Changes

In the early 1900s, food manufacturers began to produce hot dogs in larger quantities. At this time, food emulsifiers were often added for further preserving hot dogs as they were packaged and shipped to increasingly more distant places. In fact, in the early 1900s it was food manufacturers that created a somewhat negative image of hot dogs that still affects their reputation. During this time, some manufacturers began to add sawdust or applied other short cuts, including mixing meats with different animals and sometimes even rotting meat. Upton Sinclair’s famous publication, <i> The Jungle</i>, led to a major backlash against the food manufactures with hot dog manufacturing being one of the culprits. This eventually led to the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. In the early 20th century, different cities began to create variations of their hot dogs. New York and Chicago became two major cities that were associated with styles of hot dogs. The Chicago hot dog is a kosher style meat with white onions, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices and sometimes hot peppers for a spicy hot dog. In New York, there are many variations but the common elements have included mustard, sauerkraut, and with optional sweet onions and tomato-based sauce. Modern Ketchupketchup, deriving in the early 20th century, has also developed as a popular condiment, although many would argue ketchup ruins the taste of a hot dog.<ref>For more on the sometimes controversial development of meat packing industry and its relation to the hot dog, see: Horowitz, R. (2006). <i>Putting meat on the American table: taste, technology, transformation</i>. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.</ref>

As the 20th century continued, there became more of a distinction between traditional sausages and hot dogs, which were increasingly defined by the food manufacturers. Hot dogs are essentially a type of sausage that is ground finer and emulsified, often encased with an artificial covering that is also usually removed in the food making process to keep the meat together.  As larger food consumer companies began to manufacture hot dogs, they also experimented with different products to hold the meat together and they started creating artificial cellulose casing. The meat itself in most hot dogs today is mostly a paste of different types of meats, including chicken, pork, or beef. Traditional German sausages were mostly made of pork, as that was the common and relatively inexpensive meat. After intense heating, the encasing is peeled away. Traditional sausages, however, are still sold.<ref>For more on what goes in a hot dog today, see: Hui, Y. H. (Ed.). (2012). <i>Handbook of meat and meat processing (2nd ed)</i>. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, pg. 453.</ref>