Things you never knew about hamburgers, and never cared to ask

I grabbed this from the Kitchen Daily site, featured on AOL’s news feed. Seemed appropriate for the day. But special kudos to fellow blogger Jahnavi Foster who posted the entire text of the Declaration of Independence on her Facebook page this morning. Believe me, that’s both more informative and appetizing than the following:

 

1.     Who invented hamburgers? Probably Genghis Khan. His horsemen would store flat patties made from meat scraps underneath their saddles, and after a day of battle the patty would be tenderized and ready to be eaten raw. Eeeuww. 

 

2.     The first hamburger on a bun could be attributed to Oscar Weber Bilby from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who served grilled Angus meat patties on homemade yeast buns at his Fourth of July cookout in the summer of 1891.

 

3.     For most historians, the real hamburger story starts with the establishment of White Castle, the first hamburger chain, in 1916.

 

4.     White Castle custom creation, a spatula made from saw-blade steel perfect for flattening patties, which is currently housed in a temperature-proof glass case at the Ohio State Historical Society. Can you believe we revere our hamburgers that much?

6.     It takes approximately 15 seconds to assemble a Big Mac. Don't believe it? You can watch the YouTube video here.

Okay, folks. Fire up the grill and have a great Fourth!



The famous White Castle spatula