Cheese-Filled Hot Dogs
MEMORIES:
How could you not love the cheese dog? It’s a pairing fit for a king: a piping-hot frankfurter with a gooey surprise of cheesy goodness in every bite. Not much is mentioned in the annals of history about one of the most popular kid-friendly foods ever devised, though many of us have created (for better or worse,) our own history with the cheese-filled meat tubes.
Hot dog history goes back over two millennia, as sausages were one of the oldest forms of processed foods. As time went on, new versions of the growing favorite were created, with a variety of textures and flavors. What we now know of as the hot dog stems from Frankfurt, Germany and Vienna, Austria. Originally called “wienerwurst,” it gained popularity through the years and throughout the world. Fast-forward a century, and we have hot dogs topped with innumerable items, the deliciously dipped and fried corn dog and the glorious emergence of the filled hot dog. Created in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1956, the cheese dog found instant popularity with those eating on the go and those of the mind that everything tastes a little better when injected with a dollop of cheese.
Filled hot dogs were hardly a new thing in 1956. Prior to the invention of the cheese dog, or cheddar dog as it’s called in some circles, hot dog makers have filled their meats with everything from onions to chili, though some were met with less enthusiasm than anticipated. The processed meat experts at Oscar Mayer, however, eventually picked up on the trend and brought it to a national level with their easy-to-find version of the cheesy classic.
And kids around the world rejoiced in resounding harmony. For there is a fittingly cheesy end to this fairy tale set in the land of processed food, where the gallant Prince Frankfurter and the noble Princess Cheese unite and live cheesily ever after.”
