A slider is an American term for a small
hamburger
A hamburger (or simply a burger) consists of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun or bread roll. The patties are often served with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, bacon, or chilis ...
, typically around 2 inches (5 cm) across, made with a
bun
A bun is a type of bread that is round and small enough that it can generally be eaten hand-held. Whether a bun is considered sweetened or unsweetened differs between countries: it is considered sweetened in the United Kingdom, a savory bread in ...
or dinner roll. Sliders can be served as
hors d'oeuvre
An hors d'oeuvre ( ; ), appetiser, appetizer or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or ...
s,
snack
A snack is a small portion of Human food, food generally Eating, eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including Food packaging, packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at ho ...
s, or
entrée
An entrée (, ; ), in modern French table service and that of much of the English-speaking world, is a dish served before the main course of a meal. Outside North America and parts of English-speaking Canada, it is generally synonymous with th ...
s.
They have become a popular
game day appetizer in the United States.
History
The name "slider" is believed to have been first used to describe the onion-steamed small burgers at
White Castle restaurants. The term has since been picked up by other restaurants, usually to describe a small hamburger, but sometimes used to describe any small sandwich made with a slider bun. White Castle later trademarked the spelling variant "Slyder" and used it between 1985 and 2009.
File:Slider sandwiches.jpg, Cheeseburger sliders
File:Chicken_Sliders.jpg, Chicken sliders
Etymology
The etymology of the term "slider" is uncertain. Food historian
George Motz has cited two competing origin stories for the term:
There are two stories about the history of the word 'slider,' both from White Castle. One is that they’re so small they slide down your throat—that’s the obvious choice. The other choice, which I like better, is that in the old days, White Castle was sort of like a show. You’d walk in and there would be two or three men behind the counter in white paper caps and clean white aprons on. They’d greet you when you came in, it was sort of a fun, happy environment. And if you were sitting at the counter, they would make your burger – everything was served on porcelain
Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
– and they would slide the burger down the counter to you. That’s how they became known as sliders. White Castle likes both stories; they haven’t picked a favorite.
See also
*
Burger King sliders
*
Krystal
*
List of hamburgers
This is a list of notable hamburgers. A hamburger consists of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed between two slices of a bread roll. Hamburgers are often served with lettuce, bacon, tomato, onion, pickled cucumber, pickles, cheese, and ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slider (Sandwich)
American sandwiches
Hamburgers (food)
White Castle (restaurant)
Appetizers