May 28 is National Burger Day. National Burger Day is a day that pays homage to the world’s favorite fast food, “hamburgers”. The term hamburger originated from the city of Hamburg, Germany, where beef from the city’s cows was minced and shaped into patties to make Hamburg steaks. Millions of people take part in these celebrations & the same day National French Toast Day.
When is National Burger Day celebrated?
National Hamburger Day is celebrated annually on May 28th. Therefore, get ready to get your tastebuds running with burger wildness as we approach the end of this month. Some people claim National Burger day’s actual date is the 18th of September, which is wrong. 18th September is the annual celebration day for Cheeseburgers.
History
Burger Day was started by Mr. Hyde to celebrate their favorite quick snack and honor all the places that make them. Before the invention of burgers in Hamburg, ground beef used to be considered a waste product, the leftovers of the prime cuts were either disposed of or got sold off on a low. Today, it has become one of the world’s most consumed meat parts. Premium ground beef is now the main item used in burgers all around the world.
Burgers stepped on U.S. soil as German immigrants. Minced meat patties sandwiched between slices of bread are believed to have been first presented on the Hamburg America Line in the early 1800s. It is also believed that the first proper American burger was served from a lunch van in Connecticut, in the early 90s. It gained popularity from the late 19th to the early-20th century, before cementing its undisputed place in fast-food restaurants all around the world.
Read Also: National Pepper Pot Day
Facts
(Can’t find facts about National Burger Day, except a little bit of its history which is also very conflicted itself. Most top articles on google about National Burger day have mentioned facts about burgers under their “facts” headings”
-This is more of a conflicted fact than an actual fact. The New York Magazine claims Connecticut’s Louis Lassen was the brain behind the invention of the hamburger.
-An average American man 6.9 oz. of meat per day, while females consume 4.4 oz. Of this, 55% constitutes red meat which includes beef, followed by poultry and fish.
-A 2013 study showed American meat companies packaged 25.8 billion pounds of beef. In 2014, the U.S. exported 1.7 billion pounds of beef.
-The world’s biggest burger weighed so much(913kg) and was so massive that it needed a crane in order to be flipped.
-One of the most expensive burgers in the world is “The Biggest Damn Burger in the World”, made by Juicy Foods in Corvallis, Oregon. With a mind-boggling price tag of $5,000, the burger boasts 350 pounds of meat and toppings.
Most Asked Questions on Burger Day
Why do burgers taste so good?
What’s so special about burgers, whether beef, pork or chicken, that they get our taste buds running with pleasure? The answer is a bit more complicated than saying that the mixture of toppings and the patty make burgers our favorite fast food.
To understand why burgers taste so good, we have to understand the role of the most important part in a burger, the patty itself. According to scientists, a patty’s intricate mixture of fat and umami, cooked up in a process called the Maillard reaction is what achieves the good taste factor in a burger.
Maillard reaction is the bonding between carbohydrates and amino acids that takes place in moderately moist, hot conditions leading to delightful aromas. More than 90 percent of our perception of meat’s taste actually depends on its aroma, according to Barb Stuckey, author of “Taste: Surprising Stories and Science About Why Food Tastes Good.”
Apart from the Maillard reaction, when we are craving meat we are actually craving fat. Fat in meat has a specific texture which makes for a delightful combination of creaminess and juiciness. When a patty of pork or beef is grilled, it’s not just the Maillard reaction that happens, fats also begin oxidizing, releasing appealing scents that fly straight to your nose.
Another big reason why cooked meat might be so hard to resist is that it’s rich with “Umami”. Umami is Japanese for “delicious”. Basically, three substances make up for umami taste: glutamate (parmesan cheese and soy sauce have it), inosinate (found in various meats including beef), and guanylate (take sun-dried mushrooms). When two or three of these things come together, the umami factor in a dish gets boosted. Humans love umami. When a patty is fried, it releases glutamate, making our burgers smell and taste more delicious, as it leads to the Umami effect.
Both the umami taste and the Maillard reaction are important signals that meat has been cooked and is hence ready to be consumed.
Why is it called a “ham” burger when it’s actually made from beef?
As mentioned earlier, the exact origin of hamburgers is still conflicted. Some people claim it was invented in Hamburg, Germany, while some regard Connecticut’s Louis Lassen as the genius behind the idea. According to some Americans, it was Hamburg, NEW YORK where hamburgers began their journey.
How many burgers do McDonald’s sell?
The restaurant market is worth around $1 trillion a year globally. Fast food makes for a whopping 75 percent of that, and McDonald’s owns around 11 percent of that! Now that is a lot of burgers.. According to their official data, they sell 75 hamburgers every second and have sold around 300 billion in total. Burger King is ranked no. 3 on the fast-food chain list in the world (the second being Subway).
What is the world’s most expensive burger?
Wagyu or Kobe beef would come to mind, but forget it! In , a Dutch scientist made minced meat from stem cells. The resulting lab-grown burger cost a staggering €250,000 (£207,000).
What’s the world’s largest burger?
The world’s largest hamburger weighed 913.54 kg and was made by Black Bear Casino Resort, Minnesota in 2012. This giant hamburger was topped with 23.81 kg of tomatoes, 22.68 kg of lettuce, 27.22 kg of onion, 8.62 kg of pickles, and 18.14 kg of cheese, and 7.48 kg of bacon.
What to do on National Burger Day
1) Good old’ Backyard bbq
Call your buddies over and host a nice backyard burger bbq party to celebrate your burger cravings. All you need to be the perfect host for your burger party is a normal-sized bbq grill, which can be used to grill the patties and toast the buns. Don’t forget to bring some drinks on the side!
2) Custom burger party
There’s nothing more fun than having a custom burger party at your place, where your friends can choose the toppings of their dreams. Some of our personal favorites are:
1) Mac & Cheese
2) Sunny Side-Up Egg
3) French Fries
4) Avocado
5) Peanut Butter
3) Healthy Burger Day
For all our diet-conscious friends out there, you don’t have to feel the guilt of a fat-filled burger meal on Burger day. Here are some extremely delicious and healthy ideas to join in on the burger fun:
i) Asian Falafel burger patty made from fava beans and chickpeas. Spices could include garlic, scallions, cumin, and coriander which would give the patty a very Middle Eastern taste.
ii) Lentil and mushroom burger patty formed from a minced mixture of lentils, mushrooms, carrots, breadcrumbs, and spices.
iii) Black bean burger patty made from black beans and spices such as oregano, chili powder, and lime juice.
iv) Lentil and barley patty made from lentils, barley, breadcrumbs, and spices including cumin, oregano, chili powder, black pepper, and dry garlic powder.
In case you want to explore even healthier options to modify your burgers, consider replacing burger toppings with broccoli and cheese. You could also replace potato fries with sweet baked potato veggies or replace the bun with lettuce.
4) Free deal hunting
On National Burger day, you could find tons of amazing deals and prices on your favorite burgers all over the world. Chains like McDonald’s and Burger King introduce exclusive cheap deals on Burger day every year. However, you could also surf other local fast-food restaurants in your area for some of the best deals out there. There are plenty every year, especially on Burger day of all days!
Events to attend on National Burger Day
You could attend countless burger festivals on this burgery day, depending on where you reside. If you’re in the states, here’s a list of some popular festivals that you can go to:
1) Denver Burger Battle, Denver, Colorado
2) Taste of Hamburger Festival, Hamburg, PA
3) National Hamburger Festival, Akron, Ohio
4) Burger Fest, Hamburg, New York
5) Sacramento Burger Battle, Sacramento, California