There is a simple American treat that earned a stupefyingly huge love and recognition all over the globe. Once moving across the pond and further, this food became a ubiquitous item on the menu of any cafรฉ, eatery or bar. It even originated some well-known multinational restaurant chains that serve it up for years. As well as obliterating boundaries between the cultures, the icon of the New Worldโs lifestyle also boasts a marvelous ability to make every stomach sing. Be they a finicky eater or an inveterate dieter, no one can resist this juicy patty squashed between toasted buns.
Yep, a good old hamburger is a guest star of our article. Youโre racking your brains trying to answer the question: when is National Hamburger Day in 2024? Weโre just glad to refresh your memory!
History
In fact, National Hamburger Day, which falls on the same date annually, also marks the end of so-called Hamburger Month. Why so lots of honors to a small (ok, sometimes rather large) meaty bap? Well, the clue lies in its road to fame!
Although the differences concerning the exact place of its birth have not been settled yet, we know for sure that it occurred on American soil. The name itself โ a hamburger โ means literally someone, or something in our case, from Hamburg. This second largest city of Germany has always been renowned for its excellent quality beef that used to be offered across the taverns in the shape of flat round slices of meat generously seasoned with pepper and salt.
Itโs easy to see why the German immigrants to the USA brought this dish with them. In a push to settle down in the foreign land and unite the compatriots, the go-ahead Germans opened small neighborhood restaurants with these steaks being served as a main course. They introduced the new cooking ideas as well: the minced cakes were sold in addition to the classic whole slices of beef.
However, it was an American resident who made a fast-food breakthrough. Without any discussion, letโs hold to the most widespread belief that Louis Lassen was the first to go as far as to squeeze a patty โ an aforementioned ground cake โ between a pair of appetizing warm buns. Thatโs how a hamburger came into being in 1900!
When is National Hamburger Day 2024? Actually, the answer has nothing to do with the sandwich itself. May 28 was chosen to be a celebration day and, in all honesty, we donโt mind taking it for granted.
Meaning
What does National Hamburger Day mean for an average person? A perfect excuse for guzzling down one more piece of an overseas dainty! For Americans though, it wasnโt the love from the first bite. When hamburger appeared, the first 30 years of its life passed inconspicuously.
Big thanks to Walter Anderson who founded a restaurant chain called White Castle that brilliantly demonstrated burgers-making skills. He also triggered the further opening of dozens of eateries similar to White Castle, aimed at taking up still vacant niche. However, the real hamburger hysteria spread quickly from the USA to the rest of the world after a momentous meeting of Ray Kroc and two brothers Richard and Maurice. Their alliance began a new era in the field of the foodservice and went down in history under the well-known symbol of the golden arches. Up to this moment, you might have already guessed that weโre talking about McDonaldโs.
Itโs safe to say that this company is the one responsible for the question you can hear anywhere: what is the date of National Hamburger Day 2024? Every day around 70 millions of people drop by McDonaldโs restaurants alone to grab a freshly cooked sandwich, and weโre not taking into account other fast-food chainsโ stats.
To put it simply, this day gives us a prime opportunity to sincerely thank all those who are implicated in hamburger-cooking business.
Definition
As more than hundred years have passed since the beginning of 20th century, what is hamburger today?
In theory, it has to meet the canonic recipe: to be comprised of the patty and the buns. In practice, we can find the archetypes of the two ingredients in any burger, however, sometimes youโre likely to witness a real nonsense! In pursuit of attracting more clients, attention and therefore money, big business comes up with unique takes on the good old hamburger.
For example, check out the golden crusted frog between the technologically blackened baps with touches of chili sauce and lettuceโฆ And thereโs no cause for nitpicking, the meat is right inside the bread. Here is another one:ย a proper beef steak lying on the deep fried ramen! Wait a minute, says the masterpieceโs creator, the noodle is a wheat flour product, too, just like the buns. Well, weโre left with nothing but a mere hope that it tastes better than it looks.
Still and all there are plenty of places serving the classic mouth-watering hamburgers. The most popular (and influential) one youโll see at McDonaldโs. Their iconic Big Mac consists of two beef patties on sesame seed buns stuffed with lettuce, cheddar, onion and pickles, and accompanied with a special sauce. Due to its prevalence in more than half of the countries around the world, there is even the Big Mac index phenomenon: its price is acknowledged to reflect the cost of living in the states. Isnโt it a benchmark by which all others hamburgers should be measured?
Traditions
Mark in the calendar, when is National Hamburger Day in 2024, and plan your celebratory activities beforehand. The most common way to spend May 28 is to look in on a restaurant, bistro, diner โ whatever โ and enjoy the delicious experience of eating up your favorite burger (weโre sure you have such passion). Besides, on this date, a lot of fast-food outlets offer generous freebies and discounts on the heroes of the day!
If case you want to share the merry spirit of the holiday, invite some friends, involved in hamburger-loving affairs, and throw a sizzling party in the backyard around the mighty grill. Donโt forget to ask the guests about their preferences, and then decide on whether youโll be cooking an out of ordinary sandwiches or treat your chaps with the classic.
You can also join the mass open-air celebration attending burger festivals. Look up the dates and the venues on the Internet and come with an empty stomach as the free hamburger samples will be in abundance, no doubt.
National Hamburger Day Facts
To give you a taste of the upcoming National Hamburger Day, there are several quirky facts about the hamburger:
- The biggest fans of the patties squashed between the buns โ Americans, nash โ consume around 50 billion burgers a year. In terms of smaller numbers, it makes up 3 baps a week for every citizen!
- The largest (and heaviest) hamburger in the world was cooked in 2012 in Minnesota. The USA once again gave us a monstrous concoction of bacon, onion, tomatoes, cheese and pickles that weighed over 914 kg.
- We canโt help mentioning the most expensive fellow: The Biggest Damn Burger in the World โ itโs literally named like that โ is served up at Juicy Foods in Oregon and costs a smidge under $5,000.
Remember, no matter what day National Hamburger Day in 2024 falls on, this delectable food is always there, at the restaurants, to satisfy your cravings. However, celebrating the holiday, the whole world is like a big family that gets together at the dining table to enjoy their favorite hamburgers.