How did hot dogs develop into a popular food

Summer, in many people's minds, is a time of barbecues and picnics. One common food in this is the hot dog, which is often grilled and served in a bun. The history of the hot dog goes to ancient periods, when sausages developed as a popular food. Modern hot dogs are a result of efficient use of meat remains after the processing of meat products. The history of the hot dog is often seen or attributed to German origins but even here there is dispute about this.

Early Origins

The traditional origin of the hot dog lies with the so-called Frankfurt sausage, or frankfurter, which was a sausage developed in Frankfurt-am-Main in Germany. This was supposedly around 1487, when this type of sausage of packaged or processed meat was developed. However, Vienna disputes Frankfurt's claims, as the term "wiener" is often used to refer to sausages or hot dogs. The term derives from the German name for the city (Wien).

While these traditions often point to a Medieval origin to sausages, we know in reality that sausages likely go back further in time. In Homer's Odyssey, a type of sausage or processed meat is mentioned. In fact, as early as ancient Sumeria and Mesopotamia, animal intestines were mentioned to be stuffed with meat as a type of cuisine. It is very likely sausages developed as separate innovations in varying cultures. One problem for past societies that would have likely led them to develop is the problem of having to preserve meat. Sausages would be ideal because they could be encased and then smoked or dried. It allows meat to be easily stored while with some protective outer covering. Most likely, animal intestines would have been used from the beginning, as they still are for natural or traditional style sausages. Early depictions of sausage manufacturing can be found from ancient Rome (Figure 1).

Sausages became common in Europe and much of the Old World, but cultures developed them to suit to their local tastes and meat varieties. Therefore, it is likely there is truth that Vienna and Frankfurt both had existing sausage traditions that likely then influenced what would become the hot dog. In fact, almost any European who likely migrated to the United States in the 18th or 19th centuries could claim credit for developing the hot dog, as very likely the tradition would have been widespread throughout Europe as it is today. Similar to ancient periods, the Medieval period saw continued use of sausages due to the ease in which the food preserves and its convenient packaging. While the use of animal intestines for food packaging would make us think there is a high probability of sickness or infection, which was likely the case in the past, it also likely helped make Europeans and others develop immunity from some parasites that would be found in animal intestines.

Figure 1. Roman making a sausage.

The American Hot Dog

The American hot dog, which is now the hot dog that influenced other countries in adopting this type of food, likely developed from the dachshund sausages that was served by some German immigrants in the United States. In 1860s, German immigrants were known to sell dachshund sausages with milk rolls and sauerkraut. In 1871, a German baker, Charles Feltman, opened the first known stand in Coney Island that specifically sold or focused on the dachshund sausages with milk rolls. In the 1893 exhibition in Chicago, a city with many German immigrants, visitors to the city became acquainted with this type of sausage. It proved popular as vendors could sell them from their carts, put them in a bun, which was in the German tradition, and serve to customers at a low cost as they were easy to make and preserved well (Figure 2).

In the same year of 1893, the first baseball team began to sell the predecessor to the modern hot dog (dachshund sausages) at baseball games. The Saint Louis Browns were the first team to sell these sausages at their games in buns. The owner, Chris Von de Ahe, was a German-American who saw an opportunity in selling these products at games, where they were easy to eat while sitting and watching the game as they required to knife or fork to eat given the shape of the sausages being long and thin. While the sausage buns were not a standard size, in 1904 Anton Feuchtwanger, at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, helped to develop a bun that fit the shape of the sausage. However, some dispute this and state that Feltman in 1871 had already developed a specialized bun that fit the long, thing shaped sausages. Regardless, this innovation made it even easier to hold and consume the sausage as people sat and watched the exhibition or other events. The origins of the term 'hot dog' is not fully clear. The most likely story is that in the 1890s, at Yale, German immigrants selling dachshund sausages became associated with dachshund dogs, which were thin and long dogs. The association of the dogs with the sausage vendors could have been a play on words that associated the two, as pronouncing dachshund was not easy for many Americans and the term 'hot dog' in reference to the shape and vendors became easier. Other origin myths could have been that 'hot dogs' were a derisive reference to the accusation that dogs were sometimes used as the meat of the hot dogs.

Figure 2. Dachshund vendors helped popularize sausages that developed into the modern hot dog.

Later Developments

In the early 1900s, food manufacturers began to produce hot dogs in larger quantities. At this time, food emulsifiers were often added for further preserving hot dogs as they were packaged and shipped to increasingly more distant places. In fact, in the early 1900s it was food manufacturers that created a somewhat negative image of hot dogs that still affects their reputation. During this time, some manufacturers began to add sawdust or applied other short cuts, including mixing meats with different animals and sometimes even rotting meat. Upton Sinclair’s famous publication, The Jungle, led to a major backlash against the food manufactures with hot dog manufacturing being one of the culprits. This eventually led to the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. In the early 20th century, different cities began to create variations of their hot dogs. New York and Chicago became two major cities that were associated with styles of hot dogs. The Chicago hot dog is a kosher style meat with white onions, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices and sometimes hot peppers for a spicy hot dog. In New York, there are many variations but the common elements have included mustard, sauerkraut, and with optional sweet onions and tomato-based sauce. Modern ketchup, deriving in the early 20th century, has also developed as a popular condiment, although many would argue ketchup ruins the taste of a hot dog.

As the 20th century continued, there became more of a distinction between traditional sausages and hot dogs, which were increasingly defined by the food manufacturers. Hot dogs are essentially a type of sausage that is ground finer and emulsified, often encased with an artificial covering that is also usually removed in the food making process to keep the meat together. As larger food consumer companies began to manufacture hot dogs, they also experimented with different products to hold the meat together and they started creating artificial cellulose casing. The meat itself in most hot dogs today is mostly a paste of different types of meats, including chicken, pork, or beef. Traditional German sausages were mostly made of pork, as that was the common and relatively inexpensive meat. After intense heating, the encasing is peeled away. Traditional sausages, however, are still sold.

Summary

Modern hot dogs are seen as a very 'American' food, which they are given how the traditional sausage evolved in the late 19th century and 20th century. However, the origins of the food are very ancient and its simplicity and its easy of preservation had made the sausage ancestors of the hot dog popular with many cultures. This likely explains why now American style hot dogs have also become popular in many countries, as sausages were often part of the traditional cuisine of many different countries.