DAVIS COUNTY—In 1974, an immensely popular car commercial stated that there wasn’t much more American than “Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.” Seeing as how July is not only the month for Independence Day but also National Hot Dog Day, it seems only appropriate that we talk a little bit about that second item on the list of Americana: the hot dog.

Despite its international origins, the hot dog is truly an American classic for just that reason – at the turn of the last century, the opportunities afforded by a burgeoning middle class made it possible for many first-generation Americans to innovate. Not just with new machinery and gadgets, but culinary inventions as well. 

The origins of the hot dog are hard to nail down. It’s clear that the sausage as it exists today evolved from both the frankfurter, out of Frankfurt, Germany, and the wiener (würstchen) from Vienna, Austria. However, the practice of placing said sausage in a bun to eat has been traced back to several different people, and several different dates.

A likely origin has been traced to Harry M. Stevens, who worked concessions at the New York Polo Grounds in 1901. The story has it that Stevens hit upon the idea of using small, French rolls to hold the sausages after the wax paper they had been using to serve them ran out. This would fall in line with the immense popularity of hot dogs at baseball games, but Stevens isn’t the only one who claimed to have invented the custom.

Both a forename-less German immigrant named Feuchtwanger in St. Louis, and Charles Feltman of Coney Island claimed to have pioneered the sausage-in-bun hot dog in the mid-1800s. Whoever was the first, the common theme seems to be one borne out of necessity: the original vessel for holding the sausage wasn’t working, so a bun made a convenient stand-in.

Since then, many regional takes on the hot dog have sprouted up all over the United States, and even in various parts of the world. In Chicago, they take them in a poppyseed bun, with a pickle spear, mustard, onions, relish, and tomato slices. In the Midwest, the “Coney Dog” is king, with a ground beef sauce, mustard, and diced onions. For many, however, a simple stripe of ketchup and mustard fits the bill just right.

Though it’s likely been consumed in its current form in the U.S. for the longest, many other countries have their own takes, like the Icelandic “Pylsur,” which traditionally includes mustard, remoulade, and both diced and fried onions, the “cachorro-quente” from Brazil, which comes with tomato-based salsa, corn, and potato sticks, and even back in Germany, where they are served on a crusty bun, with mustard, and occasionally a side of sauerkraut.

A favorite of kids and adults alike, the hot dog has become a staple of cultures around the world, but, is, as the jingle says, about as American as baseball, and apple pie. So, whether it carries ketchup and mustard, chili, or salsa, there’s no better way to commemorate the day than a fresh hot dog on July 17.