Why is a hamburger called a hamburger?

Question

Why is it called a hamburger when technically its made from beef? Did it used to be made from ham?

Answer 1

The answer is really quite simple: because Hamburg, Germany made the first hamburgers.

However, the history of the hamburger is actually more complicated. Who actually invented the first hamburger remains a mystery.

Some say it was a group of nomadic people called the Tartars who tenderized their beef by placing it under a horse's saddle--flattening it into a patty. Others believe it was the German immigrants who traveled to the United States during the 19th century bringing with them their favorite meal called Hamburg Style Beef-- a raw chopped, piece of beef. Some argue Americans placed the first cooked beef patty on a roll at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1921.

Although beef is the most popular meat used in hamburgers, other meats such as pork and turkey have been used.

Ever since Bob's Big Boy introduced the first double patty burger, new varieties of burgers have been created. Today people enjoy veggie burgers, turkey burgers, and quarter-pound burgers with many different toppings including lettuce, mushrooms, cheese, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, and pickles.

Hamburgers remain one of the most favorite foods among Americans today.

Ranking #1 among all restaurants with 26,000 stores in 119 countries, McDonald's serves billions of hamburgers worldwide.

Holy Hamburger!

    On average, Americans eat 3 hamburgers a week.

    McDonald's has sold 12 hamburgers for every person in the world.

    60% of all sandwiches eaten are hamburgers.

Answer 2

It was first invented in Hamburg, Germany.

Answer 3

I'm not really sure,

but a hamburger by any other name would not taste the same.

Catburger for instance.

.

Answer 4

because the first hamburger was made in Hamburg, Germany

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamburger

Answer 6

because it was invented in Hamburg Germany

Answer 7

it did used to be made with ham but beef became cheaper & more readily available.

so they changed meats but not the name.

its the same as Coke (drink) it used to have cocaine in it since it became illegal, they changed the ingredients but not the name.

=)

Answer 8

hamburger (or simply burger) is an American sandwich that consists of a cooked patty of ground meat and is generally served with various garnish or condiments like ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, onion, relish, pickles and cheese toppings, placed inside a sliced bun, often baked specially for this purpose, or pieces of bread or toast. The meat patty is beef, unless otherwise noted.

Hamburger also refers to the cooked patty of ground meat by itself.[2] The patty alone is also known as a beefburger, or burger. Adding cheese makes it a cheeseburger. Hamburger is actually a distinct product from ground round and other types of ground meat. However, ground beef of any form is often commonly referred to as "hamburger." A recipe calling for 'hamburger' (the non-countable noun) would require ground beef or beef substitute- not a whole sandwich. The word hamburger comes from Hamburg steak, which was named after the German city of Hamburg. Contrary to what folk etymology might lead one to believe, there is no actual 'ham' in a hamburger.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the term "hamburger" comes from Hamburg steak, which was first recorded in English in 1884 but was probably used much earlier. A form of pounded beef called "Hamburg Steak" was common in Hamburg in the middle of the 19th century. The recipe was brought to North America by the large numbers of people immigrating from Germany at the time, many of whom passed through the port of Hamburg. There is indirect evidence for its use on an American menu in 1836. The form hamburger steak first appeared in a Washington state newsnewspaper in 1889. The first recipe close to the current idea of a hamburger, using ground beef mixed with onion and pepper dates from 1902.[3] The Oxford English Dictionary of 1802, on the other hand, defines "Hamburg Steak" simply as cured beef. In a time without refrigerators, when it took weeks to travel from Europe to the USA, cured meat was a standard food for poor US immigrants, who often started from Hamburg (which was and is the biggest German seaport and one of the biggest in the world). In a tween deck, where cooking is nearly impossible, cutting tough cured beef into pieces and putting it between slices of bread may suggest itself.

Answer 9

You see in 1498 Columbus discovered America then Ummmmm i forgot...

Answer 10

It's an American named food, however it descended from Germany though.

Answer 11

hamburger? I don't know where you live but 'round here we call it a superbeefyonethousandcaloriesburger

Answer 12

In Hamburg, the buildings are made out of beef.  Contrary to popular belief, ham is actually made of cows.  Pigs don't even exist.  They are just the product of a cow and small primates mating.  So, hamburgers are called that because they are made from pork.

Answer 13

Im not sure...I don't eat too much beef?