Hot Dog: The History of the American Symbol - ForumDaily
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Hot Dog: The History of the American Symbol

Фото: Depositphotos

The USA is used to being first. It was here that many inventions were born, which then conquered the world. But with the hot dog it was different. Sausage brought from other countries was made there, and the fact that it was wrapped in a bun here was also not uncommon. In many countries it was placed in flatbread, pita bread, baguette, focia, batter or bacon. There are no canonical traditions in its gas stations either. They differ even in the American states themselves: in Arizona they add tomatoes, onions, cheese and stewed beans to the bun, in Seattle they add fried onions, in Connecticut they add sauerkraut, in Chicago they add onions and pickled cucumbers, etc. Having accidentally ended up in the USA, this product received a random name here. How did it happen that a hot dog - not even a main dish, but a snack that has no national roots, patent, standard recipe or even strict requirements for composition and size - turned into one of the American symbols? Let's try to figure this out from the very beginning.

Sausage products have been produced since time immemorial. It is generally accepted that one of the earliest mentions of them are lines from Homer’s Odyssey, written back in the 9th century BC. e.:

«Just as if a stomach filled with fat and blood
Fries over high heat man and his continuously
With a side rolls on its side, so that he was ready as soon as possible, -
So Odysseus on the bed did not know the rest, thinking ".

Although, the idea filling the animals' intestines with minced meat seemed to be lying on the surface, but for this it was necessary to see them empty. Memories have been preserved of the cook of Emperor Nero, who in 64 AD. e. I once discovered that a pig that he should have butchered had been fried without being gutted. Since she had not been fed for a week before slaughter, when he took out the intestines, they turned out to be empty. By stuffing them with minced beef and venison, he created one of the traditional sausages.

And the first recipes for their preparation appeared in the XV century. At least, the well-known German company, which already in the 1487 year began the manufacture of high-quality sausages. Therefore, in 1987, the 500 anniversary of their invention was celebrated so widely in Frankfurt. And indeed, what kind of American priority in the invention of a hot dog can we talk about when, even five years before the discovery of America by Columbus, they already tasted this wonderful dish here?

However, mass production of sausages began only in the 18th century. German butchers were considered the recognized leaders here, and the best sausages were made in Frankfurt. These were the famous "Frankfurters" - Frankfurter Würstchen, the production of which was faithfully followed by representatives of the guild. There the young Bavarian Johan Georg Laner was trained in skill. As an apprentice, he learned how to make appetizing pork sausages, while mastering the main rule of the shop - never to mix different types of minced meat.

But the competition among butchers in Frankfurt was so great that he decided to move to Vienna. There Johan learns that in Austria, butchers do not have such strict prohibitions. And he adds minced beef, coarsely chopped bread and certain spices to the meat mass of the pork sausage. So in 1805, a product appeared in his shop, which he called the “Frankfurt Vienna sausage.” But could simple Viennese pronounce such a long name? As a result, they began to be called “Vienna sausages”, or “Wieners” - Wiener.

His fellow countrymen, delighted with Johan's successes, even erected a monument to the famous master in his homeland in Gasseldorf. And after Emperor Francis I called these sausages his favorite dish, they quickly spread throughout Europe. And in 1855 they were delivered by special couriers from Vienna to the Paris World Exhibition.

And exactly a year later, 15-year-old Charlie Feltman, a German emigrant from Hanover, arrived in New York. In 1867, he decided to change his life as a street pie seller and, having converted his wagon, began selling sausages on Coney Island. Now it’s difficult to say what kind of minced meat was present in them. Specially prepared kosher hot dogs with ground beef will appear later. But then for Feltman this was not of fundamental importance. His sausages were so long and plump that they could be compared to dachshunds. Hence the name that Feltman came up with for them - dachshund, or Dachshund.

Later, his followers will be in their vans and stores to write But Frankfurters, or “hot frankfurters,” but neither one nor the other will eventually take root. Although the sausages themselves immediately began to enjoy great success, as a wonderful hunger-satisfying “snack” on the go for the always hurrying New Yorkers. It was 150 years ago, and the first year of its operation was marked by 3684 sold portions. Gradually, sales became so high that already after 4, Feltman was able to rent a land plot and start building an entire “empire”.

By the beginning of 1900-s, it already occupied the entire city block and consisted of 9 restaurants, roller coasters, a carousel, a dance hall, an outdoor cinema, a hotel, a beer garden with a bath, a Tyrolean village, etc. By 1920-th complex Feltman's German Gardens Served about 5 millions of customers per year and has become one of the largest restaurants in the world.

The success was so great that he even managed to convince the president of the railways Andrew R. Calver to lay the line of the expressway to Coney Island (the current “F”). These achievements forced a young Jewish émigré from Poland — Nathan Handverker, a staff member of a restaurant in Manhattan, to join the Feltman firm. And already in 1916, after 6 years after Charlie's death, when his nephews ran the business, he opens his restaurant Nathan's Famous.

By that time, the restaurants of Feltman had already turned into original clubs for a thriving public, where delicious dishes, seafood, etc. were served, and hot dogs occupied only a small niche. Nathan decided to open a fast-food restaurant, where a hot dog would be the main dish. But who will go to a little-known restaurant when the famous Feltman's? And he sharply reduces the price, selling hot dogs for five cents instead of ten. But the public is afraid that low prices come at the expense of low quality, and is especially in no hurry to buy it. Nathan, to convince them, begins to feed local doctors for free. On the condition that they will eat sausages in his restaurant, sitting in medical gowns. In addition, he simply hires people from the street, dressing them in the same robes, and putting them in common rooms. This convinces many. After all, doctors won’t eat just anything. This way they managed to increase the number of clients, and soon the business began to flourish. The general situation also contributed to this. The population of the city increased sharply, and the villages no longer had time to provide it with food. And there was no time left to prepare lunches when working 2-3 shifts. And that’s why food like a hot dog suddenly found itself in demand.

To advertise the product, Nathan already on July 4, 1916 organized a speed-eating competition, which from then on would be held annually on Independence Day. And if its first winner managed to overcome only 10 hot dogs in 12 minutes, then in 2016 a record was set - 70 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

Thanks to the success of the franchise sales concept adopted later, it was possible to significantly expand the business and make a brand Nathan's Famous world famous. Now, the company includes about 270 enterprises, and products are shipped to all US states and 11 in other countries. 6 July 1955 of the year sold one hundred millionth hot dog.

Their quality was so high that in 1939, President Roosevelt decided to treat them to the English royal couple, and later even organized the delivery of hot dogs to Yalta, to meet with Churchill and Stalin. And in 1959, Eisenhower regaled Nikita Khrushchev with no less success.

Everyone is well aware of the photo where Eisenhower eats a hot dog with Richard Nixon, watching a baseball game between the Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox.

Generally, baseball and hot dog are a special topic. It is connected with the name of the passionate fan of this game, the Englishman Harry M. Stevens. In 1900, he managed to conclude contracts with a number of major league baseball stadiums to provide their fans with snacks and drinks during matches. One day on April 1901, Stevens had a big problem at the stadium: due to bad weather, ordinary ice cream and soda were unclaimed by fans New York Giants. Then, in order to save the situation, he urgently sent an employee for hot sausages. The success of the initiative was so deafening that since then the sausages in the stands of the baseball stadiums have become a traditional meal. Once during the match, his employees had another difficulty: the wax paper, which was wrapped in sausages, unexpectedly ended. And then Stevens got the idea: put sausages in buns. From this supposedly began hot dogs. Later, his son promoted the sale of hot dogs to bicycle marathon fans at Madison Square Garden.

However, the sausage industry was not limited to New York. In 1880, an emigrant from Bavaria, Anton Feuchtwanger, appeared in St. Louis, who also began selling them. So successful that he even managed to participate with his products at the 1904 World Exhibition in St. Louis - Louisiana Purchase Exposition. To prevent his clients from getting burned by hot sausages, he gave them white gloves, which they took home with them as a souvenir. So, instead of reusing them, Anton incurred additional losses. As a result, his wife gave him the idea of ​​putting sausages in buns. Since his brother-in-law was a baker, this problem was solved very quickly. True, hot dog researchers are skeptical about this version, since in the German tradition, a piece of bread should have been served with the sausage, and certainly not a bun.

On the form in which sausages were offered to fans of one of the most popular baseball teams in the country The St.Louis BrownsThe owner of which German immigrant Chris Von der Ahe allowed them to sell at St. Louis Stadium together with a bottle of beer, nothing is known. But with Oscar Mayer, who, along with his brothers in 1883, came from Bavaria to Chicago, fate was different. The fact is that they were professional butchers, and soon a butcher shop was opened here, selling sausages, sausages and meat. It is believed that Mayers took part in the World Columbian Exhibition 1893 of the Year in Chicago and remembered for very tasty hot dogs.

And in the 1920s, Oscar Mayer began selling “homemade hot dogs” in sealed packaging, which were produced in his own factory. In 1936, Oscar Mayer (now his grandson) launched one of the most successful advertising campaigns in US history: according to a special order, the company produced a car in the shape of a “Wiener” hot dog (Vienna sausage) - Wienermobilewho traveled around the country, drawing attention to the company's products.

And until now, on the roads of the USA they continue to drive such cars. The drivers of the “Vinermobile” were called “hot doggers”, and their arrival was extremely pleasing to the locals, since during the promotions the drivers usually distributed key chains and real hot dogs.

In this article the name is so often used. Hot Dogthat it is time to decide on where it came from. As you remember, Feltman called his sausages Dachshund or dachshunds. The fact is that German immigrants brought dogs of this purely German breed with them, and they were associated here with Germany. According to Charlie, this name could indicate both the elongated form of the sausage and the homeland of its origin.

There is a legend that supposedly cartoonist Ted Dorgan in his film depicted a dachshund lying among sausages in a bun and almost indistinguishable from them. And since the German name for the dachshund “Dachschund” seemed difficult for him to translate, he simply wrote “dog”. Since sausages, as a rule, were sold hot - which the peddlers always shouted about - the product began to be called “hot dog” or Hot-dog.

However, despite the undertaken searches, this cartoon was never found. True, a message was found in the Yale University student newspaper stating that hot dog wagons were always followed by packs of dogs attracted by the smell of sausages. In connection with these students called them "dog vans."

There are a number of assumptions, but none of them explains the true etymology of this term. But he was born and lives already a half century.

Moreover, in 1957, the United States began to celebrate Hot Dog Day, and in 1994, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council even appeared, studying the quality of the product, its tasting and advertising. But even without their instructions, a certain ritual of behavior when consuming hot dogs was developed. Ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise cannot be poured between the sausage and the bun - only on the sausage. “Dress your dog, not his kennel,” experts warn you. Naturally, try not to use ketchup, because... it is considered a "baby dressing". The hot dog should be handled only with your hands: no cutlery or porcelain plates. And wash it down with beer, soda or ice tea, since other drinks are for other dishes. If after eating a hot dog your fingers are dirty, do not wash them under the tap, as tradition requires you to lick them. And most importantly: a hot dog is a democratic food, and it is not eaten while sitting. Only standing - with beer, or on the go.

On average, every American eats around 60 hot dogs a year. For years, 150 they enjoy the love of the whole country.

So what eventually turned a hot dog into a national brand? How did G. Sapgir once write: “The eccentric mathematician / lived in Germany. / He had bread with sausage / Accidentally folded. / Then the result / Put it in his mouth. / This is how a person / Invented Sandwich. ” Many immigrants from Germany and other countries came to the United States and began selling sausages here. AT Germany, however, there was a tradition to serve them with a piece of bread, but after all, their sellers came to America from many places and had completely different mentalities. How, after all, did they all have a sausage in a sliced ​​bun? On this occasion, many stories are told that do not explain or prove anything. Most likely, these emigrants, hoping not only to sell their goods, but also to succeed, were very sensitive sellers. In the end, they did exactly what was expected of them: they cut a bun and put a sausage there. Americans got what they wanted and waited. And they answered with a selfless love for a hot dog, turning a simple snack into a national symbol. Hot dog, as before, street snack, and eat it - it means to be a real American.

“In this country, you won’t win an election without taking a photo with a hot dog,” New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller once joked. Speaking about a photo with a hot dog, he meant photos of his absorption in the midst of the people. After all, a hot dog everywhere and always with the people. Where would you think Bruce Willis made an offer to Demi Moore? Of course, at the kiosk hot dogs. The snack born by people continues to remain its pride and a symbol. But what about the dispute that has been going on for centuries between Frankfurt and Vienna, continuing to fight for priority in the production of hot dogs? 21 July 1969 on the moon astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin eaten hot dogs prepared for them on the road. And the boxes in which they were packed, still lie in the lunar module, which the astronauts left on the surface of our satellite. It will take some time, and aliens will certainly be on the moon. They will find and open the module. And on the hot dog packaging read the inscription: USA. Who then will argue about any priorities? And why all this to us? For those who have the opportunity to just go to the nearest kiosk and order the legendary HOT DOG there. With a beer? Or ... what the difference. Real American HOT DOG. Good appetite.

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