Beef patties

Cook them all the way through until steaming hot, with no pink in the centre and clear juices. The Food Standards Agency’s time-and-temperature combination is 70°C for 2 minutes; this matters because bacteria can be mixed through minced meat.

Shape it a little wider than the bun and press a shallow dent into the centre before cooking. Fry without pressing down on it, which squeezes out the juices.

Keep them covered on the bottom shelf of the fridge, at 5°C or colder, so they cannot drip onto ready-to-eat food. Follow the use-by date, or freeze them before it passes.

Tuck one into a toasted bun with lettuce, tomato, sliced onion and a spoonful of relish or ketchup. Serve with chips or a green salad; melted Cheddar is a familiar topping.

A patty is the flattened portion of minced beef; in British use, a burger often means the patty served in a bun with toppings. The words are also used interchangeably for the meat portion.

Try a bean burger or a thick grilled field mushroom in the bun. Both work well with the usual lettuce, tomato and relish.

Per 100 g, the patty has 14 g of fat, compared with 4.2 g in beef meat; the plain beef has more protein, at 22.2 g compared with 14 g.

A 100 g portion provides 14 g of protein.