What is more American than a hotdog on July 4th? Did you know July is hotdog month? There are seven billion hotdogs eaten between Memorial Day and Labor Day, with 150 million eaten on July 4th alone.

      The hotdog was invented in Frankfurt, Germany in 1484. They were called dachshund (a breed of long-bodied dog of German origin) sausages, but sports cartoonist Tad Dorgan could not spell dachshund, so he wrote hotdog and that name stuck. Hotdogs are beef and pork blended with spices and seasonings and then fully cooked. Super markets now also offer poultry hotdogs. This is all regulated by the Department of Agriculture.  Mustard has been listed as the preferred topping by hotdog eaters.  It seems ballgames and hotdogs just go together.

      Feltmans opened the first hotdog stand on Coney Island just south of New York City in the l850's. The New York area is home of the Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4th each year. Last year's winner was  a man from Japan who consumed 50 ½  hotdogs (including bun) in twelve minutes. Nathan's hotdogs are sold worldwide with 10,000 cooked up on a summer day. A Chicago icon is the Super Dawg, a family business of fifty years, with a step-back-in-time of carhops. Their specialty toppings include golden mustard, white onions, pickled green tomatoes, and neon green relish. Since 1939 people keep returning to Pinks in Los Angeles as they prepare custom-made hotdogs just for you. Then there is a landmark just outside Denver, Colorado, of 35 years in Aspen Park. On a busy 7 am to dark day, they sell 500 hotdogs, mostly foot-long and jumbo chili-cheese dogs. In Macon, Georgia you can enjoy grilled red wieners at NuWay Weiner Stand, still the same since 1945.     

     Whether you like your hotdogs on a stick, deep fried (called rippers because they rip open), boiled, grilled, broiled, fried, or zapped in the microwave, it's all a part of mainstream America. Happy 4th of July and by all means enjoy a hotdog.
    

 KK © 06-30-2005