Name: The ancient history of the modern hamburger | Edible Histories Episode 4 | BBC Ideas
Uploaded: 2020-06-03T05:10:06.000Z
Duration: 3 min 25 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

We tend to think of the hamburger as a quintessentially American invention, the fastest of fast food, and a relatively recent innovation.

But the idea of grinding up leftover meat and forming it into a handy patty, goes back hundreds of years.

The Romans were the first to write their version down, in the shape of Isicia Omentata, a mixture of minced pork, wine, pepper and garum - an umami-rich fish sauce, ubiquitous in Roman cuisine.

Each was wrapped in caul fat - the delicate, tasteless inner lining

This was high-end cookery, and it survived the collapse of the Roman Empire, with these proto burgers finding their way into medieval recipe collections under various names.

and it survived the collapse of the Roman Empire,

with these proto burgers finding their way

into medieval recipe collections under various names.

There were rissoles, patties and pompeys, and they could be flat or round, more like modern meatballs.

They could also contain anything from fish to meat, and occasionally fruit and vegetables.

Variations on the theme were also found in the Middle East and beyond, some of which, such as kebobs, were brought back by travellers to join the European repertoire.

in the Middle East and beyond, some of which, such as kebobs,

were brought back by travellers to join the European repertoire.

By around 1700, the fried, flavoured, minced meat concept

had become established as part of the British culinary repertoire.

they were very popular for garnishing large, spectacular dishes

The Georgians also came up with a thing called the Hamburg Sausage,

and isn't a million miles distant in flavour

And they decided to use tomatoes to make catsup –

another fundamental element of the modern dish.

By the end of the 19th Century all of the elements were in place,

but it was in the US that they finally came together.

By the 1870s American restaurants were serving 'Hamburg steaks',

from where high-quality beef was shipped across the world.

This version was a dish of fried flattened meatballs though,

made from offcuts from the more prized, and expensive, actual steaks.

By now the mincing machine had been invented,

making it easier than ever before to turn bits of random meat

By the 1890s the flat meatballs were being served in bread rolls

to hungry workers at factory gates across the US,

with relish an optional addition and pickles on one side.

Of course, it could have simply stayed as an urban curiosity,

such as dried apples and pickled oysters.

But it was very practical, very easy, and very popular.

something somewhat lacking from the average street version.

By the 1930s, hamburgers had become simply burgers,

and White Castle had competition from the first Wimpy, and then McDonald's.

In 1954 the first Wimpy reached the UK, tucked into a Lyons Corner House,

into a Britain just released from rationing.

They were initially served on a nice plate, with knife and fork.

and burgers gained a dual purpose as a cheap, forgettable takeout

revealed just how much bad burgers relied on cheap offcuts and filler

to keep the price down, and posh burgers boomed,

along with the brioche bun, and homemade sauces.

Worldwide, despite slowly decreasing beef consumption in the West,

and while Australia, the UK and the US lead the pack,

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