A cheeseburger is a hamburger topped with cheese. Traditionally, the slice of cheese is placed on top of the meat patty. The cheese is usually added to the cooking hamburger patty shortly before serving, which allows the cheese to melt. Cheeseburgers can include variations in structure, ingredients and composition. As with other hamburgers, a cheeseburger may include toppings such as lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard.
In fast food restaurants, the cheese used in cheeseburgers is usually processed cheese. Other meltable cheeses may be used as alternatives. Common examples include cheddar, Swiss, mozzarella, blue cheese, and pepper jack.
Jack in the Box's basic cheeseburger has been sold since its founding in 1951. Other cheeseburgers sold by the chain include the Ultimate Cheeseburger, the Bonus Jack, and the Smashed Jack.
Jack in the Box[]
As with the basic chicken sandwich, the basic cheeseburger appears to have been renamed Jr. Cheeseburger. The image used on the website has the filename "Cheeseburger.png."
Ad copy[]
100% beef seasoned as it grills with melty American cheese, one pickle, ketchup & mustard on a toasted buttery bakery bun. Try and resist. We dare you.[1]
The Double Cheeseburger as seen in a 1993 commercial.
Variants[]
- Double Cheeseburger (discontinued) - Adds a second beef patty and slice of cheese
- Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger - Adds bacon
Reception[]
In a ranking of basic fast food cheeseburgers, the blog Shameless Pop said it was a "very limp competitor."[2]
Background[]
Adding cheese to hamburgers became popular in the 1920s. There are several competing claims as to who created the first cheeseburger. Lionel Sternberger is reputed to have introduced the cheeseburger in 1924 at the age of 16. He was working as a fry cook at his father's Pasadena, California, sandwich shop, "The Rite Spot", and "experimentally dropped a slab of American cheese on a sizzling hamburger."[3][4][5][6][7][8] An early example of the cheeseburger appearing on a menu is a 1928 menu for the Los Angeles restaurant O'Dell's, which listed a cheeseburger smothered with chili for 25 cents.[9][10][11]
Other restaurants also claim to have invented the cheeseburger. For example, Kaelin's Restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, said it invented the cheeseburger in 1934.[12] One year later, a trademark for the name "cheeseburger" was awarded to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in Denver, Colorado.[13] According to Steak 'n Shake archives, the restaurant's founder, Gus Belt, applied for a trademark on the word in the 1930s.[14][15][16]
Dale Mulder, the owner of an A&W Restaurants franchise in Lansing, Michigan, has been credited with inventing the bacon cheeseburger in 1963, putting it on the menu after repeated requests from the same customer.[17] This was highlighted in a 2014 ad campaign for the chain featuring Mulder, who had since become the president of the A&W chain.[18] However, there are earlier examples of a restaurant selling bacon cheeseburgers, including a menu for a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania restaurant from 1941.[19]'
The steamed cheeseburger, a variation almost exclusively served in central Connecticut, is believed to have been invented at a restaurant called Jack's Lunch in Middletown, Connecticut, in the 1930s.[20]
In the United States, National Cheeseburger Day is celebrated annually on September 18.[21]
References[]
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- ↑ Jr. Cheeseburger. Jack in the Box. Accessed August 11, 2025.
- ↑ Tim. "The Best Fast Food Cheeseburger: A Bracket Challenge In One Day." Shameless Pop. June 2, 2016.
- ↑ Plaque commemorating invention of the cheeseburger in Pasadena dedicated at LA Financial Credit Union. Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.
- ↑ Piasecki, Joe. "Pasadena claims its slice of burger history", Los Angeles Times, January 16, 2012.
- ↑ Harvey, Steve. "Only in L.A.", Los Angeles Times, March 27, 1991, p. B2. “Cooking at his father's short-order joint in Pasadena in the early 1920s, [Sternberger] experimentally tossed a slice (variety unknown) on a hamburger...”
- ↑ Perry, Charles. "It's an L.A. Thing; Our burgers are the best with good reason: We made them here first", Los Angeles Times, June 9, 2004, p. F1.
- ↑ Piasecki, Joe. "Yes, it was invented in Pasadena! Probably. Tracing the cheeseburger from inception to Bob's Big Boy", Pasadena Sun, January 13, 2012.
- ↑ Henerson, Evan. "The Tale of the Cheeseburger", San Gabriel Valley Tribune, June 23, 1999.
- ↑ Grace, Roger M.. "Old Menus Tell the History of Hamburgers in L.A.", Metropolitan News-Enterprise, January 15, 2004.
- ↑ Spiers, Katherine. "Were Cheeseburgers Invented in Pasadena?", KCET, September 18, 2013.
- ↑ O'Dell's menu. Menu Collection. Los Angeles Public Library (1928).
- ↑ Louisville Facts & Firsts - LouisvilleKy.gov. City of Louisville, Kentucky.
- ↑ History of the Cheeseburger. Cheese-Burger.net (blog).
- ↑ Flick, Bill (February 20, 2012). Flick Fact 2/20/2012 Monday. Bloomington Pantagraph.
- ↑ Our 'Top 5 List' of little-known facts about Bloomington-Normal. WJBC-FM (July 29, 2011).
- ↑ Perry, Catherine D. (July 7, 2004). Steak 'n Shake vs Burger King, Memorandum and Order. United States District Court Eastern District Missouri Eastern Division. (7 July 2004) 323 F. Supp.2d 983 (E.D. Mo. 2004)
- ↑ "14 Things You Didn't Know About A&W Restaurants", Thrillist, June 22, 2015.
- ↑ "You'll Never Guess Who Invented the Bacon Cheeseburger", Ad Age, June 23, 2014, Web.
- ↑ "NEW—DIFFERENT; Announcing Opening of Hitchin' Post Restaurant", Harrisburg Evening News, January 3, 1941, page eight. Retrieved November 16, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Motz, George. Hamburger America: Completely Revised and Updated Edition: A State-by-State Guide to 150 Great Burger Joints. Running Press (10 May 2011). ISBN 978-0-7624-4234-8.
- ↑ Tyko, Kelly (September 18, 2018). Free cheeseburgers! Where to find the meal deals for National Cheeseburger Day Tuesday. USA Today.