Hamburger Helper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hamburger Helper is a line of packaged food products primarily consisting of boxed pasta bundled with a packet or packets of powdered sauce/seasonings. The contents of each box are combined with browned hamburger meat, water and milk to create a complete dish. The product line also features products with other starches such rice or potatoes instead of pasta.
Although the classic boxed Hamburger Helper products only supply the starch item and the sauce packets, some varieties of the product now include hamburger meat/ground beef. These include a frozen food line, which features some of the brand's classic varieties in a complete meal kit form, with frozen ground beef and frozen sauce packaged separately from the noodles in the same bag. There is also an "instant" version of Hamburger Helper containing dehydrated meat, noodles and seasonings in a small pouch, requiring only water to be added.
The Hamburger Helper mascot is the "Helping Hand", an anthropomorphic animated, four fingered left-hand glove, which appears in the product's television commercials and on the packages. A left-handed glove is used, making the Helping Hand right-handed. The thumb of the glove serves as the Helping Hand's "hand".
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[edit] History
Hamburger Helper was first introduced in 1971. In 2005, the American-based Food Network listed Hamburger Helper as number three in its list of the top five fad foods of the 1970s.[1]
In 2007, General Mills removed the microwave cooking directions from Hamburger and Tuna Helper for unknown reasons, likely for either food safety concerns or the launch of the Microwave Singles line. Directions for a limited number of flavors are still listed at the Hamburger Helper FAQ at BettyCrocker.com.
[edit] Varieties
Hamburger Helper is available in numerous flavors, organized into various "Favorites" categories. These include:
- Homestyle Favorites
- Beef Pasta (formerly called "Beef Noodle")
- Beef Stroganoff
- Potato Stroganoff (includes dehydrated potato slices)
- Salisbury
- Sloppy Joe
- Patty Melt
- Italian Favorites
- Lasagna
- Four Cheese Lasagna
- Spaghetti
- Cheesy Italian Shells
- Italian Sausage
- Tomato Basil Penne (Formerly called "Zesty Italian")
- New Orleans Favorites
- Cheesy Jambalaya
- Cheesy Favorites
- Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Double Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Three Cheese
- Chili Cheese
- Cheddar Cheese Melt
- Philly Cheesesteak
- Cheesy Hashbrowns
- Bacon Cheeseburger
- Cheesy Baked Potato
- Cheesy Ranch Burger
- Philly Cheesesteak
- Mexican Favorites (co-branded with Old El Paso brand)
- Cheesy Nacho
- Chili Macaroni
- Cheesy Enchilada
- Cheesy Beef Taco
- Crunchy Taco
- Double Cheesy Quesadilla (originally "Double Cheese Quesadilla")
- Discontinued
- Beef Romanoff (still available in Canada)
- Beef and Garlic Potatoes
- Beef Stew
- Cheddar & Broccoli
- Hash
- Macaroni & Cheese
- Meatloaf
- Pizza Bake
- Rice Oriental (Officially discontinued, but occasionally still available in some stores)
- Wild Rice & Mushrooms
- Wagon Wheels
- Zesty Italian
[edit] Other helpers
Other flavors that are intended to be served with tuna or chicken are sold under the Tuna Helper and Chicken Helper brand names. In 2006, Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles were introduced which require only the addition of water and brief cooking in a microwave to produce a single serving portion of some of the most popular flavors. This concept was expanded to include the Chicken Helper line in 2007.
Some vegetarians use artificial ground beef (usually soy-based) instead of genuine meat when preparing Hamburger Helper. Ground pork, lamb, chicken, or turkey meat can also be substituted. However, some Hamburger Helper varieties contain meat products (such as beef extract, found in the Tomato Basil Penne flavor).
Many private label producers have versions of the most popular varieties of Hamburger Helper.
