/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>5784828
>tomatoes on a hotdog

Looking at that picture, I've developed a theory.

It's said that hotdogs got their start back near 1870, either in St. Louis, New York, or Chicago. A Bavarian immigrant named Anton Ludwig Feuchtwanger is credited with first selling sausages in rolls. The idea to sell them in rolls actually came from his wife. Feuchtwanger originally sold sausages sans bun, and would provide customers with a pair of white gloves so they wouldn't burn their fingers. After repeatedly having his gloves stolen,his wife suggested the idea of using a bun.

1871 was the year of the Great Chicago Fire which destroyed a 4x1 mile strip of the city. This led to an industrial revolution in the city, with 77% of the population in 1900 being foreign born. Most of these people were employed in construction and thus, had low paying jobs.

Most people attribute the first hotdog to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Chicago at this time was full of construction workers and their families, they were looking for a cheap way to eat. Sausage stays fresh longer than fresh meat and is generally cheaper. Adding peppers, pickles, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and a bun made the dish a full meal.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American ideologies were at a culmination. The Great Depression, the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, all of these led to a mistrust of the American public towards large corporations and monopolies. There was a resurgence of traditionalist ideals and methods of living, specifically, nearing the 1920's. Not only was Chicago pivotal in the role of industrial America, but of American culture. During these times in Chicago, a majority of the populace was poor and in need of food, some of the most iconic photos of bread lines during the Great Depression come from Chicago.

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