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kenkannif · 27th September 2006, 17:16

Quote:

In the Middle Ages, Hamburg was an important center of trade between Arab and European merchants. The theory is that Arab traders introduced Kibbeh, which is ground lamb mixed with spices, often eaten raw. The locals then adapted the dish by replacing the lamb with pork and/or beef, and more significantly, by cooking it to make a filet of ground meat, i.e., a "Hamburg Steak" or "Hamburger" as it eventually came to be known. From this they made a new and unique kind of Rundstück warm that came to be strongly associated with the city.
There is still a German tradition of making ground beef sandwiches, thought to descend from the original "Hamburg Rundstück," and which tend to be elongated like an American sub sandwich, and feature very different condiments than the typical modern hamburger. These are often referred to as "German hamburgers" outside of Germany, and are served in many German-food restaurants.

Although to be fair:

Quote:

Although Hamburg, Germany is credited for the precursor to the hamburger, the origins of the first "modern" hamburger are often debated among scholars. [1] Of much debate is what exactly constitutes the "modern" hamburger, although there is general consensus that it refers to a hamburger patty's placement in a hamburger bun (not just any piece of bread). The hamburger bun is said to have been invented in 1916 by Walter Anderson, a short-order cook, who went on to co-found White Castle in 1921. Before the bun, hamburgers are said to have been served between two pieces of bread. In fact, a ground beef patty was known as "Hamburger steak" (first mentioned in an American cookbook in 1891); when this was put between bread or in a bun it was called a "Hamburger sandwich".