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Cheeseburger

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For other uses, see Cheeseburger (disambiguation).

Cheeseburger
Cheeseburger.jpg
CourseMain course
Place of originUnited States
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsGround beef patty, cheese, bun
Food energy
(per serving)
600-1500 kcal (-5680 kJ)

A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese. Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty, but the burger can include many variations in structure, ingredients, and composition. The cheese is normally added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before serving, which allows the cheese to melt. As with other hamburgers, a cheeseburger may include toppings, such as lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, mayonnaise, ketchup, or bacon; examples of less common toppings might be spinach or olives.[citation needed]

In fast food restaurants, the cheese used is normally processed cheese, but essentially any other meltable cheeses may be used—common examples include cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella, blue Cheese, and pepper jack. Very soft/wet cheeses that melt poorly—like cream cheese, cottage cheese, or ricotta—are very unusual, and very hard/dry cheeses like Parmigiano-Reggiano would rarely be used in quantities sufficient to be a recognizable topping as opposed to a seasoning.[citation needed]

History

By the late nineteenth century, the opening of the vast grasslands of the Great Plains to cattle ranching had made it possible for many Americans to consume beef almost daily. The hamburger was, and remains, one of the cheapest sources of beef in America.[1]

Adding cheese to hamburgers became popular in the late-1920s to mid-1930s, and there are several competing claims as to who created the first cheeseburger. Lionel Sternberger is reputed to have introduced the cheeseburger in 1926 at the age of 16 when he was working as a fry cook at his father's Pasadena, California sandwich shop, "The Rite Spot", and "experimentally dropped a slab of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger."[2][3][4][5][6]

An early example of the cheeseburger appearing on a menu is a 1928 menu for the Los Angeles restaurant O'Dell's which listed a cheeseburger smothered with chili for 25 cents.[7][8][9]

Other restaurants also claim to have invented the cheeseburger. For example, Kaelin's Restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, said it invented the cheeseburger in 1934.[10] One year later, a trademark for the name "cheeseburger" was awarded to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, Colorado.[11] According to Steak 'n Shake archives, the restaurant's founder, Gus Belt, applied for a trademark on the word in the 1930s.[12][13][14]

The steamed cheeseburger, a variation almost exclusively served in central Connecticut, is believed to have been invented at a restaurant called Jack’s Lunch in Middletown, Connecticut, in the 1930s.

The largest cheeseburger ever made in the world weighed 2,014 pounds (914 kg), "60 pounds [27 kg] of bacon, 50 pounds [22.5 kg] of lettuce, 50 pounds [22.5 kg] of sliced onions, 40 pounds [18 kg] of pickles, and 40 pounds [18 kg] of cheese." The record was broken by Minnesota's Black Bear Casino breaking the previous Cheeseburger record 881 pounds (400 kg).[15]

In the United States, National Cheeseburger Day is celebrated annually on 18 September.[16]

Ingredients

The ingredients used to create cheeseburgers follow similar patterns found in the regional variations of hamburgers, although most start with ground beef. Popular regional toppings include bacon, avocado or guacamole, sliced sautéed mushrooms or onions, cheese sauce and/or chili. Less common ingredients include egg, feta cheese, salsa, jalapeños, and other kinds of chili peppers, anchovies, slices of ham, mustard, gyros meat, or bologna, horseradish, sauerkraut, pastrami or teriyaki-seasoned beef, tartar sauce, french fries, onion rings, potato chips, a pat of butter, pineapple, and tofu.[citation needed]

A cheeseburger may have more than one patty and/or more than one slice of cheese—it is reasonably common, but by no means automatic, for the number to increase at the same rate with cheese and meat interleaved. A stack of two or more patties follows the same basic pattern as hamburgers: with two patties will be called a double cheeseburger; a triple cheeseburger has three, and while much less common, a quadruple has four.[17][18]

Sometimes cheeseburgers are prepared with the cheese enclosed within the ground beef, rather than on top. This is sometimes known as a Jucy Lucy.[19]

Religious

Traditionally, this dish breaches the kosher laws (Hebrew: כַּשְׁרוּת‎; kashrut) observed by Judaism as it combines ground beef and cheese. Mixtures of milk and meat (Hebrew: בשר בחלב‎, basar bechalav, literally "meat in milk") are prohibited according to Jewish religious law (Hebrew: הלכה‎; halakha), following a verse in the Book of Exodus in which Jews are forbidden from "boiling a (kid) goat in its mother's milk" (Exod. 34:26).[20][21] This prohibition appears again in Deuteronomy.[22] This dietary law sparked controversy in Jerusalem when McDonald's began opening franchises there that sold cheeseburgers.[23] Since that time, McDonald's has opened both kosher and non-kosher restaurants in Israel.[24]

In an attempt to provide a "kosher cheeseburger", a kosher restaurant in New York City created a controversial cheeseburger variation which replaces cheese with soy cheese.[25]

Gallery

  • A cheeseburger with mushroom sauce and fries

  • A Burger King "Quad Stacker" cheeseburger, containing four patties and bacon

  • A cheeseburger at a restaurant in Camden Town, London

  • McDonald's Big Mac

  • A cheddar-stuffed cheeseburger

See also

References

  1. ^ Ozersky, Josh (2008). The Hamburger: The History. New Haven Conn.: Yale University Press. pp. 12, 14. ISBN 9780300117585.
  2. ^ Piasecki, Joe (January 16, 2012). "Pasadena claims its slice of burger history". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  3. ^ Harvey, Steve (March 27, 1991). "Only in L.A." Los Angeles Times. p. B2. Cooking at his father's short-order joint in Pasadena in the early 1920s, [Sternberger] experimentally tossed a slice (variety unknown) on a hamburger...
  4. ^ Perry, Charles (June 9, 2004). "It's an L.A. Thing; Our burgers are the best with good reason: We made them here first". Los Angeles Times. p. F1.
  5. ^ Piasecki, Joe (January 13, 2012). "Yes, it was invented in Pasadena! Probably. Tracing the cheeseburger from inception to Bob's Big Boy". Pasadena Sun. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  6. ^ Henerson, Evan (June 23, 1999). "The Tale of the Cheeseburger". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Archived from the original on April 12, 2003. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  7. ^ Grace, Roger M. (January 15, 2004). "Old Menus Tell the History of Hamburgers in L.A." Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  8. ^ Spiers, Katherine (September 18, 2013). "Were Cheeseburgers Invented in Pasadena?". KCET. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  9. ^ "O'Dell's menu". Menu Collection. Los Angeles Public Library. 1928. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2017.
  10. ^ "Louisville Facts & Firsts - LouisvilleKy.gov". City of Louisville, Kentucky. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2006.
  11. ^ "History of the Cheeseburger". Cheese-Burger.net (blog). Retrieved October 2, 2008.
  12. ^ Flick, Bill (February 20, 2012). "Flick Fact 2/20/2012 Monday". Bloomington Pantagraph. Archived from the original on September 11, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  13. ^ "Our 'Top 5 List' of little-known facts about Bloomington-Normal". WJBC-FM. July 29, 2011. Archived from the original on December 2, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  14. ^ Perry, Catherine D. (July 7, 2004). "Steak 'n Shake vs Burger King, Memorandum and Order" (PDF). United States District Court Eastern District Missouri Eastern Division. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2013. Retrieved February 21, 2012. (7 July 2004) 323 F. Supp.2d 983 (E.D. Mo. 2004)
  15. ^ Ulla, Gabe (September 4, 2012). "World's Biggest Cheeseburger Clocks in at 2,014 Pounds". Eater. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  16. ^ "National Cheeseburger Day". WinCalendar. Sapro Systems. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
  17. ^ Tice, Carol (January 28, 2002). "In-N-Out Burgers: With an emphasis on quality, this fast feeder shows its rare appeal. (Regional Powerhouse Chains)". Nation's Restaurant News – via Highbeam Research. (Subscription required (help)).
  18. ^ Hall, David (October 24, 2006). "Society's fast food intake reeks". Daily Skiff. Texas Christian University School of Journalism. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
  19. ^ Flower, Justin; Boller, Jay (13 March 2008). "Burger Battle". Minnesota Daily.
  20. ^ Exodus 34:26
  21. ^ Exodus 23:19
  22. ^ Deuteronomy 14:21
  23. ^ Bronner, Ethan (September 3, 1995). "Big Mac under attack in Jerusalem As McDonald's rings up sales of nonkosher burgers, outcry on 'cultural identity' heard". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 21, 2010 – via ProQuest. (Subscription required (help)). Alternate link via ProQuest.
  24. ^ "Will residents of Jerusalem get to bite a kosher Big Mac?". J. The Jewish News of Northern California. December 21, 2001. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  25. ^ Montefinise, Angela (March 2, 2008). "Jews Have A 'Beef'". New York Post. Retrieved May 30, 2014.

Further reading

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