The best for your burger

Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: the tastiest toppings for your burger.

Give us a burger and we are happy. I survived the first lockdown mentally by weekly The Kimchief burger from The Beef Chief pulling it apart, but also with a salmon or veggie burger, you make us happy. And the fun part is: if you look past the obligatory lettuce leaf and slice of tomato and onion, a world of toppings opens up for you.

Because with that Kimchief I have already revealed something, but also these underrated (or just unknown) toppings make your burger a top burger:

Honey
Sweetness is not strange for a burger: do you know how much sugar is in ketchup? And if you consider that honey-mustard is about the most ordered sauce with McNuggets, it might surprise you less that people find this tasty on a hamburger.

Pineapple
On pizza, this is a topping that divides entire populations into two camps. But on burgers? Perhaps too little known to attract haters... There was once a brave chef who served pineapple burgers as staff food and although the photos of before eating were shared with hilarity, it had to be admitted afterwards that it was really delicious. Especially if you grill the (thin, fresh) slices first with some salt, this can be a surprisingly good topping.

Kimchi
Already mentioned above, but my goodness, this is so delicious on a hamburger. The spiciness, the sourness, and the crunchiness of kimchi really elevate your burger to a higher level. And it's healthy too, so you can give yourself an extra pat on the back.

Hummus
Hummus is about tasty on any savory sandwich, so under such a juicy patty, a thick layer of creamy hummus also works well. Indeed, not an official topping because it's underneath and not on top, but still. Especially with a homemade or spicy variant, you score points.

Peanut butter
There is virtually nothing that a true peanut butter lover doesn't find this stuff goes well with. Peanut butter with bacon? Totally normal, say the enthusiasts, even delicious. Peanut butter on a hamburger? Also. And to be honest: if you think of satay skewers with peanut sauce, there's nothing strange about that, right? Combine it, for example, with an Asian-inspired (chicken mince) burger with fresh atjar as an extra topping.

Pâté
For this topping, you also have to think a bit outside the box. But in America, a hamburger with duck liver pâté is really a thing, and they find it so decadent that they call it a ‘French Bistro burger’. Although we can't guarantee that you'll ever encounter this in a real French bistro... But at home, it's worth a try.

Chips
If they can have it next to a club sandwich, why not on/in a hamburger? Nice for some crunch on your otherwise juicy bun and although plain chips are obvious, you can of course also experiment with different flavors that match your burger of the day. Sweet chili chips on a burger with sriracha and you're actually being quite culinary, layering your flavor profiles in complex layers.

Pickled vegetables
You making your own vegetable pickles is still super trendy and less waste. And it gives a lot of satisfaction. So stacking those pickles on the thickest, most juicy burger that you can make? Win-win.

Mustard
For many people totally normal, for others surprising: a generous dollop of mustard on a burger. Yes, everyone knows mustard on a hotdog, but this creamy spicy addition is also definitely tasty on a hamburger. It doesn't have to be such a super sharp Groninger that blows through your nasal cavities. We would save those for a otherwise quite neutral but delicious stamppot. To not overshadow the tender meat of a burger, you prefer to choose a mild but flavorful mustard.

Jalapeño
Not earth-shattering, but tasty. If you remove the seed membranes, you have a pepper with a very own flavor, which combines well with, for example, a cheddar cheeseburger. What is also allowed: just from a jar, then they are often not only spicy but also pleasantly sour. A Mexican beer on the side and it's immediately fiesta as far as we're concerned.

Image: Amirali Mirhashemian Unsplash