Vegetarian hot dog

Vegetarian hot dog sausages from Germany.

A vegetarian hot dog (usually referred to as a "veggie dog" or "not dog") is a hot dog produced completely from non-meat products.

Vegetarian hot dogs are sometimes eaten by non-vegetarians because they are lower in fat, calories, and contain no cholesterol, and little to no saturated fat, compared to hot dogs from animal meats. Therefore they are preferred by people following a low calorie, low fat or low cholesterol diet. Unlike traditional home-made meat sausages, the casing is not made of intestine, but of plant based ingredients^[1]. Vegetarian hot dogs are usually based on some sort of soy protein.^[2] Some contain egg whites, which would make them unacceptable to vegans. There are also vegetarian hot dogs made from tofu. Like ordinary hot dogs, vegetarian hot dogs contain little fiber,^[2]

The history of the vegetarian hot dog is not clear, but Worthington Foods' Veja-Link meatless wieners claim to have been the world's first vegetarian hot dogs in 1949.^[3] On June 19, 2000, the Chicago White Sox made baseball history when they began selling vegetarian hot dogs during games at Comiskey Park.^[4] In recent years, a number of other manufacturers have entered the vegetarian hot dog market. Cedar Lake Foods, which makes Deli Franks, Jumbo Franks, and Breakfast Sausage, is just one of many players who now offer vegetarian hot dogs. The vegetarian sausage without a bun is much more common from the early 20th century, for example the 1913 Indianapolis (Indiana) Star 15 June 8/1 mentions someone who "says he has lived on his vegetarian sausage almost exclusively". This is cited in the Oxford English Dictionary December 2007 draft additions entry for the adjective vegetarian, but no vegetarian hot dog, wiener or frankfurter is noted.

References

1. ^ Tofu sausages ingredients list. This product is: purely vegetable | cholesterol-free | egg-free | lactose-free | free of milk protein | free of genetic engineering | manufactured without the addition of yeast extract.
2. ^ ^{a b} Vegetarian Journal May/Jun 2000 Guide to Burgers and Dogs - The Vegetarian Resource Group
3. ^ Worthington Foods, Inc
4. ^ Greening the Ballpark. (vegetarian hot dogs in baseball parks) (Brief Article), Earth Island Journal, September, 2001