A ''Frankfurter Würstchen'' (

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

sausage) is a thin parboiled sausage in a casing of sheep's intestine. The flavor is acquired by a method of low temperature

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...

. For consumption, occasionally Frankfurters are not cooked; they are heated in hot water for only about eight minutes to prevent the skin from bursting. From time to time they are cooked on a propane or charcoal grill. They are traditionally served with bread,

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

horseradish Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwide ...

and/or

potato salad Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. In the United States, it is generally considered a side dish and usually accompanie ...

History

Meat sausages as a

speciality are already mentioned in medieval sources, often served during the Imperial coronation ceremonies at the

Römerberg Römerberg is a municipality in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approximately southwest of Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical En ...

. Smoked ''Frankfurter Würstchen'' have protected geographical status in Germany since about 1860. Since 1929, the indication is only allowed to be used for sausages that are produced in the Frankfurt area, mainly in

Neu-Isenburg Neu-Isenburg is a town in Germany, located in the Offenbach district of Hesse. It is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area and has a population of 38,204 (2020). The town is known nowadays mainly for its regionally used shopping centre, th ...

and

Dreieich Dreieich () is a town in the Offenbach district in the of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area and is located roughly south of downtown Frankfurt am Main. With a population of more than 40,000 ...

. Originally, Frankfurters were made without nitrite

curing salt Curing salt is used in meat processing to generate a pinkish shade and to extend shelf life. It is both a color agent and a means to facilitate food preservation as it prevents or slows spoilage by bacteria or fungus. Curing salts are generall ...

. After the special ageing and smoking methods, the sausages, now of a golden colour, are put into wooden boxes with small sheet of

parchment paper Parchment paper, or vegetable parchment, is a cellulose-based composite that has been processed to give it additional properties like non-stickiness, grease resistance, and resistance to humidity. It is commonly used in baking as a disposable ...

between layers. Therefore, the traditional sausages have a square cross-section, but there are a few exceptions where the sausage is round.

Other countries

Outside Germany, "frankfurter" is a common designation for boiled sausages, such as North American

hot dog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausag ...

sausages, which are called ''

Wiener Würstchen Wiener (from German: "Viennese") may refer to: Food * A Polish sausage (kielbasa) or "wenar" * A Vienna sausage of German origin, named after the capital of Austria * A hot dog, a cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed and served in ...

'' (Vienna sausages) in Germany. In Austria, Vienna sausages are called ''Frankfurter Würstl'' as they allegedly were brought to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

by Johann Georg Lahner (1772–1845), a butcher trained in Frankfurt, who in 1805 began to produce sausages from a mixture of pork and beef.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankfurter Wurstchen German sausages Hessian cuisine Cooked sausages

History

Other countries

See also

References