Cheers We have have probably all eaten one - in my case a good few more than one - but I wonder if anyone knows where and when the beefburger (or hamburger, call it what you will) was invented?
(interesting aside.. I lived and worked in Morocco in the mid seventies.. And stayed in a place in the south called Diabet for a beach weekend... The local village stall sold bread and cheese.. And i asked the guy to cut open the bread roll and put sliced cheese in it... From that day on he sold this new invention and they spread all over Morocco... The Yorkie was invented... I don't know why the word sandwich was used elsewhere... ;-) true story though)
Well. empire-wise, you're in roughly the right area - but have to think more along 'ancient' lines...
There have been things around resembling beefburgers for centuries before the Americans gave a name to them - more or less every cuisine has recipes for minced beef or lamb. I have heard that there was a kind of 'Roman Burger', which the Romans brought to Britain with them - they apparently had a taste for so called street food. I would imagine they tasted a lot better than the later American version.
I'll give you the prize. The hamburger has generally been thought to be an American creation - but the discovery of a 4th century Roman recipe book titled Apicius has challenged that perception. The book included a recipe for Isicia Omentata, a fast food dish popular with Roman soldiers stationed along Hadrian's Wall, which essentially is a meat patty. They were served up to visitors at Birdoswald Roman Fort on the Wall recently to rave reviews... Over to you.
Cheers BB. Which historical event gave rise to the idea that an English King may have converted to Islam ?
I've no idea about the historical event, but is this anything to do with he-of-the-dyke fame, Offa? I remember reading a story about a gold coin being found, apparently minted in his reign, with Arabic inscriptions on it.
I think you've got it BB. It is in the British Museum and is one of the rarest and most unusual Anglo Saxon coins. It imitates the gold dinar of the Caliph al-Mansur. The Arabic inscription is not perfect but reads 'There is no deity but Allah, The one, without equal, and Muhammad is the Apostle of Allah'. The coin was engraved, struck and issued by Offa, King of Mercia. The exact reasons are not known - various theories circulate on this. At any rate the 'OFFA REX' is inserted upside down in relation to the Arabic - so it was not done by a perfect scholar of classical Arabic. The first translations of the Khoran are after Offa's reign. So did he understand it ? And why was it there ? One of those mysteries we will never know. Over to you.