May is National Hamburger Month and May 28 is National Hamburger Day.
Hamburgers may not have been invented in America but Americans have taken the burger to the next level.
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They can be easily customized to individual tastes and the variety of toppings is only limited by the imagination of the person who is making the burger.
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Here are 13 interesting facts about hamburgers:
- German immigrants introduced hamburg steaks to the United States. The hamburger was believed to have been invented in 1900 in New Haven, Connecticut
- Hamburgers didn’t really catch on in the U.S. until the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
- Hamburgers were referred to as liberty sandwiches during World War I.
- Americans consume approximately 50 billion burgers per year. The average American eats 3 hamburgers a week.
- The first fast-food restaurant to serve hamburgers opened in 1921 and sold them for 5 cents each. That restaurant was named White Castle.
- McDonald’s sells 75 hamburgers every second.
- The Big Mac was introduced in 1968 and sold for 49 cents.
- One in 8 Americans has been employed by McDonald's at some point in their lives.
- Hamburgers (and cheeseburgers) account for 71 percent of beef served in commercial eateries.
- The U.S. is the largest producer of beef in the world but has 5th largest cattle inventory.
- Burgers in Mexico are served with ham and slices of American cheese fried on top of the meat patty. Toppings include avocado, shredded lettuce, onion and tomato.
- In Minnesota, a “Juicy Lucy” is a hamburger with cheese inside the meat rather than on top.
- Although ground beef is most popular choice for burgers, there are restaurants who use kangaroo, beaver, Llama and other types of meat.
