There's a sliver of bottom bun under that mound of meat.
In Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?, a book of "answers to civilization's most nagging questions," author David Feldman answers the question, "Why Are Hamburger-Bun Bottoms So Thin?" Feldman explains why commercial retail bakeries don't always slice the buns at a height that would allow for more balance between the bottoms and tops:
Most hamburger buns purchased in the grocery store are approximately one and a quarter inches high. They are baked in molds that are half an inch high. Many bakeries slice the bun at this half-inch mark rather than the true midpoint. This is necessary because the tops of the hamburger buns puff up (three-quarters of an inch above the mold), and the top is relatively fragile. The lowest point of this fragile area is called the “shred line.” Slices made above the shred line tend to be less clean. One of the reasons that the bottoms of McDonald’s Big Mac buns stand up so well is that they are baked in one-inch molds, producing a higher shred line, so that they can be sliced at a proportionately higher point. The hamburger-bun tops are, in fact, much more important from a marketing point of view. Nothing pleases browsers at the bakery shelf more than buns with a pronounced mushroom top. Because the mushroom top is above the shred line, bakers must decide between good looks and practicality when it comes time to slice the buns—guess which one they choose.
Feldman includes a simple solution from Bill Keogh of American Bakeries: eat the burger upside-down. [Thanks to AHT reader Turkishjade for the excerpt.]
How long before we start to see stuff like this in the reviews: "the shred line of the bun was a bit low, not like the one inch shred line (and noticeably reduced mushroom top) of the burger at blah blah burger spot"
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7 Comments:
"Nothing pleases browsers at the bakery shelf more than buns with a pronounced mushroom top"
there must have been a better way to say this. I feel dirty.
zaeatah at 2:36PM on 02/06/09
@zaeatah: I had to read it a few times to figure out how it could sound dirty. I'm not sure what that says about me...
Robyn Lee at 2:37PM on 02/06/09
this is why i almost always turn my burger upside down when eating 'em.
BurgerSeeker at 4:26PM on 02/06/09
@zaeatah: Ha!
Asado at 6:08PM on 02/06/09
the soggy, disintegrating bottom bun on an otherwise awesome burger is such a travesty. function over looks, por favor!!!
redzerostar at 11:35PM on 02/07/09
@redzerostar: agreed-I hate having to finish a burger with a knife and fork
homer128 at 2:12PM on 02/08/09
"shred line" of the bun.
I love it! New burger tech lingo to throw around.
How long before we start to see stuff like this in the reviews: "the shred line of the bun was a bit low, not like the one inch shred line (and noticeably reduced mushroom top) of the burger at blah blah burger spot"
MikeNYC at 4:46PM on 02/16/09