Dear LPG 

As a sort of post script to my last recipe, I found myself investigating the origins of the Hamburger.  It was the idea of It being the National dish of one of the most influential countries of the world which got me trying to learn more.  There was another conundrum about them which has always bothered me just a little bit. 

I know that you can make them with pork but I always wondered why a predominantly beef flavoured filling would have a name which was remotely associated with ham.  I took a look online where you are supposed to be able to get the answer to most questions these days and a few responses came through including the fact that no one is really sure, although it is suggested that it has quite a bit to do with the fact that Hamburg in Germany is thought of as the place where they were invented.

One story tells that they originated in Germany while I also found the suggestion that Romans may have started the craze due to the discovery of a 5th century cookbook which shows such evidence.

I thought that an English city would be in the running for the prize awarded to the city that eats most of them, considering how many McDonalds and Burger King branches there are to choose from over here, but according to another internet source Berlin and Athens take 1st and 2nd place in that top ten with Manchester coming 5th and New York only taking 6th place.

Reportedly we have had chicken burgers since 1946 and fish burgers since McDonalds made them available in 1962.  We had to wait until 1981 for the first Vegan Berger and now the gluten free burger is not unheard of.

 I have found a website that suggests that they should be eaten less often by us oldies because the shop bought ones are more likely to be processed and mixed with questionable preservatives, but as the only thing I put in the pot when it came to the recipes I found was pure minced beef, I suspect they are not too bad.

I really don’t frequent any of the popular Burger fast-food outlets anywhere near as much as I used to in days gone past, but my grandchildren tell me that, these days, they are as a good filler for the older stomach as any other? 

My one really big beef has to be why, with all the other alternatives they have on their breakfast menu, there is nothing really meaty for the non-pork eaters.  I suppose it is all about supply and demand... 

CB Lewisham 

CB lets us in on some of her research…

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