The history of the hot dog
Wrapped in bacon, covered in cheese, drizzled with ketchup, or piled high with chili — no matter the topping, the hot dog can now be found all around the world. Although most people may not know exactly what is inside it, it is widely recognized as an iconic part of American cuisine. However, hot dog history enthusiasts know that this beloved snack did not actually originate in the United States. In fact, the roots of this classic baseball food go back centuries before Columbus even set sail for the New World.
So, who invented the hot dog?
Let’s start with the humble sausage. Its origins can be traced back as far as 700 BC, with references appearing in Homer’s Odyssey, although some historians believe the first sausage was created only in the 1st century AD.
According to legend, Emperor Nero’s cook, Gaius, accidentally discovered sausage casings when he cut into a roasted pig that had not been properly cleaned, causing the inflated intestines to fall out. Fascinated by his discovery, he decided to fill the cleaned casings with ground meat and spices.
Over the following centuries, sausages spread across Europe and eventually reached Germany, where the Wiener sausage became a local specialty. Today, both Frankfurt and Vienna claim to be the birthplace of this contemporary German classic.
But how did the hot dog get from Germany to the United States?
Large numbers of German immigrants arrived in the New World during the 1800s, bringing their culinary traditions with them. It is believed that the first hot dogs — then called “dachshund sausages” — were sold from food carts in New York in the 1860s, possibly explaining how they got their canine-inspired nickname.
Around 1870, German immigrant Charles Feltman opened the first hot dog stand on Coney Island. In his first year alone, he sold more than 3,600 frankfurter sausages served in specially made buns.
By the 1880s, a sausage vendor in St. Louis, who used to provide customers with white gloves to hold the hot sausages, ran out of gloves and began serving them in white buns instead.
In 1916, Nathan Handwerker, a Polish immigrant and former employee of Feltman, opened his own hot dog stand and sold hot dogs for half the price of his former employer. As a result, Feltman was eventually forced to close, while Nathan’s Famous hot dogs became known nationwide by the 1920s.
As the hot dog spread from the East Coast to the West Coast, it became deeply embedded in American culture. It became a staple at backyard barbecues, Fourth of July celebrations, and even made its way onto the White House menu in 1939.
During the first royal visit to the United States in 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth attended a picnic hosted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Eleanor decided to serve hot dogs at the event. Having never tried one before, the Queen reportedly asked: “How do you eat this?”
The evolution and popularity of the hot dog continued to accelerate as different flavors, buns, sausages, salads, and hot dog carts became essential elements of global street food culture.
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