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Hamburger Helper

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Hamburger Helper
Box of Cheeseburger Macaroni flavor Hamburger Helper. The box features the words "Hamburger Helper", the name of the flavor, an image of the prepared product, as well as the brand mascot.
Cheeseburger Macaroni flavor
TypePackaged mix
CourseMain course
Place of originUnited States
Associated cuisineAmerican cuisine
Created byGeneral Mills
Invented1971
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsPasta or rice
Ingredients generally usedSeasonings
Variations
  • Tuna Helper
  • Fruit Helper
  • Chicken Helper
  • Asian Helper
  • Whole Grain Helper
  • Pork Helper
  • Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles

Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product manufactured by Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box with browned ground beef ("hamburger"), water, and, with some varieties, milk to create a complete one-dish meal.

There are also variations of the product designed for other meats, such as "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper". Some of these feature other starches, such as potatoes.

History

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The packaged pasta brand "Hamburger Helper" was introduced by General Mills in 1971[1][2][3] in response to a meat shortage and rising meat prices.[4] In 2005, Food Network rated it third on its list of "Top Five Fad Foods of 1970". In 2013, the company shortened the brand's name to just "Helper".[5]

The Hamburger Helper mascot is "the Helping Hand" or "Lefty"—a four-fingered, left-hand white glove with a face on the palm and a red spherical nose. It often appears in the product's television commercials and on packages.[2][3][6]

In May 2022, General Mills announced an agreement to sell the brand to Eagle Foods for approximately $610 million.[7] On July 5, 2022, the sale was completed.[8]

Hamburger varieties

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Prepared Hamburger Helper with ground beef

The basic (and most popular) version of Hamburger Helper is a box of dried pasta with seasoning that is designed to be cooked with ground beef. Hamburger Helper offers a variety of flavors, including Lasagna, Cheeseburger Macaroni, Bacon Cheeseburger, Philly Cheesesteak, and others.

Other varieties

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A cream sauce with pasta designed for tuna

There are also variations designed for other meats: "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper".

  • Tuna Helper became successful as the second variety to appear on the market, in 1972.[2]
  • Fruit Helper was introduced in 1973. These were dessert products made with canned or fresh fruit. The Fruit Helper line has since been discontinued.[9]
  • Chicken Helper was introduced in 1984 in response to the wide availability of inexpensive boneless and skinless chicken breasts.[2]
  • Asian Helper is a selection of four main Asian-American-style dishes, three made with chicken and one with beef.[10]
  • Whole Grain Helper options include Lemon & Herb Chicken, Honey Mustard Chicken, Cheeseburger Mac, and beef Stroganoff flavors made with whole-wheat pasta.[11]
  • Pork Helper was introduced in 2003. Varieties included pork fried rice and pork chops with stuffing. The product was discontinued shortly after its introduction.[12]
  • Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles were introduced in 2006. This product requires water and brief cooking in the microwave to produce a single serving portion of some of the most popular flavors. Chicken Helper flavors were added in 2007 despite the brand being discontinued shortly thereafter. It returned in 2013 as Chicken and Chili Helper
  • Hamburger Helper Microwavable made its return in 2024. It is made with real dehydrated beef now and comes in 3 flavors: Beef Pasta, Cheeseburger Mac, and Tomato Basil Mac.
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It is mentioned in "Young Sheldon" Series 6, episode 21, 'A Romantic Getaway and a Germanic meat-based Diet.' Georgie is cooking with his baby CeeCee in his arms and tells Mandy that she is his "little Hamburger Helper helper."

A 1977 book collecting material from the satirical TV show Saturday Night Live contained an unproduced sketch called "Placenta Helper," an ad for a product which "lets you stretch your placenta into a tasty casserole." The sketch was written by Tom Davis and future United States Senator Al Franken.[13]

The animated television series Family Guy featured Lefty the mascot in one of their famous "cutaway gags" from the 2009 episode "Business Guy". The gag involved Lefty, who appears with his neurologically impaired brother, who takes the form of a right-handed glove, representing the non-existent brand "Cheeseburger Helper".[14]

In 1979, Scott Spiegel wrote, produced and directed a short film entitled Attack of the Helping Hand, which featured a "Hamburger Helper" oven mitt as a killer glove.[15]

On April 1, 2016, General Mills commissioned an EP as an April Fools' Day prank, titled Watch the Stove. According to a press release, the EP was produced for General Mills by a team at St. Paul, Minnesota's McNally Smith College of Music.[16] The EP's title is a parody of the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaborative album Watch the Throne. It contains five songs, all of which are about Hamburger Helper. It instantly achieved a viral status, played over four million times on SoundCloud in less than three days, with many listeners finding value in the brand's promotion of younger artists.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Catering Industry Employee: Official Journal of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees' International Alliance and Bartenders' International League of America. Vol. 82 & 83. The Alliance. 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d Hughlett, Mike (2013-07-06). "General Mills relaunches Hamburge r Helper". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  3. ^ a b Weissman, Saya (2013-11-23). "Hamburger Helper Is Awesome at Twitter. Really". Digiday. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  4. ^ Ashman, Hollis; Beckley, Jacqueline (4 January 2007). "Product Spotlight: Hamburger Helper -- Instantly and For One". Food Processing. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  5. ^ "General Mills relaunches Hamburger Helper". Star Tribune. 7 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  6. ^ Wong, Venessa (2013-07-09). "In Redesign, Hamburger Helper Drops the Hamburger". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  7. ^ "General Mills Announces Agreement to Sell Helper and Suddenly Salad Businesses to Eagle Family Foods Group". General Mills. Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  8. ^ "Eagle Foods Completes Acquisition of Two Iconic Brands from General Mills". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  9. ^ Carolyn Wyman (2004). Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods that Changed the Way We Eat. Quirk Books. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-1-931686-42-6. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  10. ^ Betty Crocker Website
  11. ^ "Pasta | The Whole Grains Council". wholegrainscouncil.org. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  12. ^ "Hamburger Helper Announces Better Tasting Product Line | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  13. ^ Anne P. Beatts, John Head, ed. (1977). Saturday Night Live. Avon Books. ISBN 0380018012.
  14. ^ "Business Guy". Family Guy. Season 8. Episode 9. December 13, 2009. Fox.
  15. ^ "Sam Raimi is Killed by Hamburger Helper in This Early Short Film | News Article". FEARnet. 2013-09-02. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  16. ^ "Hamburger Helper Enters the Rap Scene With (Shockingly Great) Watch the Stove Mixtape". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  17. ^ "Here's The Story Behind Hamburger Helper's Viral Mixtape Watch the Stove has been played over 4 million times". Adweek. 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2016-04-09.
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