Hot dog as a symbol of New York: history of the dish and interesting facts from the life of a sausage in a bun

A 20-meter hot dog right in the center of Times Square shoots out confetti every day at 12:00. But sometimes a hot dog is just a hot dog. Voice of America talks about the edible symbol of New York.

Hot dog is the same symbol New York, like, for example, the Empire State Building. Residents of the Big Apple are the largest consumers of “hot dogs” in the world. So why is the sausage in a bun so important to this city?

History of the dish

The pink sausage with filling was invented half a century ago - either in Frankfurt or in Vienna. 160 years ago, German emigrants in New York came up with the idea of ​​​​putting it in a piece of bread in order not to get dirty. And the name “hot dog” was most likely invented by the famous New York cartoonist Ted Dorgan. He didn’t know how to spell dachshund in English, but that’s what sausages were called back then because of their elongated shape. Dorgan wrote it very simply: hot dog, “hot dog.”

New York's hot dog history stems from the heyday of Coney Island in the late 1867th century. The hot dog was invented there by Charles Feltman in XNUMX.

On the subject: The Pierogi Island restaurant has opened on Staten Island: they serve dumplings, cabbage rolls and borscht

He came up with the idea of ​​baking special buns, making a cut, and putting a sausage inside so that people walking along the embankment would feel comfortable eating these sausages. One of his employees, a young Polish emigrant Nathan Hendwerker, saved up money and opened his own shop next door, where he sold hot dogs for 5 cents, not 10, like his former boss. Feltman did not survive the effects of the Great Depression, and Nathan's Famous can still be found on every corner of New York.

But the most important association associated with Nathan's is the hot dog eating championship. It takes place every year in front of their restaurant in Coney Island.

The record belongs to Joey Chestnut, who ate 2021 hot dogs in 76 minutes in 10.

Hot dog on the run

In New York, there are sausage carts on every corner and it’s impossible to walk around a corner without seeing one of them. The first mobile food carts were called dogs wagons. Back in the 1890s, they were installed near student dormitories and offices. They sold anything, not just sausages. And in 1926, a cart entirely dedicated to sausages was invented, the prototype of which is still in use today.

Hot dog and papaya

An unusual, if not shocking, combination was proposed by the Greek emigrant Konstantin “Gus” Poulos. He liked papaya juice so much during a trip to Florida that he first opened a juice bar in 1939. Then he added hot dogs to the menu. Since then, the hot dog and papaya juice has become a legendary New York taste, no matter how strange it may sound.

Regional differences

Few people know, but the most important New York burger joint, Shake Shack, once began in Madison Square with a cart selling sausages. And even though now, 20 years later, they have popularized burgers around the world and made them more fashionable, you can still buy hot dogs from them.

In general, a hot dog, of course, is a construction set. A regular hot dog is served without any sauces. In New York they put mustard and sauerkraut on it. But the Chicago hot dog is served with raw onions, fresh tomato and pickled cucumber. In Kansas they add melted cheese.

In the Southwest, sausages are often wrapped in bacon. In Seattle they add cream cheese. Cleveland decorates its hot dogs with French fries and barbecue sauce, while Cincinnati tops them with plenty of chili and cheddar. Instead of ketchup, mustard is added to the classic hot dog - the main sauce for “hot dogs”.

In 1994, the National Hot Dog Council was created to study, quality control and promote this edible icon.

It turns out that hot dogs with ketchup are for kids who are afraid of mustard.

We live inside history and carefully do not notice it. On the one hand, the hot dog is the first American fast food. Mickey Mouse's first words on screen were “hot dog.” Even the first American astronauts in orbit ate these “hot dogs.”

But this symbol is not a thing of the past. He is with us in the present - at picnics and holidays. He is part of the lives of millions of people around the world.