Cheeseburger

For other uses, see Cheeseburger (disambiguation).

Cheeseburger

Cheeseburger
Origin
Place of origin	United States
Dish details
Course served	Main course
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredient(s)	Ground beef, cheese, bread buns
Approximate calories per serving	600-1500

A cheeseburger is a hamburger with cheese that has been added to it. Traditionally, the cheese is placed on top of the patty, but the burger can include many variations in structure, ingredients, and composition. The term itself is a portmanteau of the words "cheese" and "hamburger." The cheese is usually sliced, and then added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before the patty is completely cooked which allows the cheese to melt. Cheeseburgers are often served with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, mustard, mayonnaise, or ketchup. In fast food restaurants, the cheese used is typically processed cheese, but there are variations, such as cheddar, Swiss cheese, mozzarella, blue cheese, and pepper jack.

When cheese is added to a burger the nutritional value of the burger can be changed substantially. For example, a slice of Cheddar cheese can add 95 calories and 4.5 grams of saturated fat to a burger.^[1] Other types and amounts of cheese would have varying effects, depending on their nutritional content.

History

Adding cheese to hamburgers became popular in the mid-1920s to mid-1930s, and there are several competing claims as to who created the first cheeseburger. Lionel Sternberger is reputed to have invented the cheeseburger in the mid-1920s at the age of 16 when he was working as a fry cook at his father's Pasadena, California sandwich shop, "The Rite Spot," and "experimentally dropped a slab of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger."^[2][3][4]

Other restaurants say they invented the cheeseburger. For example, Kaelin's Restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, say they invented the cheeseburger in 1934.^[5] One year later, a trademark for the name "cheeseburger" was awarded to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, Colorado.^[6]

Variations

Main article: Regional variations of hamburgers

A "Quad stacker" cheeseburger with four patties.

Ingredients

The ingredients used to create cheeseburgers follow similar patterns found in the regional variations of hamburgers. Popular regional toppings can include bacon, avocado or guacamole, sliced sautéed mushrooms or onions, cheese sauce and/or chili. Somewhat less common ingredients include egg, feta cheese, salsa, jalapeños and other kinds of chile peppers, anchovies, slices of ham or bologna, horseradish, sauerkraut, pastrami or teriyaki-seasoned beef, tartar sauce, french fries, onion rings, potato chips, a pat of butter, pineapple and tofu.

A cheeseburger may have more than one hamburger patty and more than one slice of cheese. A stack of two patties is called a double cheeseburger; a triple cheeseburger has three, and a quadruple has four.^[7][8]

Religious and regional

Israel

Further information: McDonald's Israel

Traditionally, the cheeseburger is not kosher as it combines ground beef and cheese. Mixtures of milk and meat (Hebrew: בשר בחלב‎, basar bechalav, literally "meat in milk") are prohibited according to Jewish law - Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה‎). This dietary law, basic to kashrut (Hebrew: כַּשְׁרוּת‎), is based on a verse in the Book of Exodus which forbids "boiling a (kid) goat in its mother's milk".^[9][10] This prohibition appears again in Deuteronomy.^[11] This dietary law sparked controversy in Jerusalem when McDonald's began opening franchises there that sold cheeseburgers.^[12] Since that time, McDonald's has opened both kosher and non-kosher restaurants in Israel.^[13]

New York City

In an attempt to provide a "kosher cheeseburger", a kosher restaurant in New York City created a controversial cheeseburger variation which replaces cheese with soy cheese.^[14]

See also

• Cheeseburger bill
• Cheeseburger in Paradise
• Jucy Lucy
• Patty melt
• Slider
• Steamed Cheeseburger

Famous specialty hamburgers that regularly come with cheese:

• Big Mac
• Quarter Pounder
• Thickburger
• List of sandwiches

References

1. ^ "Nutrition Information for: Cheeseburger". FitDay.com. FitDay. http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/nutrition/All_Foods/Meat_Beef_Pork_Misc_/Cheeseburger_1_4_lb_meat_beef_modified_in_fat_content_with_tomato_and_or_catsup_on_bun.html. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
2. ^ "Lionel Clark Sternberg obituary". Time. 1964-02-07. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,870712,00.html. Retrieved 2007-05-18. "…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. ^ Harvey, Steve (1991-03-27). "Only in L.A.". L.A. Times: p. B2. "Cooking at his father's short-order joint in Pasadena in the early 1920s, [Sternberger] experimentally tossed a slice (variety unknown) on a hamburger..." 
4. ^ Perry, Charles (2004-06-09). "It's an L.A. Thing; Our burgers are the best with good reason: We made them here first". L.A. Times: p. F1. 
5. ^ "Louisville Facts & Firsts - LouisvilleKy.gov". City of Louisville, Kentucky. http://www.louisvilleky.gov/Visitors/Louisville+Facts+and+Firsts.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-29. 
6. ^ History of the Cheeseburger Retrieved on 2 October 2008.
7. ^ "In-N-Out Burgers: With an emphasis on quality, this fast feeder shows its rare appeal. (Regional Powerhouse Chains)". Nation's Restaurant News. 2002-01-28. 
8. ^ Hall, David (2006-10-24). "Society's fast food intake reeks". Daily Skiff. DailySkiff.com. http://media.www.tcudailyskiff.com/media/storage/paper792/news/2006/10/24/Opinion/Societys.Fast.Food.Intake.Reeks-2384355.shtml. Retrieved 2010-02-13. 
9. ^ Exodus 34:26
10. ^ Exodus 23:19
11. ^ Deuteronomy 14:21
12. ^ Bronner, Ethan (1995-09-03). "Big Mac under attack in Jerusalem As McDonald's rings up sales of nonkosher burgers, outcry on `cultural identity' heard". Boston Globe (bostonglobe.com). http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/21377065.html?dids=21377065:21377065&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+23%2C+1995&author=Ethan+Bronner%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Big+Mac+under+attack+in+Jerusalem+As+McDonald's+rings+up+sales+of+nonkosher+burgers%2C+outcry+on+%60cultural+identity'+heard&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2010-08-21. 
13. ^ "Will residents of Jerusalem get to bite a kosher Big Mac?". J. the Jewish News Weekly of Northern California Magazine. jweekly.com. 2001-12-21. http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/16977/will-residents-of-jerusalem-get-to-bite-a-kosher-big-mac/. Retrieved 2010-08-21. 
14. ^ Montefinise, Angela (2008-03-02). "Jews Have A Beef". New York Post (nypost.com). http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/item_WQwzyrFJ5zVjY8yNATc4tN;jsessionid=C0C72735238E9135B75921208BA43ABE. Retrieved 2010-08-21. 

External links

• Henerson, Evan (June 23, 1999). "The Tale of the Cheeseburger". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. http://www.culturefreak.com/tale.html.