The all-American burger gets a bad rap from its front-page place on the fast-food menu. However, the real American burger can be incredibly nourishing. Start with a quality meat, bean, or vegetable patty, choose a sprouted or sourdough bun, top it with naturally cultured condiments and you’ve got yourself a burger worth putting on the menu weekly, for both flavor and nutrition.
How do you build a better cultured burger?
BUN
- For an easier-on-the-belly hamburger bun try our Whole Wheat Sourdough Bun recipe. If you avoid gluten, we have you covered with these Gluten-free Sourdough Hamburger Buns.
Cheese
- Be sure to include some good cultured cheese on your burger. Try cheddar, Monterey Jack, or maybe some tangy feta cheese for a Greek-inspired burger!
Condiments
Now that you’ve got your burger, bun, and cheese ready, think about what really makes a burger: the toppings! This is where you can really add a lot of cultured goodness to your burger.
- Mayonnaise. Try this lacto-fermented mayonnaise recipe.
- Pickles. Use lacto-fermented pickles instead of vinegar-brined pickles. Or mix it up with sliced Lacto-fermented Radishes instead.
- Relish. While pickle relish is popular, try one of these delicious fermented variations:
- Ketchup. Homemade ketchup is super yummy and contains no high-fructose corn syrup. For a little more flavor, try this Spiced Tomato Ketchup Recipe.
- Mustard. Tangy and spicy, kombucha mustard will liven up your burger and add enzymes and probiotics. If you prefer to leave the mustard seeds whole, try this Lacto-fermented Whole Grain Mustard Recipe.
So throw that burger on the grill, take those sourdough hamburger buns out of the oven, and round up your cheese and probiotic-rich cultured condiments, because a cultured burger is worth eating at least once a week.
