A vegetarian hot dog is a

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 ...

produced completely from non-meat products. Unlike traditional home-made meat sausages, the casing is not made of intestine, but of cellulose or other plant-based ingredients. The filling is usually based on some sort of

soy The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...

protein, wheat gluten, or

pea protein Pea protein is a food product and protein supplement derived and extracted from yellow and green split peas, ''Pisum sativum.'' It can be used as a dietary supplement to increase an individual's protein or other nutrient intake, or as a substitu ...

. Some may contain egg whites, which would make them unsuitable for a

lacto-vegetarian A lacto-vegetarian (sometimes referred to as a lactarian; from the Latin root lact-, ''milk'') diet is a diet that abstains from the consumption of meat as well as eggs, while still consuming dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ...

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

diet.

History

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. Since the 1980s, a number of other manufacturers have entered the vegetarian hot dog market, such as Lightlife Foods, Field Roast Grain Meat Co, and

Beyond Meat Beyond Meat, Inc. is a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. History Founding Ethan Brown founded the company in ...

. Massachusetts-based LightLife first sold its Tofu Pups in 1985. In 2000, the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

became the first baseball venue to sell vegetarian hot dogs during games. In 2019, Moving Mountains began selling a vegan hot dog in London. The

Nathan's Famous Nathan's Famous, Inc. is an American company that operates a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. The original Nathan's restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of the Bro ...

hot dog stands in New York City began selling vegan hot dogs in 2021. The hot dog is made by Meatless Farm.

Nutrition

Vegetarian hot dogs have fewer

calorie The calorie is a unit of energy. For historical reasons, two main definitions of "calorie" are in wide use. The large calorie, food calorie, or kilogram calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of on ...

s than hot dogs made from animal meat, and contain no

cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell mem ...

, and little to no

saturated fat A saturated fat is a type of fat in which the fatty acid chains have all single bonds. A fat known as a glyceride is made of two kinds of smaller molecules: a short glycerol backbone and fatty acids that each contain a long linear or branched c ...

Carrot hot dogs

A carrot hot dog is a carrot cured to taste like a hot dog and then grilled and then placed in a roll to resemble a traditional hot dog. ''Philadelphia'' magazine reported photos of carrot hot dogs appeared on Instagram and Pinterest in 2016. The ''

Kennebec Journal The ''Kennebec Journal'' is a six-day morning daily newspaper published in Augusta, Maine. It is owned by MaineToday Media, which also publishes the state's largest newspaper, the ''Portland Press Herald''. The newspaper covers Augusta and the s ...

'' reported in 2017 that carrot hot dog recipes were "an emerging trend" in cookbooks.

Epicurious ''Epicurious'' is an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics. Created by Condé Nast in 1995, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, where it is part of the publisher's Foo ...

said it has been trolled ever since posting a carrot hot dog recipe in 2017. Some restaurants sell them. In 2019, Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co. in New York sold a carrot dog. United States beverage firm

Bolthouse Farms Bolthouse Farms, founded 1915 in Grant, Michigan, is a vertically integrated farm company specializing in refrigerated beverages. It is located in the San Joaquin Valley of California and is headquartered in Bakersfield, California in Kern County. ...

in 2020 began producing grill-ready cured carrot hot dogs to sell to retailers. Actress Tabitha Brown first published a carrot hot dog recipe in 2020. In 2021, pop star

Lizzo Melissa Viviane Jefferson (born April 27, 1988), known professionally as Lizzo, is an American singer, rapper, and flutist. Born in Detroit, Michigan, she moved to Houston, Houston, Texas with her family when she was 10 years old. After col ...

posted about carrot hot dogs. Vegan food columnist Avery Yale Kamila said in 2021: "For people who love vegetables, carrot hot dogs are a really exciting addition to backyard barbecues."

Vegetarian sausage rolls

Sausage roll A sausage roll is a savoury pastry snack, popular in current and former Commonwealth nations, consisting of sausage meat wrapped in puffed pastry. Sausage rolls are sold at retail outlets and are also available from bakeries as a take-away food. ...

s are a common fast food snack across Britain made from a sausage inside a pastry crust. Vegetarian versions or

meat-free sausage roll A meat-free sausage roll (also known as a vegetarian sausage roll or vegan sausage roll) is a Umami, savoury pastry snack that contains a non-meat filling. The snack is an alternative to the conventional sausage roll that generally contains pork o ...

s are now common. The small bakery chain Poundberry began selling vegetarian sausage rolls in 2016 and then a vegan version in 2018. In 2019, large bakery chain

Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on t ...

began selling vegan sausage rolls and the BBC reported the vegan rolls "caused an immediate sensation" and sold out fast.

Vegetarian sausages

Vegetarian and vegan sausages are commonly eaten in Britain. The United States company

began selling its vegan sausages in the United Kingdom in 2019.

References