Across the Fence: Hamburger

The Germanism in the English language I chose for today is Hamburger. You may not be aware of it, but the pronunciation in German is slightly different: ‘hum-boor-gah. (Funny enough, Germans order cheeseburgers and Whoppers or whatever else names the concoctions have in the native English way of pronunciation.) I don’t even want to go into what gave the hamburger its name and how it might have been invented by some clever Romans way before even the thought of a Northern German city of Hamburg was born. Everybody can google that on the internet. I’d rather share my EXPERIENCE with hamburgers with you.

The first time I ate one was in 1978. I remember that clearly because I was in fifth grade and had been invited to a birthday party. A leading American burger chain must have just opened its first places in Germany, and it was the rage to either go there and party at a restaurant or – even fancier – get the food from there and eat it at home. So, this girl’s mother had picked up loads of burgers and fries in the then only location in downtown Stuttgart. By the time they hit the table, they were cold, and the only magic in the meal consisted in having been there and done that. I was underwhelmed. My mother’s homemade meatballs between two slices of bread tasted better than that whole thing. It was just interesting that the concept of burgers seemed to hook everybody.

During my first visit with my aunt and uncle in Maine, I got my fill of burgers when my aunt, little cousins, and I were on the road. My cousins preferred their burgers plain back in the day; I couldn’t wrap my head around that. No wonder they never finished a single one – have you ever tried a plain patty on a squooshy, plain roll? No, don’t even try!

The German burger equivalent, Frikadellenbrötchen (pronounce approximately: ‘free-kuh-‘dellen-brot-hen, meaning meatball roll), has been around for ages, by the way. You can basically find Frikadellenbrötchen at any trade show café, eaten with mustard and maybe a pickle. Nothing fancy, but filling and oftentimes really good, especially since the rolls are usually crisp. I might not have opted for burgers during my life in Germany, but these meatball rolls often enough tided me over a busy trade show day.

I think it was my very first night at my new home here in the U.S. when my husband took me out to a so-called gourmet burger restaurant in Lakewood. It was an eye-opener. The burger WAS entirely different from what I remembered from way back when. There was a choice of varieties that I thought mind-blowing, and I gasped when I saw the size of the one I had ordered. It was actually delicious though not even outrageously exotic.

Shortly after, we bought a BBQ grill and started experimenting at home with all kinds of food – from kabobs to steaks, sausages, fish, pulled pork, and ribs. Of course, we also grilled burger patties. But over the years, we have become very creative, and – was it during Covid? – we found our own ultimate hamburger patty recipe that has turned our home-made burgers (all classical, nothing fancy) into one of our summer holiday staples. Some secret ingredients work the magic every time, and I prefer these burgers to that of any chain’s, hands down.

In the end, it might also be that home-made food always means a time of leisure to me. And while my husband works on the hamburger patties on the grill, I set out all the sides and toast the rolls. With the patio door open, we enjoy music together while creating food together. Maybe that secret ingredient beats all the other ones …