I.Introduction

What is a Hamburger?

A hamburger (also known as burger or hamburger sandwich) consists of cooked patty of beef or other form of ground meat (occasionally pork) placed inside the sliced bread roll. It is usually served with bacon, lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, pickles and condiments like mayonnaise, relish, ketchup and mustard.

The term burger or hamburger can be applied to meat patty itself, particularly inUK, where ‘patty’ word is rarely used. However, the term ‘hamburger’ is seldom used in Common wealth nations (other thanAustraliaandCanada).

II. Background

History of Hamburger

The history of hamburger is a debatable topic, since there is no clear-cut documentation that chronicles its origin.

• One belief is that the term ‘hamburger’ firstly derived from Hamburg, the 2^nd largest city inGermany. Hamburger can be used to describe something fromHamburg. The term ‘burger’ is related to different kinds of sandwiches similar to hamburger, using special meats like turkey burger, buffalo burger, salmon burger, elk burger and a veggie burger.
• Wisconsinpeople claim that hamburger originated from this place and the first hamburger was prepared by Charles Nagreen in the year 1885.
• Another claim is that modern hamburger came in the year 1890, when Louis Lassen of New Havenin Connecticutserved the 1^st burger at his luncheonette. He grounded up some beef and served this beef to a customer in the form of a sandwich.
• The most famous story of the hamburger is of 1904 St. Louis Trade Fair. Here, Fletch ‘Old Dave’Davisdecided to try something new. He took raw hamburger steak, grilled it to turn brown and sandwiched the patty between 2 slices of toast (homemade) and added a thick slice of onion on its top. Customers really loved this sandwich and spread like wild-fire.

III. Recipe

A Basic Recipe to make hamburger

Ingredients:

For the patties: 500 g / 1 lb ground beef, 1 onion finely chopped, 3-4 pinch ground coriander, 3-4 pinch paprika powder, 1 egg lightly beaten, little salt & pepper, a few bread crumbs and 1 quarter beef bouillon dissolved in 2-3 tbsp of water.

For the rolls: Sliced tomato, 4 rolls, lettuce, sliced gherkin, sliced onion, ketchup and mayonnaise.

Method:

Mix all ingredients needed for patty (except salt). The mixture should be cool enough. Make 4 balls out of this mixture and mold them into patties. Cook these patties on medium heat in a pan or under the grill. Now, take the rolls and divide them. Toast the cut surfaces very lightly in a pan or under the grill before the patties are cooked. Spread mayonnaise on bottom halves, place thin slices of onion on it, little lettuce, slices of gherkin and tomato. Put little mayonnaise and ketchup on top of it. Serve hot.

One gets 279 calories in a hamburger, if its serving size is 110 g.

IV.  Benefits

Advantages of eating Hamburger

There are many people who believe that hamburgers are inherently bad for health, but it is not so. Hamburgers can become a part of healthy diet. They are a source of iron, zinc, protein, vitamin B and selenium, which keep an individual’s immune system healthy. However, the way the hamburger is prepared can make a lot of difference. If the meat used in hamburger is overcooked, it increases the risk of prostate cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer.

Let us study that how hamburgers can be made healthy:

• By adding cherries or blueberries to ground meat, it will help in preventing HCAs. Cherries and blueberries also contain cancer-fighting antioxidants which will retard spoilage.
• By marinating the hamburger meat before cooking, it will reduce formation of HCA up to 99 percent.
• By using some leaner meats (e.g. bison and turkey).
• By cooking hamburger at low temperature.
• By choosing healthy toppings such as lettuce, onions, tomatoes and salsa.

V. Calories

How many calories in a hamburger

There are 200 calories in a Burger King Hamburger of weighing size 83 grams. Comparing with In-N-Out Burger Hamburger (containing 200 calories in 125 grams), Burger King Hamburger has more calories. In McDonald’s hamburgers, there are even more calories, i.e. 200 calories in serving size of 80 grams.

The breakup of McDonalds hamburger calories by individual composition is as follows.

• Total fats (including saturated fats, Trans fat & calories from fat) contribute up to 11.1% of total calorie amount.
• Carbohydrates (including fiber and sugar) contribute up to 8.3% of the total calories.
• Sodium contributes up to 17.3 percent.
• Protein makes up to 19.2% of the total calories.
• Vitamin C is 1.6 percent of total amount.
• Calcium – 8 percent
• Iron – 12 percent

VI. Additional Information

Hamburger calories Breakup by Major Ingredients used

• Beef – 1 serving of beef gives 259 calories
• Onion – 10 g onion is equal to 4 calories
• Egg – 1 large egg (46 g) gives 90 calories
• Salt and pepper – 1 tsp is equal to 3 calories
• Tomato – 1111 g of tomatoes give 200 calories
• Lettuce – 1333 g of green leaf lettuce provides 200 calories
• Gherkin – 36 g of gherkin is equal to 5 calories
• Mayonnaise – 14.6 g means 49 calories