Cheeseburger
 A typical cheeseburger | |
| Course | Main Course |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United States |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Ground Beef, Cheese, Bread |
| Variations | Multiple |
A cheeseburger is a hamburger, accompanied with cheese. The cheese is usually sliced, then added a short time before the hamburger finishes cooking to allow the cheese to melt. In America the cheese that makes up a cheeseburger is usually American cheese, but there are many other variations. Mozzarella, blue cheese and cheddar are also popular choices.
The cheese in a cheeseburger substantially changes its nutritional value. For example, in comparison to their standard hamburger, with which it differs only by the slice of cheese, a McDonald's cheeseburger has 20% more calories, 33% more fat and 25% more protein.[1] Other types of cheese would have varying effects, depending on their nutritional content.
History
In 1924, Lionel Sternberger grilled the first cheeseburger in Pasadena, California. The name of the restaurant and the precise year — the date has been pegged as late as 1926 — for that maiden grilling has been debated by cheeseburger enthusiasts.[2] When Sternberger died in 1964, Time magazine noted in its February 7 issue that:
…at the hungry age of 16, [Sternberger] experimentally dropped a slab of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger while helping out at his father's sandwich shop in Pasadena, thereby inventing the cheeseburger…[3]
Others have claimed the invention of the cheeseburger as part of their local legend. Louisville, Kentucky-based Kaelin's Restaurant claims to have invented the cheeseburger in 1934.[4] The following year, the mark for the name "cheeseburger" was awarded to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, Colorado.
It was discovered in 2008 that if that you select "Cheeseburger" to be displayed as your middle name on a Facebook profile, it will be immediately rejected by their Automatic Approval System. "Chicken nugget" and "Cheesesteak," however, do not face the same seemingly random meat-product discrimination.[5]
Variations
A cheeseburger can be served with toppings such as pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, fried egg, mushrooms or bacon slices. Typical condiments used include mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise and barbecue sauce.
A Jucy Lucy is a type of cheeseburger, developed and popularized in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the cheese is placed inside the raw meat and then cooked until it melts.
There are also multiple patty cheeseburgers, with the name changing in correspondence to how many patties are used (two equals double, three equals triple, etc.).
References
- ^ McDonald's USA Nutrition Facts for Popular Menu Items
- ^ "Who Invented Hamburger Sandwich? And What About the Cheeseburger?", Metropolitan News-Enterprise, January 2, 2004, retrieved 2008-05-01
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "Lionel Clark Sternberger Obituary", Time, February 7, 1964, retrieved 2007-05-18
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ "Louisville Facts & Firsts - LouisvilleKy.gov". City of Louisville, Kentucky. Retrieved 2006-07-29.
- ^ "Facebook is Racist", Beauty and the Ro-Beast, July 14, 2008, retrieved 2008-07-14
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)