Attention! Australia's most underrated burger topping is red, not yellow
It's official, beetroot has eclipsed pineapple as Australia's favourite burger topping.
According to an exclusive nine.com.au poll, Aussies prefer burgundy to yellow when it comes to what they add to their burger stack, in some particularly surprising results.
According to an eclusive Nine poll, Aussies are all about a beetroot-stained bun. iStock
In a poll of 737 responses, beetroot was declared the top option among 31 per cent of respondents — the highest margin of votes by far throughout the entire poll.
And while some may have thought pineapple would rank top, or at least a close second, the tropical fruit plummeted in popularity. Only gaining 13 per cent of votes from respondents, pineapple did not receive a lot of love this time around.
READ MORE: It's official, Australia's all-time favourite beach is a 'Sydney jewel'
In third place, however, came not a sweet choice, but a salty one. Pickles — likely more an American influence than a true-blue Aussie choice — gained votes from 11 per cent of voters.
This was followed by the fried egg, which received votes from nine per cent of respondents.
Beetroot eclipsed burger favourites including pineapple, bacon and the fried egg. 9Honey
Thought to be a burger staple, onions only received love from eight per cent of voters — a blip we can only put down to most voters merely assuming that onions would already be on their stack.
Next came sizzling bacon, receiving votes from seven per cent of voters — this was followed closely by avocado and aioli which both ranked at five per cent.
Meantime, mayo got a mere four per cent of voters' choices, as did tomatoes.
READ MORE: Exclusive Nine poll reveals Australia's favourite nostalgic kids' party food
Our love of a beetroot-stained bun
So... what's so great about beetroot? Well according to Warren Fahey, Australian writer and folklore collector, there's quite a lot of greatness surrounding the root vegetable.
As Fahey tells The Guardian, Australia's love of a beetroot-stained bun really had its "heyday" in the '50s and '60s.
Now, the choice to go without beetroot on your bun is more shocking than the decision to add it on.
READ MORE: Move over guac! Australia's favourite dip is still French onion, exclusive Nine poll reveals
"For some reason, the idea of hamburger wrapping stained by beetroot juice was accepted as the sign of a great hamburger [at that time]," says Fahey.
Perhaps it was our chance to identify away from the American cheese, pickles and raw onion combos dished out by McDonald's and Burger King, or maybe it was because the topping choice is just undeniably delicious — either way, beetroots made an impact.
Now, whether it be a homemade burger or one from your closest milkbar, a beetroot topping is hardly surprising. What might be surprising, however, is the choice to leave it off.
