May 22, 2014 - Blogs
It's Memorial Day and grilling season so let us behold the simple hot dog, both beloved and reviled. While some rail about pig snouts and carcinogens, it doesn’t seem to put much of a dent in the market. In 2012, consumers spent more than $1.7 billion on hot dogs just in U.S. supermarkets says the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council (NHDSC), while sales “remained steady at the retail level, and other venues continue to post high sales as well, including airports, restaurants and ballparks."
Perhaps because of the calendar, hot dogs have been in the news recently. The aforementioned NHDSC released results from a poll that found that consumers who said they have a favorite regional hot dog chose corn dogs (46 percent) while. New York hot dogs( topped with mustard and onions) polled at 38 and the Chicago dog (mustard, onions, relish, tomato slices, a dill pickle spear, a sport pepper and celery salt 2,100 U.S. adults ag on a poppy seed bun), garnered 26 percent. The survey was conducted online in April 2014 with over 2,100 U.S. adults ages 18 and older by Harris Poll for the Council.
Despite that third place finish, The Daily Meal, a popular foodie/culinary site named Chicago as home of the country’s best hot dog is the Mighty Dog, from Fat Johnnie's Famous Red Hots in Chicago for the second year in a row. The list included five other Chicago hot dogs in the list of the nation's 50 best hot dogs. However they weren’t all traditional Chicago-style. The No.1 dog was a chili-style dog and No. went to Hot Doug's Foie Gras & Sauternes Duck Sausage, which sounds more like some trumped-up foodie homage to an actual hot dog. But it does display the versatility of this particular sandwich.
But back to the hot dog itself. It’s sort of a microcosm history of processed foods in a bun. Its sausage precursors were developed to extend shelf life of perishable meat, likely not the prime cuts. Salt, saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and smoke were used as preservative agents and to improve color, texture and flavor. Inexpensive fillers were sometimes added (think boudin and haggis). So despite the current (mis)perception of modern food technology, today’s hot dog would definitely be something your grandmother recognized as food, including the infamous pink “goo," which is nothing more than uncooked, emulsified meat.
Although that may be changing—and many would say for the better. According to the NHDSC, the popularity of high-protein foods and interest in natural and organic products is driving hot-dog sales. Product development activity is centered on varieties with reduced fat, increased protein and a wide range of flavors such as honey and brown sugar, barbecue, Cajun, hot and spicy, bacon, and teriyaki. The group cites consumer research that points to convenient packaging, preparation and usage information as high priorities. The push for healthier formulations also includes lower-sodium, natural ingredients and cures, and even alternative proteins, plant as well as animal.
So as you sit down to your holiday hot dog, topped with whatever makes you happy—even ketchup—consider the history, the science, and even the art, of the humble hot dog.
It's Memorial Day and grilling season so let us behold the simple hot dog, both beloved and reviled. While some rail about pig snouts and carcinogens, it doesn’t seem to put much of a dent in the market. In 2012, consumers spent more than $1.7 billion on hot dogs just in U.S. supermarkets says the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council (NHDSC), while sales “remained steady at the retail level, and other venues continue to post high sales as well, including airports, restaurants and ballparks."
Perhaps because of the calendar, hot dogs have been in the news recently. The aforementioned NHDSC released results from a poll that found that consumers who said they have a favorite regional hot dog chose corn dogs (46 percent) while. New York hot dogs( topped with mustard and onions) polled at 38 and the Chicago dog (mustard, onions, relish, tomato slices, a dill pickle spear, a sport pepper and celery salt 2,100 U.S. adults ag on a poppy seed bun), garnered 26 percent. The survey was conducted online in April 2014 with over 2,100 U.S. adults ages 18 and older by Harris Poll for the Council.
Despite that third place finish, The Daily Meal, a popular foodie/culinary site named Chicago as home of the country’s best hot dog is the Mighty Dog, from Fat Johnnie's Famous Red Hots in Chicago for the second year in a row. The list included five other Chicago hot dogs in the list of the nation's 50 best hot dogs. However they weren’t all traditional Chicago-style. The No.1 dog was a chili-style dog and No. went to Hot Doug's Foie Gras & Sauternes Duck Sausage, which sounds more like some trumped-up foodie homage to an actual hot dog. But it does display the versatility of this particular sandwich.
But back to the hot dog itself. It’s sort of a microcosm history of processed foods in a bun. Its sausage precursors were developed to extend shelf life of perishable meat, likely not the prime cuts. Salt, saltpeter (potassium nitrate) and smoke were used as preservative agents and to improve color, texture and flavor. Inexpensive fillers were sometimes added (think boudin and haggis). So despite the current (mis)perception of modern food technology, today’s hot dog would definitely be something your grandmother recognized as food, including the infamous pink “goo," which is nothing more than uncooked, emulsified meat.
Although that may be changing—and many would say for the better. According to the NHDSC, the popularity of high-protein foods and interest in natural and organic products is driving hot-dog sales. Product development activity is centered on varieties with reduced fat, increased protein and a wide range of flavors such as honey and brown sugar, barbecue, Cajun, hot and spicy, bacon, and teriyaki. The group cites consumer research that points to convenient packaging, preparation and usage information as high priorities. The push for healthier formulations also includes lower-sodium, natural ingredients and cures, and even alternative proteins, plant as well as animal.
So as you sit down to your holiday hot dog, topped with whatever makes you happy—even ketchup—consider the history, the science, and even the art, of the humble hot dog.
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