Burgers are a classic staple of many menus and it seems like it would be pretty obvious exactly how to eat them, but apparently we've been doing it wrong.
Whether it's 100 percent beef or a meat-free version, the usual practice for any burger lover is to pick it up and devour it the moment it arrives, exactly as it comes. According to chain restaurant Fridays, previously called TGI Fridays, however, there's a better way to do it.
The burger chain announced its "Flip It Challenge" in late August, and confirmed its exact preferred method for eating burgers—upside down.
On the official Instagram account, the restaurant wrote: "According to our experts, the best way to eat a burger is to flip it upside down. The thicker top bun soaks up the burger juices, helping keep that flavour in for longer."
A Fridays burger expert said: "The reason that many say a burger tastes better when eaten 'upside down' is that the top bun is thicker. So, flipping your burger means that there is more bread underneath to absorb the juices and flavours from the burger and toppings as you bite into it."
"It also means that your tongue meets the toppings first and the burger second. Whether that tastes better to you is down to personal preference—so give it a try and let us know what you find!"
The chain gave its advice as part of the #FlipItChallenge, which encourages UK customers to share images of them trying out the technique and tagging the brand with the hashtag. Selected winners will receive £50 of vouchers.
According to the restaurant chain's CEO: "If enough of you agree we may even look into how we could start to serve burgers 'upside down'."
Flipping your burger upside down might be news to some, but burger experts have been quietly advocating it for it for some time now. In 2018, the founder of blog Burger Lad, Simon Dukes, told Insider why he chooses to flip his first, saying that having the thicker bun at the bottom makes it less likely to crumble in your hands.
"Burgers are served the way they are purely for aesthetics," he said. "The crown (the top of the bun) is generally thicker (and therefore stronger) than the heel, so for a better eating experience, you should actually flip it upside down to eat it.
"The crown will then hold the weight of everything else, and there is less likelihood of it falling apart in your hands. A true burger connoisseur should always eat their burgers upside down."
So the benefits of eating your burger upside down are clear, but it's undecided exactly when is the best time to flip it. Down to personal preference, burger lovers can flip it as soon as it arrives at the table, or grab it with their thumbs on the top, naturally flipping it as they bring it to the mouth.
Fridays actually recommend the latter, as "this means that as you pick the burger up and bring your fingers round to the top the burger will naturally turn upside down for a much easier eating experience."
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