Burger
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- The term burger originally refered to the people of the boroughs or towns, as opposed to the people of the countryside.
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Burger as Food
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A burger or "burger sandwich" is a type of sandwich which consists of a hamburger bun or similar type of round bread, and a primary filling of a meat or vegetarian patty. The word "burger" is an abbreviation of the word "hamburger".
Burgers made with beef are known as hamburgers. Other meats such as chicken or fish can be used and a sandwich may contain a portion of meat that is not formed into a patty. For example, a turkey burger uses ground turkey meat, a chicken burger uses either ground chicken meat or chicken fillets, a buffalo burger uses ground meat from a bison, and a veggie burger (alternately called a tofu burger. vegiburger or garden burger) uses a meat substitute (for example, tofu, TVP, seitan, or an assortment of vegetables, nuts or soy protein, which are ground up and mashed into patties).
Some alternatives to hamburgers are marketed as being heathier than their beef based competitors, and a niche market exists for exotic burgers such as buffalo burgers.
There are usually other accompaniments or condiments piled onto the meat portion. These might include any combination of cheese (a cheese burger is not a burger made primarily from cheese, but rather a hamburger with a slice of cheese in it), vegetables (lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper, pickles) and sauces (mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, barbecue sauce, etc.)
There are two independent definitions of what differentiates a burger from a sandwich:
- Burgers use processed meat (or imitation meat), regardless of the type of bread.
- Burgers use a "burger" bun, regardless of the filling (see: "burgerless burger").
Burgers must be ground meat or meat substitute, then re-shaped to form patties, cooked (if applicable) and then eaten in order to be legit.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom the word burger often refers to the filling of a burger sandwich (i.e what in the USA would be termed a patty). A burger may be served on a plate to be eaten without bread, using a knife and fork, often accompianied by chips and baked beans. A burger of this type need not be made of minced beef; frozen turkey and chicken burgers (which are coated in breadcrumbs) are popular foods for eating in this style, particularly amongst children and students.
Australia
Australia has been something of a pioneer in the field of the 'healthy' and all-natural burger. With a philosophy of fresh lean meat and three vegetables in a freshly-baked bun, Mr Michael Wiss and his 'Retro Betty's' Burger cafe chain have taken the burger into the province of fast health food.