Summer is Here and Summer Burgers are on the Plate
Although let’s be honest…there isn’t a season where burgers aren’t great!
Hamburgers are perhaps the most famous of sandwiches.
Burgers are estimated to be 40-60% of all sandwiches sold. (Not really sure who counted, however.)
Some claim that a burger is a burger. Not a sandwich. But it is indeed a sandwich in it’s purist form.
At Sandwich America, we celebrate and embrace all sandwiches in all forms.
We also wanted to share facts, figures and some of our favorite summer burgers from recent Sandwich of the Day posts on Social Media.
A Few Burger Facts
- Burgers are now on the menus of most restaurants, but burgers did not really catch on in America until the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
- It’s estimated that the average American eats a burger three times a week and we all consume somewhere around 50 billion burgers a year.
- If all the burgers eaten by Americans annually were arranged in a straight line, it would circle Earth 32 times or more (and it would be a waste of some good eating).
Brief Burger History
- The name Hamburger came from Hamburg steaks introduced to the US by German immigrants.
- Credit for the first burger ‘invention’ is given to Louis Lassen in New Haven, Connecticut in 1900. Yet, the “Hamburger Hall of Fame” is located in Seymour, Wisconsin. (Might be due to the popular addition of cheese?)
- White Castle is the oldest burger chain in America. Walter A. Anderson and E.W. Ingram started selling their burgers in 1921 for 5 cents each. Today McDonalds sells 75 hamburgers every second.
Who said it has to be “Ham” to be a “Burger”?
Back in the ’80’s A1 Steak Sauce launched a famous TV advertising campaign that addressed this question.
Of course, we’ve learned a hamburger is not chopped ham (at least MOST of the time).
Beyond providing a new use for ‘steak sauce’ (yum), this TV campaign may have served as a call to creativity for chefs everywhere.
Today burgers are made of many meats and more.
This includes more commonly found varieties like bison, lamb, and turkey. It also includes some harder to find varieties like elk, venison, kangaroo, and fish (including salmon and shrimp burgers).
And, now there are even a variety of meatless burgers made from soy, black beans, quinoa mushrooms and other veggies.
Sandwich of the Day: Summer Burgers
Every day across Instagram and Twitter people tag us with great photos of classic and non-traditional burgers. Summer is the perfect time to highlight some of our favorites.
What is Your Favorite Sandwich?
Do you Eat Out or Make it at Home?
Join us on the Great American Sandwich Trail
Follow us @sandwichamerica on instagram and twitter
Snap a Pic of your Favorite Sandwich and Tag us @sandwichamerica and #greatamericansandwichtrail to have your favorite sandwich featured
