Hot Dog: A Global History

Edible

by Bruce Kraig

Char-grilled or boiled? Sauerkraut or chili? Mustard or ketchup? Vienna Beef or Sabrett? Only these questions could be raised about one of the world’s favorite backyard, picnic, ballgame, and street foods—the hotdog. Though nearly two billion hot dogs are consumed by Americans annually in the month of July alone, there is absolutely no consensus on which is the right way to serve up a hotdog. In Hot Dog, well known food historian Bruce Kraig recounts the history of this popular “tube steak” from the origin of the sausage 20,000 years ago to its central place in American culture today.             Kraig discusses the many brands, including Hebrew National, Pearl, Sabrett, and Vienna Beef, and the regional variations that go along with them—like kosher-style New York dogs loaded with mustard and sauerkraut, New England dogs with Boston Baked Beans, and fully-loaded Chicago style hotdogs, complete with mustard, onion, relish, sport peppers, a dill pickle spear, a dash of celery salt, and tomato slices (but never, ever ketchup). Hot Dog covers the other international sausages, like bologna and bockwurst, as well, and explores some of the apocryphal tales of the hotdog in history—like the origin of its name and whether Queen Elizabeth II was truly served hotdogs on a visit to the White House.             Packed with tasty facts and recipes, Hot Dog reveals the rich history and passionate opinions about this seemingly ordinary food.

Genres: Food, History, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Food History, Cookbooks

128 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2009

Reviews

[Gretchen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars/hot dogs? The pictures were fun, the research was pretty well done (as it should have been - the writer is an academic food historian), but there was a definite bias towards both western imperialist history/elitism and also Chicago in the microcosm of hot dog history (which is a big factor, but Chicago is not the only city with hot dogs and the bias was clearly felt in the writing). I get that this is a hard series to write - it's mostly academics and these are little 100-page microhistories that are supposed to appeal to a really broad audience. It just didn't do it for me though.

[S · Rating 1 out of 5]

Kind of like a cheap hot dog: 10% quality meat, 90% filler.
Seemed like the author had enough good content for a great blog post or pamphlet, but had to bulk up the page-count with inconsequential anecdotes and repetitive narratives.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an oversized blog post for some internet article mill.

[Kokoro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro corto, ameno e introductorio sobre los hot dogs. Se divide en 5 capítulos:
- Historia.
- Como fueron y son realizados.
- Como fueron y son vendidos.
- Cultura entorno a los hot dogs en Estados Unidos.
- Alrededor del mundo.

Y extras:
- Muy resumido como una salchicha es fabricada hoy en día.
- Recetas.
- Amplia bibliografía.

Mucho antes había escuchado un documental sobre los hot dogs, así que buena parte de la información del libro no es nueva, pero si lo fue parte del segundo capitulo donde se describe tanto la elaboración de la salchicha como de las condiciones tanto de trabajadores como del embutido en general.

Cuarto y quinto capitulo también contienen nueva información como lo son las variedades de hot dog preparadas en Estados Unidos y en el mundo. Sin embargo, el autor en ocasiones perdía un poco el rumbo en el cuarto capitulo, si bien relacionado, pero sentía cortaba el ritmo así como listado y descripciones de los hot dogs.

Contiene varias fotografías así como recortes de periódicos, algunos muy antiguos para mostrar orígenes, uso e historia del nombre hot dog. Los puestos tanto móviles como fijos también predominan. Pero, bajo mi punto de vista falla mucho en incluir imágenes de los diversos hot dogs que describe, tuve que usar Google para saber como son preparados en Nueva Inglaterra, Milwaukee, como es un white hot en Rochester, un japadog en Vancouver, o un frikandel en Bélgica. Hay alguna, pero faltan muchas fotografías de las variedades más populares o interesantes que existen.

Como bien escribe el autor, el hot dog nació gracias a la migración, el deseo de salir a delante de diversos individuos o familias ofreciendo su comida tradicional, el platillo en si debido a su sencilles y rapidez en reparación, a la par de practico, delicioso, barato, y por mucho tiempo fue la única fuente de proteína que muchos conseguir. Aunado a esto, a que es estadounidense, y la incorporación de ingredientes, técnicas o variaciones locales el hot dog, un platillo de orígenes humildes sigue expandiéndose y conquistando el mundo.

Cómo extra, leer este libro me hizo anotar en mi WL 2 novelas. Una picaresca en la cual el prota en un punto de la historia tiene a cargo un carrito de hot dogs, La conjura de los necios por John Kennedy Toole. Y la otra, social, donde se exponen los problemas y condiciones del emigrante trabajador en rastro (matadero) y fabrica de embutidos, asi como corrupción de autoridades y empresas que hacen como que no pasa nada, The Jungle por Upton Sinclair.... Qué al parecer tuvo su influencia para mejoras las condiciones de trabajador y alimentos.

“Americans of all social and economic stations meet and mingle. Most of all, sharing the same foods in these public places reinforces this ideal. The hot dog is one of the first foods to fill that role as a symbol of social unity.”

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another entry in the Edible series of food history books from Reaktion Books, 'Hot Dog a Global History' is really for the most part an American history, not a global one. That's fine, as the cultural and economic product that most of the world identifies as a hot dog is very much an American creation. However there is a degree of American chauvinism that underpins Kraig's study and aside from the obvious Germanic roots of the wurst that forms the filling of the fast food there is little to be gleaned from this book if you want an international history.

There is plenty of information about the origins, development of food processing practices and manufacture, and linguistic and cultural contexts for the hot dog as an iconic American fast food in this book, and there is no doubt that Kraig has done his homework in the research for and assemblage of his text. He covers the urban myths of how and where the hot dog first came into being, the importance of the hot dog as a cheap hot meal in specific situations such as at US sporting events, the growth of specific companies such as Oscar Meyer, and the composition of the frank, hot link, wiener that goes into the bun. One suspects that there is no other book that offers such a detailed study of the hot dog in a more concise manner. Throw in the accompanying illustrations and one can easily knock off this book in a few short hours.

However unlike other titles in this series the parochialism of the American hot dog does not lend itself so well to a non-American reader, where there may be perfectly adequate and just as important variations or similar products consumed by the masses. As an Australian where the pub saveloy and the pluto pup/dagwood dog have a major food culture signature, Kraig's text is hopelessly silent or sadly prejudiced. I suspect that readers from European countries with a strong sausage or wurst heritage will also find this book too facile or dismissive. Even Hawaiian hot dogs get short shrift. It might have served the publisher and author better if the book was not presented as a global study.

There is pleasure and information to be had from this book, and this reviewer recommends it for reading by those interested in its subject. However it is not quite what it could or should have been; this is really 'Hot Dog: An American History'.

[TheManSG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good entry into the series. As we all know, hot dogs started in America, and so the book already has a good anchor point. Goes through motions on the people, company and method of making one. Worth your time but not a classic

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely American centric. Which is fair, to a certain degree, but I also feel like it gives the expanded world of hot dogs the short end of the stick.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the words of my hot dog-loving fiancé when I read him the opening paragraph of this book: ‘this guy gets it.’

[Amalie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very US-centric, and vaguely racist.

[Scott Guy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall a decent history of the hot dog, but I found it confusing with the varying punctuation and found the end quite abrupt!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look into the history of the hot dog, both as a food item and as a cultural symbol. My favorite parts were the hot dogs in different parts of the world and the recipes at the end. The description of how hot dogs are made were kind of gross though; I guess that's what you get when you read a book about hot dogs.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Hot dogs around the world. Liked the recipes at the end. Have to admit hot dogs are a go to food for me when I am too tired for anything else. Always looking for new ideas.

[Rob Rausch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really shouldn't read a book about one of my favorite foods. Now I've got an aversion to eating hot dogs.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but the author seems to have forgotten that readers can also be non-American... even when writing about hot-dogs...