There’s an aroma I find interesting, and it’s not the garbage on the streets of New York City. Standing on a corner in Times Square, I find myself surrounded by hot dog stands and dogs on leashes. The former looks nothing like what it implies, so where does the “hot dog” get its name? Here’s a brief history of hot dogs and how they got their iconic name.
Behind the Name
Historians have long contemplated how the hot dog received its name. It’s currently unknown how the term was coined, although there have been some guesses.
In many areas, the name changes. In Rhode Island, people refer to hot dogs as hot weiners. Near Plattsburgh, New York, hot dogs are called Michigans. Hot dogs are also used interchangeably with sausages, which can bring about confusion as to what the difference is between the two.
The Difference Between Sausages and Hot Dogs
A sausage is a general term for foods that have ground meat, fat, spices, and herbs stuffed into a casing. A hot dog is a type of sausage, which is cured, smoked or cooked. Hot dogs range in size (as do sausages), from big frankfurters to tiny cocktail ones.
The Origin of the Hot Dog
There has also been debate about when the first hot dog was made. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council dates the hot dog back to 9th Century BC, as it was mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey. History mentions that it can be traced back to the time of the Roman emperor Nero, whose cook named Gaius may have been the first to link sausages.
Either way, the sausage was eventually brought to Europe, specifically Germany. The Germans made the sausage their own by creating different versions to be enjoyed with beer and sauerkraut. In the 1860s, when German immigrants immigrated to the United States, they brought their sausages with them, selling them in pushcarts.
Surprisingly, the man responsible for popularizing the hot dog in the United States wasn’t German. Nathan Handwerker was a Jewish immigrant from Poland. Handwerker worked at a hot dog stand on Coney Island, where he made a living slicing buns. He saved enough money to start a competing hot dog stand. Knowing his former boss charged ten cents per hot dog, he charged only five cents. His competitor went out of business as Nathan’s Famous rose to the top.
How the Bun Came Along
There are many stories of people who claim to have brought together the hot dog with the bun. Josh Chetwynd, author of How the Hot Dog Found Its Bun, shared with NPR two credible contenders.
One story takes place in the 1880s in St. Louis, where hot dogs weren’t called “hot dogs” but were instead called red hots or frankfurters. A street vendor was selling red hots and passed out white gloves, so people who bought red hots wouldn’t get scalded or get greasy hands. Many people began only taking the gloves, leading the vendor to turn to his brother-in-law to help solve the problem. His brother-in-law was a baker and suggested the vendor pair a soft roll with the red hots.
Another story takes place on Coney Island, involving a man named Charles Feltman, who sold sandwiches on his cart. Unable to completely fill up his sandwich cart, he decided to sell something else along with his sandwiches. He heard about red hots or frankfurters and wondered if he could add a bun to them so they would be held the way sandwiches are. After adding those to his cart, he began to sell what people now refer to as hot dogs.
While historians aren’t sure how the hot dog got its name, there’s no debate to many that hot dogs snuggled up in buns are a classic, American treat.