History of the hamburger hand at home using specialized chisels, intensive manual labor that severely limited the amount that could be produced. It is very likely that the invention of the meat grinder contributed directly to the popularization of Hamburg steak, while the steak gradually became distant from its German roots in the minds of many Americans. Minced meat also came to be used in other popular American foods, including hot dogs and meatloaf. Another development facilitating the invention and popularization of the proto-hamburger was the increased production of beef through livestock intensification. By the late 19th century, an increasing amount of land was
Hamburger or "fortified refuge" and is a widespread component of place names. The first element of the name is perhaps from Old High German "hamma", referring to a bend in a river, or Middle High German "hamme", referring to an enclosed area of pastureland. "Hamburger" in German is the demonym of Hamburg, similar to "frankfurter" and "wiener", names for other meat-based foods and demonyms of the cities of Frankfurt and Vienna (Wien), respectively. The term "burger", a back-formation, is associated with many different types of sandwiches, similar to a (ground meat) hamburger, but made of different meats such as buffalo in