Hamburger Helper

Last updated
Hamburger Helper
ProdPack-Hamburger-Helper-CheeseMac-Small.jpg
Cheeseburger Macaroni flavor
Type Packaged mix
CourseMain course
Place of origin United States
Associated cuisine American cuisine
Created by General Mills
Invented1971
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredients Pasta or rice
Ingredients generally used Seasonings
Variations
  • Tuna Helper
  • Fruit Helper
  • Chicken Helper
  • Asian Helper
  • Whole Grain Helper
  • Pork Helper
  • Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles

Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product manufactured by Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box with browned ground beef ("hamburger"), water, and, with some varieties, milk to create a complete one-dish meal.

Contents

There are also variations of the product designed for other meats, such as "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper". Some of these feature other starches, such as potatoes.

History

The packaged pasta brand "Hamburger Helper" was introduced by General Mills in 1971 [1] [2] [3] in response to a meat shortage and rising meat prices. [4] In 2005, Food Network rated it third on its list of "Top Five Fad Foods of 1970". In 2013, the company shortened the brand's name to just "Helper". [5]

The Hamburger Helper mascot is "the Helping Hand" or "Lefty"—a four-fingered, left-hand white glove with a face on the palm and a red spherical nose. It often appears in the product's television commercials and on packages. [2] [3] [6]

In May 2022, General Mills announced an agreement to sell the brand to Eagle Foods for approximately $610 million. [7] On July 5, 2022, the sale was completed. [8]

Hamburger varieties

Prepared Hamburger Helper with ground beef Hamburger Helper.jpg
Prepared Hamburger Helper with ground beef

The basic (and most popular) version of Hamburger Helper is a box of dried pasta with seasoning that is designed to be cooked with ground beef. Hamburger Helper offers a variety of flavors, including Lasagna, Cheeseburger Macaroni, Bacon Cheeseburger, Philly Cheesesteak, and others.

Other varieties

A cream sauce with pasta designed for tuna ProdPack-TunaHelp-CreamyPasta-Small.jpg
A cream sauce with pasta designed for tuna

There are also variations designed for other meats: "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper".

A 1977 book collecting material from the satirical TV show Saturday Night Live contained an unproduced sketch called "Placenta Helper," an ad for a product which "lets you stretch your placenta into a tasty casserole." The sketch was written by Tom Davis and future United States Senator Al Franken. [13]

The animated television series Family Guy featured Lefty the mascot in one of their famous "cutaway gags" from the 2009 episode "Business Guy". The gag involved Lefty, who appears with his neurologically impaired brother, who takes the form of a right-handed glove, representing the non-existent brand "Cheeseburger Helper". [14]

In 1979, Scott Spiegel wrote, produced and directed a short film entitled Attack of the Helping Hand , which featured a "Hamburger Helper" oven mitt as a killer glove. [15]

On April 1, 2016, General Mills commissioned an EP as an April Fools' Day prank, titled Watch the Stove . According to a press release, the EP was produced for General Mills by a team at St. Paul, Minnesota's McNally Smith College of Music. [16] The EP's title is a parody of the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaborative album Watch the Throne . It contains five songs, all of which are about Hamburger Helper. It instantly achieved a viral status, played over four million times on SoundCloud in less than three days, with many listeners finding value in the brand's promotion of younger artists. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamburger</span> Food consisting of a beef patty between rounded buns

A hamburger, also called a burger, is a dish consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon or chilis with condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish or a "special sauce", often a variation of Thousand Island dressing and are frequently placed on sesame seed buns. A hamburger patty topped with cheese is called a cheeseburger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roasting</span> Cooking method using dry air heat

Roasting is a cooking method that uses dry heat where hot air covers the food, cooking it evenly on all sides with temperatures of at least 150 °C (300 °F) from an open flame, oven, or other heat source. Roasting can enhance the flavor through caramelization and Maillard browning on the surface of the food. Roasting uses indirect, diffused heat, and is suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece. Meats and most root and bulb vegetables can be roasted. Any piece of meat, especially red meat, that has been cooked in this fashion is called a roast. Meats and vegetables prepared in this way are described as "roasted", e.g., roasted chicken or roasted squash.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chili con carne</span> Savory American stew with chili peppers and meat

Chili con carne or Carne con chile, also spelled chilli con carne or chile con carne and shortened to chili or chilli, is a spicy stew of Mexican origin containing chili peppers, meat, tomatoes, and often pinto beans or kidney beans. Other seasonings may include garlic, onions, and cumin.

There are multiple urban legends centering around the fast-food chain McDonald's. These legends include claims about the food and allegations of discrimination by the company.

Ground beef, minced beef or beef mince is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife, meat grinder, mincer or mincing machine. It is used in many recipes including hamburgers, bolognese sauce, meatloaf, meatballs, and kofta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pot Noodle</span> Brand of instant noodle snack foods

Pot Noodle is a brand of instant noodle snack foods from the United Kingdom, available in a selection of flavours and varieties. This dehydrated food consists of noodles, assorted dried vegetables and flavouring powder. It is prepared by adding boiling water, which rapidly softens the noodles and dissolves the powdered sauce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stove Top stuffing</span> American brand of instant stuffing

Stove Top is a stuffing that was introduced by General Foods in 1972. It is a quick cooking ("instant") stuffing that is available in supermarkets. Unlike traditional stuffing, Stove Top can be prepared on the stove, in a pot, and can also be prepared in a microwave oven. It is used as a side dish for meals as well as a medium in which some meats can be baked. It is sold in boxes and canisters. In 2005 it was reported that Kraft Heinz, which has owned the brand since 1990, sells about 60 million boxes of Stove Top stuffing at Thanksgiving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Mexican cuisine</span> Cuisine originating from New Mexico

New Mexican cuisine is the cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. The region is primarily known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican cuisine originating in Nuevo México. This Southwestern culinary style is popular beyond the current boundaries of New Mexico, and is found throughout the old territories of Nuevo México and the New Mexico Territory, today the state of Arizona, parts of Texas, and the southern portions of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.

Cutlet refers to:

  1. a thin slice of meat from the leg or ribs of mutton, veal, pork, or chicken
  2. a dish made of such slice, often breaded
  3. a croquette or cutlet-shaped patty made of ground meat
  4. a kind of fish cut where the fish is sliced perpendicular to the spine, rather than parallel ; often synonymous with steak
  5. a prawn or shrimp with its head and outer shell removed, leaving only the flesh and tail
  6. a mash of vegetables fried with bread
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger King Specialty Sandwiches</span> Line of sandwiches developed by Burger King in 1978

The Burger King Specialty Sandwiches are a line of sandwiches developed by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King in 1978 and introduced in 1979 as part of a new product line designed to expand Burger King's menu with more sophisticated, adult oriented fare beyond hamburgers. Additionally, the new line was intended to differentiate the company from other fast food hamburger restaurants at the time. Since the line's introduction, the other sandwiches have been discontinued, leaving the chicken offering, the Original Chicken Sandwich, as the primary product left. Additionally, other sandwiches that utilize the same roll as the chicken sandwich have been introduced to the company's menu both domestically and internationally since the original product line was introduced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potted meat</span> Form of traditional food preservation

Potted meat is a form of traditional food preservation in which hot cooked meat is placed in a pot, tightly packed to exclude air, and then covered with hot fat. As the fat cools, it hardens and forms an airtight seal, preventing some spoilage by airborne bacteria. Before the days of refrigeration, potted meat was developed as a way to preserve meat when a freshly slaughtered animal could not be fully eaten immediately.

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving around 68 million customers daily in 119 countries. McDonald's traces its origins to a 1940 restaurant in San Bernardino, California, United Kingdom. After expanding within the United States, McDonald's became an internat ional corporation in 1967, when it opened a location in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. By the end of the 1970s, McDonald's restaurants existed in five of the Earth's seven continents; an African location came in 1992 in Casablanca, Morocco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steak</span> Flat cut of meat

A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patties, such as hamburgers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbecue sandwich</span> Sandwich with barbecued meat fillings

A barbecue sandwich is a sandwich that is typically prepared with barbecued meats. Several types of meats are used to prepare barbecue sandwiches. Some varieties use cooked meats that are not barbecued, but include barbecue sauce. Many variations, including regional variations, exist, along with diverse types of cooking styles, preparations and ingredients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of foods</span>

This is a categorically-organized list of foods. Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is produced either by plants, animals, or fungi, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.

References

  1. The Catering Industry Employee: Official Journal of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees' International Alliance and Bartenders' International League of America. Vol. 82 & 83. The Alliance. 1973. p. 7. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hughlett, Mike (2013-07-06). "General Mills relaunches Hamburger Helper". Star Tribune . Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  3. 1 2 Weissman, Saya (2013-11-23). "Hamburger Helper Is Awesome at Twitter. Really". Digiday . Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  4. Ashman, Hollis; Beckley, Jacqueline (4 January 2007). "Product Spotlight: Hamburger Helper -- Instantly and For One". Food Processing. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  5. "General Mills relaunches Hamburger Helper". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2016-03-09.
  6. Wong, Venessa (2013-07-09). "In Redesign, Hamburger Helper Drops the Hamburger". Bloomberg Businessweek . Archived from the original on July 9, 2013. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  7. "General Mills Announces Agreement to Sell Helper and Suddenly Salad Businesses to Eagle Family Foods Group". General Mills. Archived from the original on 2022-11-29. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  8. "Eagle Foods Completes Acquisition of Two Iconic Brands from General Mills". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  9. Carolyn Wyman (2004). Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods that Changed the Way We Eat . Quirk Books. pp.  20–. ISBN   978-1-931686-42-6 . Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  10. Betty Crocker Website
  11. "Pasta | The Whole Grains Council". wholegrainscouncil.org. Archived from the original on 2016-05-31. Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  12. "Hamburger Helper Announces Better Tasting Product Line | Business Wire". www.businesswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2016-03-17.
  13. Anne P. Beatts, John Head, ed. (1977). Saturday Night Live. Avon Books. ISBN   0380018012.
  14. "Business Guy". Family Guy. Season 8. Episode 9. December 13, 2009. Fox.
  15. "Sam Raimi is Killed by Hamburger Helper in This Early Short Film | News Article". FEARnet. 2013-09-02. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
  16. "Hamburger Helper Enters the Rap Scene With (Shockingly Great) Watch the Stove Mixtape". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
  17. "Here's The Story Behind Hamburger Helper's Viral Mixtape Watch the Stove has been played over 4 million times". Adweek. 2016-04-04. Retrieved 2016-04-09.