Why Hamburger Buns Come With Sesame Seeds On Top

A good hamburger bun should be soft but sturdy enough to hold a heavy, juicy burger. Ideally, it has a touch of sweetness, but mostly a neutral, bread flavor to not distract from the other flavors. There should also be a light sprinkling of sesame seeds on top of the bun — but why did this become a trend, and what purpose does it serve?

Sesame seeds are often used to provide a nutty flavor and crunchy texture in Asian dishes, granola, salsas, baked goods, and on top of fried eggs. So it makes sense that they would be added atop buns for a little extra flavor and texture, though different brands of buns use varying quantities of the seeds with different respective effects on flavor. In general, sesame seeds offer, at most, a very subtle enhancement to a hamburger bun's taste and texture. Two of our favorite store-bought burger buns don't have sesame seeds, so they're certainly not essential to the recipe.

A sesame seed bun may simply look more appetizing to many diners. It's kind of like that random kale or vegetable garnish served next to a steak — not necessary, but it adds a little pop to the dish. A sprinkle of color also benefits food photography and helps amp up the visual appeal in marketing. The speckled top of the bun gives that classic burger look that we associate with good fast food burgers, so it's possibly somewhat of a placebo effect. Interestingly, not all of McDonald's burgers (which we ranked) use sesame buns; the classic hamburger and cheeseburger do not, while the Quarter Pounder does. In this sense, the sesame seeds help signal the more deluxe burger.

While food history is often quite murky, it seems that sesame-studded buns made it to the mainstream in the mid-20th century with the rise of McDonald's. The Big Mac, possibly one of the most famous burgers in history, made its debut in 1968, and it came served up in a bun with sesame seeds. Was McDonald's the first to do this? Not necessarily, but it can be credited with popularizing this style of bun.

There appears to be proof earlier than 1968, with an article published in 1955 in Time Magazine about Bob's Big Boy, a burger restaurant chain in Southern California, which states that the establishment's signature double burger was served on a sesame bun. However, Bob's Big Boy, which still operates today, does not claim to be the first to do this or have an explanation for why the buns were coated in the tiny seeds. Sesame seeds were originally introduced in the United States in the 1800s by enslaved African people who brought them over on ships. Sesame was then promoted on a larger scale in the U.S. in the 1930s, so the timeline does check out. Either way, whoever created the sesame seed-studded bun made a huge impact on food history.