International Hamburger Day 2022 - celebrating the king of fast foods

“The man who invented the hamburger was smart, but the man who invented the cheeseburger was a genius.” – Matthew McConaughey

“Hamburgers! The cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast.” – Quentin Tarantino

Ask any South African to name their favourite fast food and most will tell you it’s the humble hamburger! This is the same the world over where everyone seems to love the simplicity of a patty (be it beef, pork, chicken, lamb, tofu, or mushroom) wedged between two fresh buns, topped with a selection of favourite fillings, such as lettuce, tomato, bacon, avo, cheese, onions, fried egg, gherkins and more, and finished off with a variety of sauces including BBQ, mayo, ketchup, chutney or mustard.

It's no wonder then that this simple yet delicious and versatile fast food should have its own day - International Hamburger Day, which takes place every year on May 28 – to honour and celebrate it!

While there is much talk about the decline of fast food outlets as people become more health-conscious, burger joints remain the largest segment of the restaurant industry and, in the US alone, the burger market is worth more than $122 billion (that's R2,2 trillion!).

To celebrate International Hamburger Day, here are a few fun facts as well as a delicious burger recipe from Chef Sharon Visagie at Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Durban campus.

MacDonald’s has more than 30 000 outlets in more than 120 countries on six continents and sells 75 hamburgers every second.
On average, Americans eat three burgers a week, which means a national total of nearly 50 billion burgers per year. If they were arranged in a straight line, it would circle the earth 32 times!
During World War 2 hamburgers were known as Liberty Sandwiches in an attempt to avoid using German names
According to the Guinness World Record, the biggest hamburger weighed over 1,164kg and was made in Germany on July 9, 2017. It consisted of three meat patties, tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, hamburger sauce and a bun.
An 814kg cheeseburger is the world’s largest commercially sold burger and can be ordered from Mallie’s Sports Grill & Bar in Detroit. It consists of a 900kg patty, topped with 135kg of cheese as well as countless tomatoes, onions, pickles and lettuce and a bun that weighs 100kg. The finished burger is a metre high and around 1.5 metres wide and, should you order one, you will need to give them three days’ notice and it will set you back a cool R110 000!
American Sonya Thomas holds the world record for eating a Big Daddy Cheeseburger weighing four kilograms in 27 minutes. She also holds a record for gobbling down seven 340g burgers in 10 mins.

Chef Sharon Visagie’s Jalapeno & Cream Cheese Stuffed Beef Burgers

Ingredients
180g seeded and chopped jalapeno peppers
20g washed & chopped coriander leaves
50g finely chopped red onion
225g medium fat cream cheese
900g lean beef
8 fresh burger buns, split
Lettuce and tomato slices to dress

Method
In a bowl, stir together the jalapenos, red onion, coriander and cream cheese. Divide the ground beef into 16 portions and pat out each one to a 6mm thickness. Spoon some of the cream cheese mixture onto the centre of 8 of the patties. Top with the remaining patties, pressing the edges together to seal. Pre-heat a grill pan on medium heat. When hot, lightly oil the pan and cook for about 7 minutes on each side or until done to your liking, taking care not to press down on the burgers as they cook as this will make the cheese ooze out. Serve on freshly toasted buns with fresh lettuce and slices of tomato and a side of fries.