Everyone knows the Whopper is the pride of Burger King. The product of a redesign of the company's
burger-cooking process, it was introduced three years after the chain opened and has
been a favorite among fans for decades. So, what is it that makes this beloved burger so delicious?
Each Whopper is created with 100% beef. With no fillers, preservatives, or additives,
the Whopper uses a quarter-pound of meat that is freshly prepared for each order.
The transition to 100% beef was rather recent. Back in September of 2020, the chain introduced
us to the new and improved Whopper, with no change to its original delicious taste.
The sandwich had already been free of artificial ingredients in several countries.
To further this change, the franchise began putting the Whopper recipe on its wrappers
as part of a push for cleaner eating. The new packaging lists the Whopper ingredients as,
"100% flame-grilled beef, tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, ketchup, pickles, onions and a sesame seed bun."
It also says the burger doesn't have any artificial ingredients, monosodium glutamate,
or high-fructose corn syrup. This move came because younger consumers, who are a key
target for quick-service restaurants like Burger King, prefer food with healthier ingredients.
"At Burger King, we believe real food tastes better.
That's why we removed colors from artificial sources from our food."
According to an official press release,
"In the U.S., 85% of the Burger King permanent food menu is now free of colors,
flavors, and preservatives from artificial sources,
and the brand is striving to achieve 100% by the beginning of next year."
With every Whopper comes flame-grilled meat for a fresh-off-the-grill taste.
One former employee explained the process on Reddit, stating,
"They use a broiler and you load frozen patties onto the tray and then shove them in and [it's]
a flame grill inside... If the broiler messes up and one of them doesn't cook,
then you have to count the entire load as waste and cook more. Whenever you drive
by BK and see all the smoke roll out of the roof, [it's] from the broiler discharging."
The broiler and gas-powered grill cook the burger from top to bottom, ensuring both
sides are grilled to perfection. According to a former Burger King general manager on Quora,
each patty is then held in an electric unit to ensure fresh quality for each customer.
One big thing that makes the Whopper delicious, aside from the flame-grilled meat of course,
is the full slate of toppings. An Insider reviewer who enjoyed
the Burger King sandwich described it by saying,
"The ketchup gave the burger a slight sweetness, while the mayo added a nice,
creamy texture that elevated the crunchiness of the zesty pickles and lettuce."
Though not the healthiest burger, we agree that the combination of onions and tomatoes
lend a freshness to each burger. According to Burger King, the onions and tomatoes
are sliced daily in-restaurant, and the pickles and mayo contain no additives.
In a personal essay for Serious Eats, Keith Pandolfi wrote,
"It had never occurred to me that the Whopper's flame-broiled flavor
was vaguely reminiscent of the burgers my dad grilled in our backyard over Kingsford coals;
that there was a snap to the pickles; that the tomatoes were fresh and juicy enough that,
once I wrapped my hands around the burger, they smashed into the liberally applied ketchup and
the mayonnaise, creating a sweet, sloppy, and tangy mess of condiments that dripped out of
my Whopper with each bite, and which I sopped up with my french fries until it was gone."
The complete combination of original toppings is something we can all appreciate once assembled;
they come together to create the Whopper we all know and love.
In accordance with its popular slogan, "Be Your Way," Burger King offers a variety
of additional toppings for the Whopper, including bacon, cheese, and barbecue sauce.
You can even add onion rings or fries to your burger if you desire. In fact, one of
the original slogans for the sandwich claimed that there were 1,024 ways to have a Whopper.
It turns out there's actually a whopping 221,184
ways to have a Whopper, according to one of Burger King's ad campaigns. The possibilities
are endless; as long as Burger King has what you want, the burger can be catered to your taste.
To keep our interest, Burger King has released multiple variants of the Whopper with all sorts
of different taste profiles. From the very spicy Angry Whopper and the California Fresh Whopper
to the Piñata Whopper, and even the Windows 7 Whopper with its seven quarter-pound patties,
the franchise has given us multiple reasons to keep trying our favorite burger. Mostly
available for a limited time only, these exciting variants have kept our taste buds intrigued.
When releasing the Proud Whopper for Pride, Fernando Machado,
a senior vice president of global branding for Burger King, told TIME,
"We really want to be more than burgers, fries and shakes,
and occupy a space that's more meaningful to people."
Back in 2019, the franchise rolled out the Impossible Whopper.
Crafted from soy protein concentrate with a little bit of potato protein and soy protein isolate,
the fat comes from coconut oil and sunflower oil and is bound together by plant fiber and modified
food starch. Vitamins, minerals, simple sugars, and some flavor enhancers are also added in,
as well as a special molecule called "heme," which you'll see on the label as "soy leghemoglobin."
Containing the typical Whopper toppings, the Impossible Whopper provides vegetarians with
the same taste you expect from a normal Whopper, and it even saves you a few
calories. With the Whopper weighing in at 657 calories, the Impossible Whopper cuts that down
by 29 calories — not a huge difference, but enough to matter if you're counting.
A great alternative for vegetarians or those looking for something a little healthier,
Burger King has kept the Impossible Whopper just as flavorful through the addition of its
decadent toppings and heme, which gives the patty a taste closer to real meat.
"The Burger King Impossible Whopper. A Whopper made without beef, that tastes
just like a Whopper."
No matter how delicious the burger, those last few bites can be anything
but if you're no longer hungry. Burger King knows that, and it has a solution.
The chain also sells the Whopper Junior, available for those who don't enjoy the normal size of the
Whopper — or anyone who's trying to eat fast food in moderation. Just as flavorful as the original,
this smaller-sized sandwich is well-known and loved by fans of the franchise.
Created through a lucky mistake, the Whopper Junior is made with the same beef as the OG
and is just as delicious. It's also available with the same toppings, meaning it's the
perfect indulgence for someone wanting a delicious burger... just in a normal size.
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