# White Castle sugar roll **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425 "2022-07-04T22:03:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StraightTalk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straighttalk/32/9982_2.png) [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/1 "2022-07-04T22:03:24Z")
I’m watching a show and it highlighting White Castle. On an old menu, hamburgers were 5 cents and a “suger roll” was 7 cents. What is a sugar roll and why was it more expensive than a hamburger? ---
**Author:** ![StraightTalk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straighttalk/32/9982_2.png) [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/2 "2022-07-06T18:57:47Z")
Nobody knows? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/3 "2022-07-06T19:22:46Z")
If it’s from the '40s, it’s probably because sugar was heavily rationed for the war. For some reason, sugar was one of the last items to be removed from the rationing system. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/4 "2022-07-06T21:37:00Z")
But was suger? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/5 "2022-07-06T21:52:05Z")
It’s something that sugs, of course. Pure guess, but I’m thinking that a “sugar roll” was also a hamburger, except served on a sweetened bun instead of whatever the regular bun was. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/6 "2022-07-06T21:56:26Z")
Not like White Castle hamburgers were ever that large. At 5 cents, that’s hardly the price of a cup of coffee back in the 40s. So it could just be a regular sugar roll, i.e. a sweetened roll or bun of some sort, but more normal sized. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/7 "2022-07-07T00:28:29Z")
According to this site, [it seems to be some sort of bun.](https://whoatwherewhy.com/what-goes-well-with-burgers/) But if this is the [recipe](http://www.simplycaribbean.net/trinidad-sugar-buns/?v=920f83e594a1) they used, that’s pretty fancy for White Castle. Another possibility is that it was just their name for a sweet roll. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/8 "2022-07-07T02:22:12Z")
It seems weird there’d be no mention of a menu item from what will become a very well known American fast food institution today, So then, we have to think entire thing could have been the whim of a smaller owner who offered a unique item. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/9 "2022-07-07T02:55:55Z")
But if you asked people if WC used to have fried egg sandwiches, hot dogs, and grilled cheeses, but didn’t have french fries on their menu they’d be surprised and you, probably, wouldn’t find much evidence of it on the internets. Of course there is this, > {…} Unfortunately, World War II presented serious challenges to the chain. Sliders, Coke, and coffee made up more than half of White Castle’s menu at the time, but when the U.S. Government began rationing sugar, coffee, and meat during the war, it became difficult to maintain the old menu. > White Castle turned to other menu items to pick up the slack. In addition to sliders, customers could also order fried egg sandwiches, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, and baked beans, a Depression-era favorite dish. White Castle also offered french fries for the first time. {…} > > [What White Castle's Menu Looked Like The Year You Were Born](https://www.mashed.com/298190/what-white-castles-menu-looked-like-the-year-you-were-born) I also wouldn’t be surprised if after a similar time period you might not find evidence that McDonald’s sold pizza . . . much to Ronald’s delight. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/10 "2022-07-07T05:45:12Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > I also wouldn’t be surprised if after a similar time period you might not find evidence that McDonald’s sold pizza . . . much to Ronald’s delight. This was like a year and a half ago: [https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1323409947875512320](https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1323409947875512320) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/11 "2022-07-07T19:35:13Z")
Yeah, I would have guessed it’s something like a King’s Hawaiian roll (served as a hamburger instead of a normal bun), but I’m not sure if that would be the terminology in the day or if such a thing was popular back then. ---
**Author:** ![StraightTalk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/straighttalk/32/9982_2.png) [@StraightTalk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StraightTalk)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2022, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/12 "2022-07-07T23:36:37Z")
Ok, so we think it was still a hamburger but on a different kind of bun… Thanks for the participation everyone! ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/13 "2022-07-08T01:05:50Z")
And butter too? Id say not a burger Call them cinnamon rolls or hot cross buns sweet rolls or sugar rolls.hits the spot with coffee after an onion burger or a treat unto itself. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/14 "2022-07-12T06:19:38Z")
Its definitely a cake to go with coffee or tea. Its likely to be a Swiss Roll . See its listed with the coffee and tea, not with the hamburgers. [https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageads/comments/lb6986/in\_1952\_a\_song\_cost\_as\_much\_as\_a\_burger\_at\_white/](https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageads/comments/lb6986/in_1952_a_song_cost_as_much_as_a_burger_at_white/) “### Leningrad survivors recall one of the most horrifying episodes … 26 Jan 2019 — “As for me, I always had a special dream about a _sugar roll_ with cream.” Chernykh’s granny was the first to die. Honolulu Star-Advertiser …” Polar in Singapore do sell Swiss Roll as “sugar roll” today ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/15 "2022-07-12T14:33:34Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > See its listed with the coffee and tea, not with the hamburgers. Ah ha. Yeah, definitely a dessert, then. And, yes, it looks likely it’s like a slice of a Swiss-type roll. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-castle-sugar-roll/967425/16 "2022-07-17T13:36:42Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Of course there is this, If you zoom in on the first picture, the menu includes the following: Hamburger 10¢ Coffee lg 10¢ Pie 10¢ Sweet roll 10¢ Donut 7¢ Coca Cola lg 10¢ This picture has both the sweet roll and hamburger at 12¢. Probably was a good-sized sweet roll. [![](https://image.zmenu.com/menupic/1551730/4436029e-8214-4c34-b46b-6fa26b301884.jpg) ](https://image.zmenu.com/menupic/1551730/4436029e-8214-4c34-b46b-6fa26b301884.jpg)