Subscribe

HomeGames & QuizzesHistory & SocietyScience & TechBiographiesAnimals & NatureGeography

& TravelArts & CultureMoneyVideos

HomeEntertainment & Pop CultureFood

Arts & Culture

hamburger
food

Print Cite Share Feedback

Also known as: Salisbury steak, Vienna steak, burger, hamburg steak
Written and fact-checked by

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 2, 2024 • Article History

Table of Contents

cheeseburger and fries

See all media
Category: Arts & Culture
Also called: burger
Related Topics: meat sandwich ground beef chopped beef cheeseburger
 See all related content →
Hamburger, ground beef. The term is applied variously to (1) a patty of ground beef, sometimes
called hamburg steak, Salisbury steak, or Vienna steak, (2) a sandwich consisting of a patty of
ground beef served within a split bread roll, with various garnishes, or (3) the ground beef itself,
which is used as a base in many sauces, casseroles, terrines, and the like. Hamburger
sandwiches are a staple of fast food and commonly served with french fries.
The origin of hamburger is unknown, but the hamburger patty and sandwich were probably
brought by 19th-century German immigrants to the United States, where in a matter of decades
the hamburger came to be considered an archetypal American food. The importance of the
hamburger in American popular culture is indicated by its virtual ubiquity at backyard
barbecues and on fast-food restaurant menus and by the proliferation of so-called hamburger
stands and restaurants. Some chains, such as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s,
proliferated worldwide.
Britannica Quiz

What’s on the Menu? Vocabulary Quiz

cheeseburger

A cheeseburger with lettuce, onion, tomato, mustard, and ketchup.

Hamburgers are customarily eaten as a sandwich, between two halves of a round bun. mustard,
mayonnaise, ketchup, and other condiments, along with garnishes of lettuce, onion, tomato, and
sliced pickle, constitute the customary dressing; fried eggs and avocado may be added as well. In
the variation known as the cheeseburger, a slice of cheese is melted over the patty; bacon
burgers are laden with strips of bacon. The patty itself is often seasoned or augmented with
chopped onions, spices, or bread crumbs before cooking.
According to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards, hamburger meat may
be designated either “hamburger,” “chopped beef,” or “ground beef.” It must be ground from
fresh beef with no by-products or nonmeat extenders, but the USDA does permit the inclusion of
loose beef fat and seasonings in meat labeled “hamburger.” Also, by law, hamburger and
chopped or ground beef sold commercially may contain no more than 30 percent fat. Fifteen
percent fat is regarded as the ideal proportion in terms of juiciness and flavour of the cooked
product.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.

HomeEntertainment & Pop CultureFood

Arts & Culture

offal
food
 Print Cite Share Feedback

Also known as: variety meat

Written and fact-checked by

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Table of Contents

offal
See all media
Category: Arts & Culture
Also called: variety meats
Related Topics: meat sweetbread tripe calf’s liver chitterlings

See all related content →

Offal, any of various nonmuscular parts of the carcasses of beef and veal, mutton and lamb, and
pork, which are either consumed directly as food or used in the production of other foods.
Variety meats have been a part of the human diet since the invention of cooking, which rendered
the otherwise indigestible animal parts edible. In nutritional terms, several variety meats are
richer in certain vitamins, minerals, and forms of protein than muscle tissue; calf’s liver, for
example, is a major dietary source of iron, and sweetbread (thymus) is considerably higher in
the water-soluble protein albumin than is beef.
steak and kidney pudding
Steak and kidney pudding typically is made with either lamb or pig kidneys.
Beef offal includes the stomachs, tripe, or large stomach, brains, heart, liver, tongue, and
kidneys. For young beef, or veal, a number of additional parts, such as spinal marrow, trotters
(feet), mesentery, and the sweetbread, are counted among the variety meats. Mutton and lamb
offal includes the kidneys, tongue, brains, feet, stomach, heart, liver, and lights, or lungs. In
pork, the designation includes the liver, kidneys, brains, trotters, and head. Pigs’ intestines are
used as containers in the manufacture of sausages, and pigs’ blood is an ingredient in black
pudding.
Britannica Quiz

What’s on the Menu? Vocabulary Quiz

souse

Souse is a light dish, served cold, that consists of picked pig trotters (and often other parts of the
pig) in a clear broth. It typically is flavoured with hot peppers, lime, onion, garlic, and other
seasonings.

(more)

The variety meats figure prominently across the full spectrum of Western cuisine. Some offal,
notably the brains, liver, tripe, lights, and trotters, have long been associated in the United
States with rural cookery, with pork intestines, or chitterlings, being considered perhaps an
archetypal fare of the rural poor. In this context, the parts are typically prepared by boiling or
frying and served highly seasoned. Several of the same foods, such as calf’s liver for frying and
jellied tripe and pickled beef tongue for use as cold cuts, are routinely stocked in the average
urban food store; other variety meats are generally available by special order. In the haute
cuisine of Europe, variety meats form the basis of numerous classic dishes, such as tripe à la
mode de Caen and grilled sweetbreads.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.