie Statue! In Seymour, they consider Charlie Nagreen the inventor of the hamburger.
What is the origin of the Hamburger?
Let’s go way back to the origin of a hamburger. Inventing takes time and usually involves many people. One person improves upon what another does. With the hamburger, we need to consider all the steps, including the Roman cookbook. Another important contributor to the history of the hamburger is Mongol leader Genghis Khan.
Genghis Khan established the largest land empire in the early 13th century. He gave his warriors the finest steaks of the time. The problem was, that they didn’t have time to stop, cook, and eat them. The soldiers put the steaks under their saddles. The heat and friction helped mince and cook the meat. These were more like perhaps Steak Tartare than hamburgers, but important nonetheless!
Fast forward to the 18th century. While traveling in Asia some Germans noticed the locals would put their meat under their saddles while they rode to help soften it for later. They thought this was a fantastic idea. They brought the idea back with them to Hamburg, Germany.
The Hamburger in Hamburg
More time goes on, and the Germans develop their unique recipe of minced meat, garlic, onions, salt, and pepper. The Germans take the minced meat and form patties. These are called Hamburg Steaks. When Germans immigrate to America, they introduce Hamburg Steaks there!
According to Passionate Foodie , In 1872 a review was written about a restaurant serving “Hamburg Steaks”. The apparent food critic enjoyed the meal in Washington D.C. but did not give many specific details.
Hamburger or Sloppy Joe?
After “Hamburger Charlie” placed his meatball between bread in 1855 another fair gives birth to a “hamburger”. This time in 1885 two brothers were selling pork sausage sandwiches in – of all places – HAMBURG New York. They ran out of pork sausage. Their butcher suggested replacing it with ground beef. Frank and Charles Menches found the plain ground beef dry and tasteless. They added coffee, brown sugar, and other ingredients to create a unique taste. They topped these sandwiches with ketchup and sliced onions. Legend tells us they named it the “hamburger” after the Erie County Fair’s hometown of Hamburg, New York. We think this sounds a bit like a Sloppy Joe… but again, you decide. The Erie county fair celebrates its own “Birth of the Hamburger Day” On September 18th every year.
History of the Hamburger Timeline
Most of the way we research “who invented (FILL IN THE BLANK)” is by conducting a simple Google search. Complete this for the origin of a hamburger and you meet: Louis Lassen, the owner of Louis’ Lunch. Louis was the owner of a lunch wagon in New Haven, Connecticut. According to Google, serving beef patties between toast equals hamburger. They give Louis the credit for inventing the hamburger. I call this a patty melt (well if it had cheese!)
Each of these burgers plays an important part in determining the history of the hamburger timeline. However, an important consideration is this: until this point, all the “burgers” have been on bread, NOT buns!
In 1916 Walt Anderson invented BUNS especially designed for his hamburger patty. Five years later Walt and Billy Ingram Made not only Hamburger History but American history. These two partnered and opened the first fast-food restaurant in THE WORLD! Hello, White Castle.
Learn the origin of a Hamburger
One of the most appealing things about the Hamburger is that it is appetizing to everyone. Even vegetarians have their plant-based version of a hamburger! Basic beef burgers have evolved into: Turkey burgers, Chicken Burgers, Emu Burgers, Buffalo Burgers…any form of ground meat, really! And the toppings… The sky is the limit. You can make your burger any way that pleases your taste buds!
Celebrating Hamburger Day, or the origin of a hamburger is as easy as Apple Pie…. serve up your favorite ground meat (or veggie) burger patty with plenty of topping options and have a make-your-own burger party.
Happy Hive Homeschool put together a fantastic resource you can use to present the origin of the hamburger and a fast-food timeline to your learners.
That timeline was very clear and, well, SURPRISING. I discovered McDonald’s was founded in “my backyard”, San Bernardino California. In fact, California is the birthplace of most fast-food restaurants on the timeline.
Hamburger Holidays
May 28 – National Hamburger Day
July 28 – Hamburger Day
September 15 – Double Cheeseburger Day
September 18 – National Cheeseburger Day
March 18 – NATIONAL SLOPPY JOE DAY
If you would like to further explore the origin of the hamburger and create a timeline of fast food restaurants, we have a fun activity for you! This activity comes with a 20-slide presentation, a teaching video, as well as timeline activities your kids create!
We think it pairs well with our end-of-the-school-year craft: How our Year Stacked Up! This adorable hamburger stacking craft is so versatile. It can be an art project, and end of the year memory book, or you can use it to accompany a literature unit. The burger pieces come with a writing prompt, without prompts, and as an EDITABLE PowerPoint file so you can write your own unique prompts!
Take a peek into the Hamburger History timeline resource here:
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