Grape jelly on a burger came up at my dad's 70th and it got me thinking

My dad mentioned he used to eat grape jelly on his hamburgers back in the 70s at a cookout in Pittsburgh. I laughed at first, but last weekend I tried it with a smash patty and a bit of cheddar. The sweetness cut through the salt way better than I expected, like a cheap man's fancy sauce. It hit different because he said it was just how they stretched cheap meat for a big family. I've been doing weird combos for a while now, but this one made me wonder what other old-school hacks I've been skipping. Anyone else gotten a bizarre bite from a parent that actually held up?

2 comments

2 Comments

robert_lopez641mo ago

Whoa, wait, Pittsburgh? That’s the first time I’ve heard it tied to a specific city. I thought that was just something my grandpa made up to mess with us kids. He used to slap grape jelly on his burgers too, but he’d also put a slice of American cheese on top while the patty was still in the pan. I tried it once as a teenager and gagged, but now I’m wondering if I just did it wrong because I used that cheap jelly with corn syrup. Maybe I owe the old man an apology.

the_lucas1mo ago

Grape jelly and American cheese on the patty while it's still in the pan" - that's exactly how my uncle did it too, and I always figured it was just his weird way of cooking. I tried the full spread once with some cheap strawberry jam and nearly lost it. But last summer I had a proper smash burger with a tiny smear of real blackberry preserves, and it actually worked. So I think your grandpa might've been onto something, and I'm the one who owes my uncle an apology for all the grief I gave him.