Hamburger culture: will this trend last?

Burgers are becoming a viral phenomenon throughout Latin America. This is what the Pagina 12 medium mentions as the “new dawn of the hamburger”, where a growing interest in this product was generated once again, moving from a homemade concept to a fast food and gourmet style kitchen.

At the same time, at such a particular time as the pandemic, more and more people decided to venture into fast food … especially hamburgers. From the website of Diario El Día de Chile they emphasize that, at the same time, there was the “boom in food delivery” due to the difficulty of going to face-to-face establishments.

The burger trend has been around for some time, although, precisely during this quarantine, more and more people see it as one of the first options when choosing what to eat. Let's see, then, what the growth of interest in hamburgers consisted of and what is the current panorama.

The phenomenon of hamburgers and social networks

Historically, the hamburger was always associated with junk food. From the BonViveur website they point out that American society "sought to eat fast and cheap", so in 1926, the appearance of White Castle proved that the new concept of fast food was well associated with meat and bread.

With the passing of time, of course, other chains that are currently market leaders began to appear: McDonald's, Burger King or Wendy's, among other options. In other words, whenever we think of hamburgers, we do so in terms of the fast-food offered by these multinational companies.

However, in Latin America, we decided to forge our own interpretation of the burger, which was very different from the American-style burger that was offered in those places. This is explained by the Rock and Roll Army website, which interviewed burger taster YouTuber Burger Kid, who explained the difference between the two conceptions.

In other words, we were used to making hamburgers with "ordinary" minced meat, that is, the cheapest (and without resorting to specialized cuts). At the same time, when it was prepared, garlic, parsley or egg were mixed in it, differing greatly with the taste that could be observed in other chains, resembling more of a meatball than a burger.

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In Punto Convergente they add that this youtuber, named Alejandro Roig, became the first YouTube channel in Argentina. His idea was, precisely, to transfer all that he observed in the United States, but that was not being replicated in the country. His success was such that all the locals take him as a reference, applying his advice and recipes to the letter, bringing new ideas through his work done in his documentary Burgers in the North American country.

Therefore, there was always the idea that the hamburger offered in fast food chains "is not made of meat", because, when trying to make it at home, another extremely different product remained. However, everything changed when, thanks to social networks, precisely these youtubers and specialized critics began to see a new hamburger paradigm.

Another specialist on the subject is the influencer BurgerFacts, which, according to Oktubre FM, offers his own point of view about hamburgers. New styles are emerging that imitate the most famous hamburger restaurants on the planet, with classic menus, although there are also new places that offer gourmet experiments.

So, although we are seeing an explosion of locals and individuals who exploit their own versions of these sandwiches, there is such a high level that it is moving from a concept of fast food to a more specialized one. This is indicated by the Expansión website, when it says that locals can no longer just keep that classic version, but must differentiate themselves through premium lines.

Each place has its secrets: specialized breads, sauces, meat blends, and even exclusive toppings. As there is more and more knowledge, spread thanks to social networks, people are abandoning the previous conceptions of burgers, seen as meatballs, betting on successful flavors imported from the United States. 

Although it is likely that the same flavor as in those chains will never be achieved, the truth is that the paradigm of this food has changed and even there is no longer so much distrust in terms of health, as it happened a few years ago. Given this success, from the specialized medium of A Fuego Lento they wonder how long this hamburger boom will last, a dish that grew enormously over time and that serves as a food excuse to meet with friends, but also to enjoy.