How Burgers Became American Icons

It's hard to imagine any sandwich being more beloved than the good, old-fashioned American hamburger. Americans alone eat 50 billion hamburgers annually, giving the burger industry a collective worth of $100 billion every year. That's not too bad for a patty of ground beef on a bun.

How did this diner favorite, fast-food staple, an icon of lunch and dinner (and breakfast if you add an egg on top), become one of the most popular foods in the U.S.A. and the world?

The Shrouded Origins of the Hamburger

The first people to make a patty out of meat were the Mongols. Thirteenth century Mongol horsemen formed little patties out of mutton and lamb scraps and carried them in their saddles during rides and battles. Throwing a patty in a pan on the fire made for a quick, easy meal when the riders made camp.

The idea of a meat patty spread and eventually reached Germany. The Germans switched out the lamb scraps for chopped beef and brought it with them as immigrants to the U.S. in the mid-19th century. Many immigrants opened food stalls and restaurants, serving patties as "Hamburg steaks."

Now comes the part subject to fierce debate: Who put it on a bun?

There are many claimants to the title of "the first person to make a hamburger sandwich." It's unclear how the idea of making a sandwich with hamburger steaks came about, although some believe the hot dog (which predates it) may have influenced it.

Ultimately, the hamburger debuted at the St. Louis World's Fair alongside ice cream cones and peanut butter in 1904.

From Fair Food to Gourmet Dinner

In the early 20th century, hamburgers were still seen as a meal for the working class or as a fair food, as they were cheap, convenient, and filling. Additionally, new interest in sanitation and food standards, caused in part by Upton Sinclair's exposé "The Jungle," caused Americans to look at ground beef with suspicion.

Two significant changes got the hamburger ball rolling. The first, in 1921, was a new restaurant in Wichita, Kansas that served burgers while presenting itself as a bastion of hygiene and high standards: White Castle^®. Its massive success inspired a slew of fast-food burger joints, including McDonald's^® in 1948 and Burger King^® in 1954.

The second was the automobile. The car's mass production and sudden accessibility changed the cultural landscape. It triggered the creation of drive-in restaurants where people could eat without leaving their cars. The hamburger proved to be the perfect car food, bringing the trend started by the Mongols on horseback full circle.

Burgers became a permanent and tasty part of the American culinary landscape. It took a new step in 2001 when French chef Daniel Boulud created a high-quality hamburger featuring braised short ribs and foie gras for his upscale restaurant. This burger, the most expensive in the world at the time at $27, proved so successful that it influenced other high-class chefs to invent their own personal burger masterpieces.

As a result, few restaurants fail to include a burger on the menu... and we're all the happier for it! The American hamburger has undergone numerous reinventions over its surprisingly long life, and always for the better. In that way, it's reflective of American society as a whole!

References: The History of Burgers – How They Became an Iconic American Food? | Where Hamburgers Began—and How They Became an Iconic American Food | How Did the All-American Hamburger Become so Popular? | History of the Hamburger: A Timeline | How the hamburger became an American staple – and where to get classic burgers today | The Rise and Fall of the Fancy Chef Burger