Ernest Hemingway's Favorite Burger Was A Total Umami Bomb
One of the most celebrated and prolific American writers of the early 20th century, Ernest Hemingway was also a gourmet. Very particular about his food, he left behind a dazzling array of recipes and other writings that paint a detailed picture of the kind of foods he enjoyed the most. Favoring ingredients like garlic, clam broth, and soy sauce, one thing stands out about Hemingway's tastes — he simply adored umami-rich flavors. Nowhere is this clearer than in his own recipe for hamburgers, loaded with garlic and onions, spices and relish, all mixed directly into the beef patty itself.
The word "umami" only entered the English lexicon quite recently, originating in Japan. Now well known as the fifth flavor, it's the rich, wholesome taste found in comfort foods around the world. While some tastes like sourness are lighter, sharply striking your taste buds, umami is a deeper, heavier taste, giving a foundation to the overall flavor profile of a recipe. Some foods are particularly rich in umami, like mushrooms and egg yolks, and beef already has no shortage of umami of its own.
Hemingway's hamburger — which he specified must be pan-fried — builds on this, with beef and egg as a binder, and an expansive list of wholesome ingredients. The recipe leaves some room for a little creativity too, even making some suggestions for variations, all of which add even more depth. As he wrote, "You can add all sorts of goodies and flavors to the ground beef" (via BBC News).
A hearty burger recipe
Umami is the kind of flavor that builds on itself. According to the food company Teys, pairing two umami-heavy foods will give you eight times as much flavor. An article in the Paris Review followed Hemingway's hamburger recipe to the letter, describing it by saying, "Each bit of it oozed a complex and textured umami, earthy and deep." The depth of flavor certainly comes not only from the ingredients used but from the way they work together in concert.
Virtually everything in Hemingway's recipe contributes to the overall umami flavor. To start with, it calls for 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 small chopped green onions, and capers, popularly used in Mediterranean cuisines for their aromatic flavor and hints of umami. The recipe also calls for thorough seasoning, including a "heaping teaspoon" of India relish, with umami-rich cabbage listed among its main ingredients. Even the addition of ⅓ of a cup of wine contributes to the deep flavor profile. Every bite of this burger is loaded with comforting richness.
Hemingway's optional extras help to boost the flavor even more, with a few umami-rich additions like mushrooms and ground almonds. It seems like everything about this hamburger recipe is focused on richness of flavor above all else. This feels like exactly what you might expect from a man who titled his memoir "A Moveable Feast." In the author's own words, "There is no reason why a fried hamburger has to turn out gray, greasy, paper-thin and tasteless."
Hemingway's love of umami
Ernest Hemingway's hamburger is bursting with umami richness in each bite, but he had an expansive appetite for other umami-rich foods too. One notable example was one of his favorite drinks — it was Hemingway who famously popularized the Bloody Mary cocktail. Ever since they were incorporated into post-colonial European cuisine, tomatoes have become one of the biggest sources of umami in Mediterranean cooking. With tomato juice as its main ingredient, accentuated with flavors like Worcestershire sauce, a Bloody Mary is a seriously umami-heavy drink. Hemingway's appetite for these cocktails was legendary, making them a large pitcher at a time and describing anything less as "worthless."
As well as short stories and novels, Hemingway also wrote extensive letters, which allow a glimpse into his tastes. Unsurprisingly, flavors drenched with umami are a running theme, particularly those from his time living in Paris. According to the Cambridge University Press, he was very fond of wild boar pie, with the richness of pork as well as plentiful onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Another dish he particularly enjoyed was salmon tartare. Needless to say, salmon is another food that's packed with wholesome umami flavor.
Hemingway spent his life in search of pleasure, even to the eventual detriment of his health. As a seasoned gourmet, there's no doubt that his favorite dishes were among the finest he could find, and absolutely loaded with flavor. So it should be no surprise that Hemingway's hamburger recipe is such an explosive umami bomb.