Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product from General Mills, sold as part of the Betty Crocker brand. 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 hamburger stroganoff on packages. Hamburger Helper is a box of dried pasta with seasoning that is designed to be cooked with ground beef.
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. 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. The sketch was written by Tom Davis and future US 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. The Catering Industry Employee: Official Journal of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees’ International Alliance and Bartenders’ International League of America. Hamburger Helper Is Awesome at Twitter.
