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Hamburger Helper facts for kids

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ProdPack-Hamburger-Helper-CheeseMac-Small
Cheeseburger Macaroni flavor

Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product from General Mills, sold as part of the Betty Crocker brand. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The product line also features other starches, such as potatoes. The contents of each box are combined with browned ground beef ("hamburger"), water, and, with some varieties, milk to create a complete one-dish meal. There are also variations of the product designed for other meats, such as "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper".

History

The packaged pasta brand "Hamburger Helper" was introduced in 1971 in response to a meat shortage and rising meat prices. In 2005, Food Network rated it third on its list of "Top Five Fad Foods of 1970". In 2013, the company shortened the brand's name to just "Helper".

The Hamburger Helper mascot is "the Helping Hand" or "Lefty"—a four-fingered, left-hand white glove with a face on the palm and a red spherical nose. It often appears in the product's television commercials and on packages.

Hamburger varieties

Hamburger Helper
Prepared Hamburger Helper with ground beef

The basic (and most popular) version of Hamburger Helper is a box of dried pasta with seasoning that is designed to be cooked with ground beef. Hamburger Helper offers a variety of flavors, including Lasagne, Cheeseburger Macaroni, Bacon Cheeseburger, Philly Cheesesteak, and others.

Other varieties

ProdPack-TunaHelp-CreamyPasta-Small
A cream sauce with pasta designed for tuna

There are also variations designed for other meats: "Tuna Helper" and "Chicken Helper".

  • Tuna Helper was the second variety to appear on the market, in 1972.
  • Fruit Helper was introduced in 1973. These were dessert products made with canned or fresh fruit. The Fruit Helper line has since been discontinued.
  • Chicken Helper was first introduced in 1984 in response to the wide availability of inexpensive boneless and skinless chicken breasts.
  • Asian Helper is a selection of four main Asian-American-style dishes, three made with chicken and one with beef.
  • Whole Grain Helper options include Lemon & Herb Chicken, Honey Mustard Chicken, Cheeseburger Mac, and beef Stroganoff flavors made with whole-wheat pasta.
  • Pork Helper was introduced in 2003. Varieties included pork fried rice and pork chops with stuffing. The product was discontinued shortly after its introduction.
  • Hamburger Helper Microwave Singles were introduced in 2006. This product requires water and brief cooking in the microwave to produce a single serving portion of some of the most popular flavors. Chicken Helper flavors were added in 2007 despite the brand being discontinued shortly thereafter. It returned in 2013 as Chicken and Chili Helper.

In popular culture

A 1977 book collecting material from the satirical TV show Saturday Night Live contained an unproduced sketch called "Placenta Helper," an ad for a product which “lets you stretch your placenta into a tasty casserole." The sketch was written by Tom Davis and future United States Senator Al Franken.

In 1979, Scott Spiegel wrote, produced and directed a short film entitled Attack of the Helping Hand, which featured a "Hamburger Helper" oven mitt as a killer glove.

Hamburger Helper is mentioned in the series finale of That Eighties Show.

On April 1, 2016, General Mills commissioned an EP as an April Fools' Day prank, titled Watch the Stove. According to a press release, the EP was produced for General Mills by a team at St. Paul, Minnesota's McNally Smith College of Music. The EP's title is a parody of the Jay-Z and Kanye West collaborative album Watch the Throne. It contains five songs, all of which are about Hamburger Helper. It instantly achieved a viral status, played over four million times on SoundCloud in less than three days, with many listeners finding value in the brand's promotion of younger artists.

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