Celebrate National Burger Day in UK

Tucking into a burger - topping and sides essential - is among top pleasures of eating out.

There is no excuse not to around August 22, National Burger Day in the UK.

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The day, invented by Mr Hyde daily email service for men covering style, culture, film and places to eat meat, is dedicated to the burger ... a food so popular many claim to have invented it!

It was created sometime around the turn of the 19th century and its popularity was boosted at the 1904 World’s Fair in St Louis, Missouri, USA.

Traditionally a burger is also known as a hamburger, consisting of a patty of ground beef that has been pan fried, barbecued or flame broiled, served in a bun.

Condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and relish are often included, as well as toppings such as lettuce, tomato, onion, bacon, pickles and cheese.

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Besides the hamburger made of ground beef, there are many variations such as turkey burger, veggie burger and bison burger.

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Burgers are commonly served at fast food restaurants, diners, and high-end restaurants.

Some popular early restaurants that served a burger were White Castle starting in 1921, Kewpee

Hamburgers starting in 1923, Big Boy beginning in 1936, and McDonald’s beginning in 1940.

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While the hamburger started in the United States, its name is taken from the city of Hamburg, Germany.

Hamburgers weren’t originally a delectable, trendy fast-food item. Instead, they grew out of economic necessity.Innovators in the food industry needed a way to use off-cuts of meat productively, instead of just throwing them to the dogs.

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They wanted a tasty meal that they could sell quickly to prevent spoilage. So the humble burger seemed like the obvious choice.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the need for cheap food reached even greater heights. Seeing hunger and poverty, entrepreneurs looked for ways to get tasty food into people’s bellies without the usual price tag. So they began developing machines that would churn out burgers en masse.

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Whatever the truth about their origins, hamburgers are one of the most popular foods in the world and a dietary staple. Juicy Foods in Oregon, USA, made the biggest burger in history. It weighed in at 777lbs and cost the company more than $5,000 to make.

To mark National Burger Day supermarket chain Iceland is recruiting one Brit to taste test its entire range.

Prospective burger buffs have been asked to answer five questions designed to separate the ‘patty professionals’ from the ‘beef blaggers’. Applications open on National Burger Day and close on September 16.

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