Posted
on July 25, 2013
You
see, way back in the middle ages, Germans started making pork
sausages in Frankfurt. These frankfurters were special foods given to
people to celebrate imperial coronations! |
| Oscar Meyer Wieners were advertised by adorable children singing the classic song that spelled out the product name... and by wienermobiles! |
In
nearby Vienna, Austria, which is called “Wien” in German, people
copied the frankfurter with a mix of ground beef and pork. These
wiener became quite popular.
Flash
forward a bunch of centuries: a German immigrant to America began to
sell these sorts of sausages in rolls. Voila! People could eat their
sausages without plates and knives and forks—perfect for Coney
Island, NYC, where the inventor of the treat sold his innovative
sandwiches alongside amusement park rides.
Others
invented the sausage sandwiches as well, around the same time: at the
World's Fair, in the street stalls of St. Louis, and so on. Most of
these stories involve German immigrants in America—so I would have
to say that the common thread for all of this hot dog history is
German.
But
how did the sausage sandwiches get to be called hot dogs? That is a
bit of a mystery, although all theories lead to the U.S. It may have
been some journalist, cartoonist, vendor, or advertiser who shortened
the oft-used “dachshund” (which means “little dog”) sausages
to “dog.” As you can imagine, “Get your hot dogs!” is easier
to call out than, “Get your hot dachshunds!”
At
any rate, the typical hot dog is garnished with mustard and catsup,
chopped onions and pickle relish. But not today! Today the topping of
choice is chili! And maybe, just maybe, some cheese and onions on top
of the chili! Yummers!
Here
is a genuine recipe for Coney Dog chili sauce, from a drive-in diner
back in the 1950s.
Don't
eat a lot of hot dogs!
According
to Health-dot-com, even the healthiest hot dogs aren't all
that healthy; they tend to be high in fat and sodium. So keep hot
dogs in the “Special Treat” category, to be eaten only on special
occasions. And shop carefully; apparently Applegate Farms and Trader
Joe's make some relatively healthy hot dogs from beef, chicken, and
turkey.
Also
on this date:
Plan
ahead:
Check
out my Pinterest pages on July
holidays, historical
anniversaries in July,
and July
birthdays.
And
here are my Pinterest pages on August
holidays, historical
anniversaries in August,
and August
birthdays.
No comments:
Post a Comment