The first team to realise the market potential of hamburgers were a cook called Walter A. Anderson and his partner Edgar Waldo “Billy” Ingram who established a chain of restaurants known as White Castle.
It was a time when americans were hesitant to eat ground beef due to poor sanitation practices. To change this perception, the white castle restaurants were designed to invoke a feeling of cleanliness with their small buildings decorated with porcelain enamel on steel exteriors, stainless steel interiors, and employees outfitted with spotless uniforms.
Their first restaurants in Wichita, Kansas, were a success, and the company branched out into other Midwestern markets, starting in 1922 with El Dorado, Kansas.
Anderson not only invented the hamburger bun but also generated the concept of “the kitchen as assembly line, and the cook as infinitely replaceable technician,” hence giving rise to the modern fast food phenomenon.
He also developed an efficient method for cooking hamburgers, using freshly ground beef and fresh onions. The ground beef was formed into balls by machine, eighteen to a pound, or forty per kilogram. The balls were placed upon a hot grill and topped with a handful of fresh, thinly shredded onion. Then they were flipped so that the onion was under the ball. The ball was then squashed down, turning the ball into a very thin patty. The bottom of the bun was then placed atop the cooking patty with the other half of the bun on top of that so that the juices and steam from the beef and the onion would permeate the bun. After grilling, a slice of dill pickle was inserted before serving. Management decreed that any condiments, such as ketchup or mustard, were to be added by the customer.
Thus, White Castle’s innovation of having chain-wide standardized methods ensured customers that they would receive the same product and service in every White Castle restaurant.
The era of burgers had just begun….
On that note, lets have one….Happy Eating..