Hamburger

From Citizendium
Revision as of 11:59, 1 July 2007 by imported>Hayford Peirce (okay, Stephen, you can add this to the Bar & Grill; next: Navy Grogs to wash 'em down with)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Barbecued hamburgers and corn on the 4th of July are a quintessentially American meal.

A hamburger (or, less frequently, a hamburg) is a sandwich containing a patty of ground, cooked meat that is almost always beef. Its origin is almost certainly American, and, along with Coca-Cola, the hamburger was once disdainfully regarded by many non-Americans as the epitome of low cultural taste. With the advent of mass marketing from fast-food chains such as McDonald's and Burger King, however, hamburgers have now spread around the world and, with variations, are consumed in every culture. Generally considered to be an informal meal or a convenience food, its meat can be grilled, fried, broiled, microwaved, or steamed, and is almost always served with condiments such as ketchup or mustard inside a bun baked specially for hamburgers.