Humans do love their burgers. Billions of them are consumed around the world every year. Who knew that beef in between two pieces of bread would captivate the world as much as it has? In fact, Americans celebrate National Hamburger Day annually each May 28th. Let’s take a look at these juicy, meaty fun facts about burgers. The number one fast-food staple.
- The origin of the hamburger is traced back to Hamburg, Germany. As German immigrants came to the US, they brought their favorite foods such as the Hamburg steak. Fried patties of minced beef and chopped onions bound together with eggs, breadcrumbs, and mild spices. The burger as we know it today evolved from Hamburg steaks.
- During World War I, anti-German sentiment in the U.S. was so strong that hamburgers were given an alternative name, Salisbury steaks. The name change was a way to distance the popular dish from its German roots. During World War II, hamburgers were renamed Liberty Steaks too avoid their German-sounding name.
- White Castle was founded in 1921 by Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson in Wichita, Kansas. From the start White Castle sold burgers for just 5 cents apiece. It is the oldest burger chain in America.
- In 1968, the first Big Mac was introduced and sold for 49 cents. McDonald’s is one of the most popular fast-food chains in the world. McDonald’s reportedly sells 550 million Big Macs each year. The Big Mac hamburger is one of the top-selling burgers of all time and enjoyed by millions of people around the world.
- In 1982 Rutland, North Dakota hosted the “Grand Daddy of All Celebrations” when it went into the Guinness Book of World Records with the cooking and eating of the World’s Largest Hamburger. That year, between 8,000-10,000 people came to sample the tasty 3,591-pound burger.
- There is an actual Hamburger Hall of Fame located in Seymour, Wisconsin. Considerable space is devoted to “Hamburger Charlie” and the origin of the burger in Seymour. In 1885, Charles Nagreen, a lad of 15, was selling meatballs at the Seymour Fair. When people wanted to walk around and eat, he flattened the meatballs into patties, put them between pieces of bread, and called his creation a “hamburger.”
- Burgers make the world a gassier place. It takes 1,800 gallons of water to produce one pound of grain-fed beef and 6.5 pounds of greenhouse gases are released to produce just one quarter-pounder burger.
- Americans devour nearly 50 billion burgers each year. There are approximately 325,000,000 people in this country, so that means the average American consumes 154 burgers each year or 3 every week.
- Mallie’s Sports Grill & Bar located in Southgate, Michigan is home of the world-famous 1,800-pound burger, the “Absolutely Ridiculous Burger.” The burger set a Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest commercially available burger, available for $10,000. It includes 15 pounds of lettuce, 30 pounds of tomatoes, 36 pounds of cheese, and 30 pounds of bacon.
- Burgers around the world are served differently than those in America. In India where beef is banned, hamburgers are made from chicken and vegetables. In Mexico, hamburgers are served with fried ham and cheese on top. In East Asia (China, Vietnam, and Japan), hamburgers are bun-less and replaced with compressed rice patties.