On Tue, 17 Dec 2024 18:50:15 -0600, "Jerry Sauk"
Post by Jerry SaukPost by Judith LathamThe humble hamburger has a mixed history, with claims made by Germany
that they were the first country to invent the iconic American dish.
But Americans steadfastly claim to be the first inventor of putting a
ground beef patty between two pieces of bread, although the name is
thought to be associated with a European emigrant's last port before
leaving Europe: the German city of Hamburg. A man named Fletcher Davis
from Athens, TX, is credited with inventing the "hamburger" during the
1880s.
Judith
<sigh> just read wikipedia. the hamburger was invented in Seymour,
Wisconsin.
PERIOID.
You're lying.
The hamburger's origin is unclear, though "hamburger steak sandwiches"
have been advertised in U.S. newspapers from New York to Hawaii since
at least the 1890s.[13] The invention of hamburgers is commonly
attributed to various people, including Charlie Nagreen, Frank and
Charles Menches, Oscar Weber Bilby, Fletcher Davis, or Louis
Lassen.[14][15] White Castle traces the origin of the hamburger to
Hamburg, Germany, with its invention by Otto Krause.[16] Some have
pointed to a recipe for "Hamburgh sausages" on toasted bread,
published in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse
in 1758.[13] Hamburgers gained national recognition in the U.S. at the
1904 St. Louis World's Fair when the New York Tribune referred to the
hamburger as "the innovation of a food vendor on the pike."[15] No
conclusive argument has ended the dispute over invention. An article
from ABC News sums up: "One problem is that there is little written
history. Another issue is that the burger spread happened largely at
the World's Fair, from tiny vendors that came and went instantly. And
it is entirely possible that more than one person came up with the
idea at the same time in different parts of the country."[17]
Louis Lassen
Although debunked by The Washington Post,[13] a popular myth recorded
by Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro stated the first hamburger
served in America was by Louis Lassen, a Danish immigrant, after he
opened Louis' Lunch in New Haven in 1895.[18] Louis' Lunch, a small
lunch wagon in New Haven, Connecticut, is said to have sold the first
hamburger and steak sandwich in the U.S. in 1900.[19][20][21] New York
Magazine states that "The dish actually had no name until some rowdy
sailors from Hamburg named the meat on a bun after themselves years
later", also noting that this claim is subject to dispute.[22] A
customer ordered a quick hot meal and Louis was out of steaks. Taking
ground beef trimmings, Louis made a patty and grilled it, putting it
between two slices of toast.[15] Some critics such as Josh Ozersky, a
food editor for New York Magazine, claim that this sandwich was not a
hamburger because the bread was toasted.[23]
Charlie Nagreen
One of the earliest claims comes from Charlie Nagreen, who in 1885
sold a meatball between two slices of bread at the Seymour Fair[24]
now sometimes called the Outagamie County Fair.[23] The Seymour
Community Historical Society of Seymour, Wisconsin, credits Nagreen,
now known as "Hamburger Charlie", with the invention. Nagreen was 15
when he reportedly sold pork sandwiches at the 1885 Seymour Fair so
customers could eat while walking. The Historical Society explains
that Nagreen named the hamburger after the Hamburg steak with which
local German immigrants were familiar.[25][26]
Otto Kuase
According to White Castle, Otto Kuase was the inventor of the
hamburger. In 1891, he created a beef patty cooked in butter and
topped with a fried egg. German sailors later omitted the fried
egg.[15]
Oscar Weber Bilby
The family of Oscar Weber Bilby claims the first-known hamburger on a
bun was served on July 4, 1891, on Grandpa Oscar's farm. The bun was a
yeast bun.[27][28][29] In 1995, Governor Frank Keating proclaimed that
the first true hamburger on a bun was created and consumed in Tulsa,
Oklahoma in 1891, calling Tulsa, "The Real Birthplace of the
Hamburger".[30]
Frank and Charles Menches
A bacon cheeseburger, from a New York City diner
Frank and Charles Menches claim to have sold a ground beef sandwich at
the Erie County Fair in 1885 in Hamburg, New York.[23] During the
fair, they ran out of pork sausage for their sandwiches and
substituted beef.[24] The brothers exhausted their supply of sausage,
so they purchased chopped-up beef from a butcher, Andrew Klein.
Historian Joseph Streamer wrote that the meat was from Stein's market,
not Klein's, despite Stein's having sold the market in 1874.[24] The
story notes that the name of the hamburger comes from Hamburg, New
York, not Hamburg, Germany.[24] Frank Menches's obituary in The New
York Times states that these events took place at the 1892 Summit
County Fair in Akron, Ohio.[31]
Fletcher Davis
Fletcher Davis of Athens, Texas claimed to have invented the
hamburger. According to oral histories, in the 1880s, he opened a
lunch counter in Athens and served a 'burger' of fried ground beef
patties with mustard and Bermuda onion between two slices of bread,
with a pickle on the side.[15] The story is that in 1904, Davis and
his wife Ciddy ran a sandwich stand at the St. Louis World's Fair.[15]
Historian Frank X. Tolbert noted that Athens resident Clint Murchison
said his grandfather dated the hamburger to the 1880s with Fletcher
"Old Dave" Davis.[24] A photo of "Old Dave's Hamburger Stand" from
1904 was sent to Tolbert as evidence of the claim.[24]
Other hamburger-steak claims
Various non-specific claims of the invention relate to the term
"hamburger steak" without mention of its being a sandwich. The first
printed American menu listing hamburgers is an 1834 menu from
Delmonico's in New York.[32] However, the printer of the original menu
was not in business in 1834.[29] In 1889, a menu from Walla Walla
Union in Washington offered hamburger steak as a menu item.[15]
Between 1871 and 1884, "Hamburg Beefsteak" was on the "Breakfast and
Supper Menu" of the Clipper Restaurant at 311/313 Pacific Street in
San Fernando, California. It cost 10 centsthe 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.[33] Another claim ties the hamburger to Summit
County, New York, or Ohio. Summit County, Ohio, exists, but Summit
County, New York, does not.[24]
