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A hamburger



The term hamburger originally derives from Hamburg,[2] Germany's second largest city, from where many emigrated to America. In high German, "Burg" means fortified settlement or fortified refuge; and is a widespread component of placenames. Hamburger can be a descriptive noun in German, referring to someone from Hamburg (compare London -> Londoner) or an adjective describing something from Hamburg. Similarly, frankfurter and wiener, names for other meat-based foods, are also used in German as descriptive nouns for people and as adjectives for things from the cities of Frankfurt and Wien (Vienna), respectively. The term "burger" is associated with many different types of sandwiches similar to a hamburger.[3][clarification needed]
Invention

Main article: History of the hamburger

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First beginnings
There are several accounts of the invention of the hamburger.
15th century
Beginning in the 15th century, minced beef was a valued delicacy throughout Europe. Hashed beef was made into sausage in several different regions of Europe.
17th century
Ships from the German port of Hamburg, Germany began calling on Russian ports. During this period the Russian steak tartare was brought back to Germany and called "tartare steak".[citation needed]
18th and 19th centuries
Hamburg steak
In the late 18th century, the largest ports in Europe were in Germany. Sailors who had visited the ports of Hamburg, Germany and New York, brought this food and term "Hamburg steak" into popular usage. To attract German sailors, eating stands along the New York city harbor offered "steak cooked in the Hamburg style". In 1802, the Oxford English Dictionary defined Hamburg steak as salt beef. It had little resemblance to the hamburger we know today.[clarification needed] It was a hard slab of salted minced beef, often slightly smoked, mixed with onions and breadcrumbs. The emphasis was more on durability than taste.
Immigrants to the United States from German-speaking countries brought with them some of their favorite foods. One of them was Hamburg Steak. The Germans simply flavored shredded low-grade beef with regional spices, and both cooked and raw it became a standard meal among the poorer classes. In the seaport town of Hamburg, it acquired the name Hamburg steak. Today, this hamburger patty is no longer called Hamburg Steak in Germany but rather "Frikadelle", "Frikandelle" or "Bulette", originally Italian and French words.[citation needed]
Invention of meat choppers
Referring to ground beef as hamburger dates to the invention of the mechanical meat choppers during the 19th century. The meat grinder was purportedly invented by Dr. Karl Drais in the 19th century. It was not until the early 19th century that wood, tin, and pewter cylinders with wooden plunger pushers became common. Patents were filed for some designs that were interpreted as meat choppers.
E. Wade received Patent #x5348 on January 26, 1829 for what may be the first patented "Meat Cutter." The patent shows choppers moving up and down onto a rotating block.
G. A. Coffman received Patent #3935 on February 28, 1845 for an "Improvement in Machines for Cutting Sausage-Meat" using a spiral feeder and rotating knives something like a modern food grinder.
Documented hamburgers
Restaurant menus
The first printed American menu which listed hamburger was an 1826 menu from Delmonico's in New York.[4][5]
Between 1871-1884, “Hamburg Beefsteak” was on the “Breakfast and Supper Menu” of the Clipper Restaurant at 311/313 Pacific Street in San Fernando. It cost 10 cents—the same price as mutton chops, pig’s feet in batter, and stewed veal. It was not, however, on the dinner menu, only “Pig’s Head” “Calf Tongue” and “Stewed Kidneys” were listed.[6]
Hamburger Steak, Plain and Hamburger Steak with Onions, was served at the Tyrolean Alps Restaurant at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.[citation needed]
Cookbooks