Americans consume the most hot dogs in the world (despite whatever it is that’s actually in them).
How do you like yours? Ketchup and onions? Or are you a relish and mustard type of guy?
A staple at carnivals, summer cookouts, ballparks, and college dorm rooms, the hot dog has emerged as a symbol of America (has it surpassed the apple pie yet?). Americans consume the most hot dogs worldwide, and for good reason: they’re cheap, easy to eat, and delicious.
Today, hot dogs continue to make the news.
Sue Fishkoff writes about the hot dog and Jewish-American culture. In the 1970’s, lunchroom rumors persisted of hot dogs containing chicken brains, pig snouts, and rubber additives (how else could they bounce up to the ceiling?). Then Kosher National hot dogs exploded onto the scene with the slogan, “We answer to a higher authority.” For wary Americans who weren’t exactly sure what was in their meat, the blessing of a Rabbi eased the concerns. The “Kosher” designation has since been used on a number of other food products.
Today, Fishkoff writes, “One-third to one-half of the food in American supermarkets is kosher-certified, representing more than $200 billion of the country’s estimated $500 billion in annual food sales, up from $32 billion in 1993.”
Still, hot dogs have continued to draw the ire of health-food advocates. In 2008, the Cancer Project released an (admittedly over-the-top) ad titled “Protect Our Kids,” suggesting that if you’re a kid who eats hot dogs, you’ll get cancer. However most hot dogs do contain the preservative sodium nitrate, which (in large doses) has been linked to the deadly disease.
Nevertheless, Americans consume 20 billion hot dogs a year; 150 million of those are eaten on July 4th alone, and headlining the occasion is Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating competition, where this year’s champion, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, inhaled 54 dogs in ten minutes for his fourth consecutive championship.
The New York Times recently profiled Rich and George Shea, the two brothers behind the commercialization of the yearly contest. Together they’ve vaulted what had been an local, Coney Island tradition into a multi-million dollar cash cow, broadcast worldwide by ESPN every July 4th. Capitalizing on the popularity of the July 4th contest, they’ve launched the International Federation of Competitive Eating, which currently includes food categories such as pizza, baked beans, jellied cranberry sauce, and 7-Eleven Slurpees
If this hot dog talk has whetted your appetite, next time you’re in the Big Apple check out Crif Dogs, which offers up specialty hot dogs ranging from the “Jon-Jon Deragon” (cream cheese, scallions, and everything bagel seeds) to the “Good Morning” (a hot dog wrapped in bacon with cheese and a fried egg). The hot dog joint even has a speakeasy conveniently annexed to it (access through a red phone booth in the restaurant), where you can head for a post meal drink.
—Nick Lehr
I don’t eat processed foods. I would be afraid to eat a hotdog.