Going to the dogs

The hot dog is the one great American snack food that has not travelled well. But it's easy to make at home

 You can never predict how food will travel or which dish will become popular in which country. Who would have thought 20 years ago, that sushi would become a rage in India? And what about the poor Italians and their food? So many globally popular dishes sound Italian but bear little relation to the Italian originals. The pizzas we like are American in origin. Spaghetti Bolognaise, which turns up on nearly every menu, was not invented in Bologna but in the UK.

On the whole, the Americans have it better. The hamburger has conquered the world. Even southern fried chicken, which I thought would remain a US-only thing, is a global favourite.

But, there is one American snack food that has never travelled well. And though we can find it in India, the hot dog is losing popularity. There was a time when most hotel coffee shops had both hot dogs and hamburgers on the menu. Now, the hot dog has been jettisoned in favour of various versions of the hamburger (made with chicken, with aloo tikkis and God knows what else!).

If you are not familiar with a hot dog, here is what it is: it is a sausage (usually a frankfurter) encased in a long bun. The condiments are up to you and vary from city to city in America, but, some form of onions and a slash of yellow mustard are commonly preferred.

The 'Frankfurt' in frankfurter comes from the German city of that name where the sausage may have been invented. But the idea of putting the sausages in a bun is American as is the name. (Though a version of the hot dog, usually with a different sausage, is now popular in Germany.)