Hot dogs. The selection at the store is quite wide, with some brands proudly proclaiming their product "franks", with others calling them "weiners". Interestingly, however, none of them actually use the term "hot dog". So, what's the difference between a frank and a weiner, any way? Apparently, nothing.
I have, however, learned a couple of interesting trivia tidbits in trying to get to the bottom of this most pressing of questions. First, it would be false advertising if they actually called them "hot dogs", since they don't actually become "hot dogs" until they're: 1) hot, and 2) in a bun. If there's no bun, it's not a hot dog. Second of all, tangentially, ketchup is for kids. Never use ketchup on a hot dog. Period. Oh, and never boil them, either. Ever.
There are also lots of names for this type of food, including (but not limited to): red hots, white hots, frankfurter, frank, hot dog, tube steak (not kidding), danger dog (in Mexico), Coney dog, sausage sandwich, weenie, wienie, wiener, perrito caliente (Spanish), cane caldo (Italian), chien chaud (French), heisser hund (German), worstjes (Dutch), wienerwurst, dachshund sausage, Hummel dog, cheese dog, chili cheese dog, kraut dog, pretzel dog, kosher dog, mustard dog, corn dog, francheesie, francheezie, polish dog, Ripper, French hot dog, chorizo, banger, etc.
Hot dogs are basically just a type of cooked sausage, and date back to circa 850 B.C. and are mentioned in Homer's Iliad. The hot dog, as we know it today, however are generally thought to have come into existence around the 1880-1900 period. The towns of Frankfurt (Germany) and Vienna (Austria) both claim to be the origin of the modern dog, but no one is sure. Frankfurt obviously gives us the name "frankfurter", but Vienna is actually "Wein" in German, thus giving us "weiner". The most common length of a hot dog is 6 inches (15.24 centimeter), with other sizes including the foot long, and Vienna sausage cocktail weiner size (a la Lit'l Smokies) - approximately 2 inches. The average American will consume approximately 60 hot dogs annually. Conversely, Takeru "The Tsunami" Kobayashi, the world record holder, devoured 53.5 weiners in 12 minutes.
The USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) regulates how domestic hot dogs are made. (No rats, hooves, etc.) No one type of hot dog has been standardized, however, because of the vast numbers of differing brands, meat mixtures, preparation methods, casings, cooking techniques, seasonings, and sizes. And that doesn't even touch on the near-infinite possibilities of condiments, toppings, and buns - the combinations are mind-boggling! In Toronto, Canada, apparently, hot dogs are the only 'street food' allowed by law!
There are, of course, thousands of hot dog eateries or more. Leading brands of dogs include:
Hot dog fanatics and purists may insist upon pure beef dogs, but many dogs on the store shelves are actually a combination of turkey, pork, chicken, and/or beef. In fact, the all-beef dogs are generally cheaper than the combination dogs, thus leading one to believe that all-beef dogs are the "cheap" variety, whilst the bird/pig/cow combo are the "quality" choice. I leave that decision up to you, the reader, to decide.
We watched the 57th Annual Emmy Awards on TV last night. Bizarre, as usual. Cooking rice seems to be more of an art than a science. Since I love "cinnamon and sugar rice", I decided to whip some up, and it did take a couple of tries. The myth about equal parts rice and water is just that - a myth. Most recipes I've seen in the past few days recommend more water than rice, in ratios of 1.5:1 or 2:1. Tonight I successfully made a wonderful batch using the 2:1 ratio. I'm not talking about instant rice, which is pretty fool-proof, I'm talking about good old fashioned non-instant rice.
My first batch ended up too wet, simply because I used the 1:1 ratio, and after a few minutes it was clearly going to burn for lack of liquid, so I kept adding more water every few minutes for fear of burning it. It cooked for 30 minutes this way, partially uncovered, and it ended up wet and gluey. My second attempt tonight went much better, covered, simmering for only 20 minutes, with the 2:1 ratio, then sitting without heat but still covered for an additional 5 minutes. It tasted wonderful, not wet, still a little clumpy, but quite nice overall. I'm sure there is more skill involved to get it to turn out non-sticky with no clumps, but I'll have to work up to that, I suppose. I didn't rinse it first, like most recipes recommend (to get rid of potential excess starchiness), so maybe therein lies the key. Others recommend tilting the lid slightly so some steam can escape, not using a lid, boiling in too much water then draining and drying in the oven, using salt, microwaving instead of boiling, using a rice cooker, etc., etc. The experiment continues.
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