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3 Top Burger Chefs Analysed Google's Hamburger Emoji

We're answering the important questions.
emojipedia

As you would have seen all over the internet, people have got a little cheesed on Twitter about Google's hamburger emoji and its placement of the cheese underneath the patty. Animals.

Apparently unbeknownst to Google (and Apple, HTC and others -- more on that below), there is a fine art to building burgers. And people like their hamburgers. You can't just whack on ingredients willy nilly.

So then, what is the best way to stack a burger? To answer this incredibly important question, HuffPost Australia enlisted the expertise of some of Australia's best burger joint owners.

Here's what they have to say about the whole hamburger debacle.

This burger has good form.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
This burger has good form.

Amanda Walker Koronczyk, co-founder of Lord of the Fries.

"I've taken a good look at the Google hamburger emoji and I've also looked at the Apple one. The cheese is definitely the most questionable item on the bill," Koronczyk told HuffPost Australia. "You can't just slap ingredients anywhere.

"It's breaking the rules we use in our business and I can't imagine it would taste very good, but I'm keen to try it. It certainly made me rethink everything for a few minutes."

The main reason why Google's placement of cheese is wrong, Koronczyk explained, is because cheese placed underneath the patty won't result in an evenly melted piece of cheese.

"When we're making a burger, our focus is on the patty and then the cheese. They're a winning combination," Koronczyk said.

"The patty holds and warms the cheese. If you put the cheese first on the bun it interferes with the taste sensation in the mouth. You would get gluggy cheese at the base of your palate. I think it would also make the bun slightly soggy."

Lord of the Fries, who are opening their first Gold Coast store on November 15, build their burgers like this:

"Normally our bottom bun may have just the patty on it, then we add the cheese and build upward from that," Koronczyk said. "So the first thing you taste is this beautiful savoury patty, followed by a sweeter sensation of cheese, then a crunch of lettuce, onion, pickles and lastly the acidic, vinegary or sweet-and-sour condiments -- the mustard, ketchup, mayo -- and then boom, the bun."

Neil Perry, chef and founder of Burger Project.

Much like pizza chefs, not all burger masters make their burgers the same. Neil Perry's burgers are actually a mix of Google and Apple's hamburger emojis.

"From our perspective, we do a little bit of both, although we don't put the lettuce in the same place as either of [Apple or Google's] emojis," Perry told HuffPost Australia.

"When we're putting our burgers together we build it upside down, so we start with the crown (the top of the bun). We essentially put sauce on the top of the bun, followed by pickles, onion, lettuce and tomato makes the base for the meat."

Then, like Lord of the Fries, Burger Project places pieces of cheese on top of the patty while it's on the grill so the cheese starts melting.

"Then we lay the patty with the cheese upside down on the tomato," Perry explained.

But this is where Perry does things differently.

"For the bottom bun we place a slice of cheese on it and place that on top of the upside-down patty, and tip the whole thing right-side up and place it into a bag.

"The cheese hasn't been melted on the bottom bun, but as the patty lies against the cheese it starts to melt and soften it, but it's still firmer than the melted cheese on top. We find we get two different flavours and textures of cheese, and makes the cheeseburger very special."

Ben Kagan, owner of Down N' Out.

Down N' Out burgers in Sydney is also all about placing the cheese on top of the patty while it's cooking, but like Burger Project they have burgers with cheese on top and below the patty, although their process is different to Perry's.

"I genuinely can't think of a single restaurant that would put the cheese just underneath the patty and not on top of it," Kagan said. "Because you then get some of the bits of cheese which aren't melted and some bits which are, as opposed to the whole piece of cheese being evenly cooked.

"We do have some really cheesy burgers which have cheese underneath and on top, but never just underneath. In this case we'd heat up the cheese on the bottom of the bun under a heating element to make sure it's melted."

emojipedia
Most of these are wrong, wrong, wrong.
emojipedia
Most of these are wrong, wrong, wrong.

What all these burger masters can agree on, however, is where to put the lettuce and salad ingredients -- that is, NOT underneath the patty because this will result in a burger with gross, soggy lettuce. So, Apple, HTC and WhatsApp you got it wrong too.

"Lettuce under the patty will make it wilt straightaway. Usually salads are at the top," Perry said.

The underdogs here are actually Microsoft, Facebook and Messenger, who correctly layered the ingredients. Can you tell this journalist has fallen into a hamburger hole? Not the worst place to be.

In conclusion, definitely put the cheese on top of the burger patty while it's cooking, and maybe on the top and underneath the patty, but never, never just underneath the patty. Case closed.

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