Salchichas - What ́s the Deal

[DiningDiva]

Sr. Anonímo mentioned in the Michocan thread that the arroz he had for comida yesterday had "cut up " weenies in it. Can someone please explain the Mexican fasination with hotdogs? When I think of salchichas I can think of a myriad of other sausages but not hot dogs. I was offered huevos con salchichas the other morning, and without thinking - and also because I am not a morning person - I accepted. It was actually huevos con cut up weenies. Luckily, the salsa, tortillas and coffee were very good making it easier to ignore the presence of hot dogs in my eggs.

I ́ve been a serious student of Mexican food for more than 20 years and have yet to get a viable explanation about hot dogs in Mexico.

And while I ́m at it, has anyone noticed Diana Kennedy never acknowledges the role of gelatina (Jello) in Mexican cuisine?

[Sam Fujisaka]

cristina, si yo no tuviera una esposa...te podria' decir que...Spot on. Best answer I've ever read! Te amo y gracias p' defendernos!

[cristina]

Gelatina has been popular since aeons ago, so EN's "New to Me" theory won't work here. Gelatinas are popular everywhere in Mexico, so the rural theory doesn't work either. Vendors with pushcarts sell gelatina in every corner of Mexico, from the aisles of Mexico City's metro to the home cook selling gelatinas from her doorway in the most out-of-the-way village in Chiapas.

Packaged, flavored gelatina has been on Mexico's grocers' shelves since ages ago. In nearly 26 years of living here, I have yet to see Sra. Fulana cook down a cow's foot to prepare a gelatin dessert! I have a hard time with Dining Diva's refrigeration theory, too, since most packaged ready-to-prepare gelatina has instructions on the bag or the box for its preparation without benefit of refrigeration.

Little known fact up there North of the Border: the traditional children's birthday treat here in Mexico is not cake and ice cream. It's cake and gelatina, largely because the gelatina does not require a freezer--or even a refrigerator.

Little known fact up there North of the Border: many Mexican gelatina flavors are traditionally made with milk, not with water. Pistachio gelatina, peach, and some other flavors are typically milk-based. Oftentimes a two-layer gelatina is prepared: pistachio (milk) on the bottom, orange (water-based) on top. Rompope (milk) on the bottom, cherry (water) on top. Two water-based gelatinas are also common: limón with pineapple, strawberry with orange, etc.

This business of making flowers in gelatina is all the rage. Dining Diva mentioned that an ambulatory vendor showed her a tray of them; they're stunningly beautiful and very complicated to prepare. Have a look at this website (in English, there are many, many more in Spanish): http://www.gelartfloral.com/courses.html. It's all gelatin, folks.

And what about salchichas? In most of the large supermarkets here, the cold-cuts counter is the SALCHICHERÍA. (Sometimes it's not; sometimes it's the called the CARNES FRÍAS section.) And what are the most popular (ie, numerous) salchichas in the case? Vienna sausages! Turkey viennas, pork viennas, mixed meats viennas! Shorties, long ones, cocktail size, fat ones: vienna sausages! Then come hot dogs in the same range of permutations: pork, beef, mixed meats, turkey, short, long, pre-stuffed with cheese, smoked! By far the most popular brand is called FUD--and pronounced 'food'. There is even a brand of MEXICAN hot dogs (oh please laugh) called Johnsons. So the depth-of-product theory is shot to heck too. And that theory about Mexico being less consumer...whatever EN was going to say? Balderdash. Mexico is hyped up on consumerism, just as many folks North of the Border are.

Wrapped in bacon, sizzled on the griddle, stuffed into a media luna (that's what a hot dog bun is called) slathered with mayonnaise and grilled till its toasty, piled high with catsup, mustard, onion, jalapeño, and mayonnaise, the Mexican hot dog is a feast in your hand. Hugely popular from Tijuana to Tuxtla Gutiérrez and from Puerto Vallarta to Veracruz, the hot dog is Mexico's answer to...to...to the hot dog! Here in Guadalajara, the street carts and garage stands called DOGOS are the best, but any cart will do in a pinch. At street markets and festivals, the salchipulpo is de rigeur: half a hot dog, sliced in six strips cut almost to the end, deep fried till the strips take the shape of octopus tentacles, and served in a paper take-out container filled with papas a la francesa (french fries, to you)--and once again, slathered with mayo, squirted with catsup, piled with jalapeños.

Ah bliss: a night at the local fiestas, chowing down on salchipulpos and gelatina! Geez, guys, it's not a subject worthy of so much pontificating. It's fun food--¡provecho!

[rworange]

Oddly enough I had my first floral gelatin cake this week, but from a local Chinese Bakery. In this case the flowers were on top ... this ain't the cake, but the idea.
http://www.killerrobot.com/wes/images/agar-agar-cake.jpg

These are made with agar agar and kind of well, crunchy. Flowers of gelatin were on top rather than imbedded, but it gives me a clue how the site you linked to would make those cakes ... so pretty.

What a great idea ... octopus hot dogs.
http://www.nopuedocreer.com/quelohaya...

[cristina]

RW, the gelatinas pictured on the website I posted are not cakes. They are purely gelatinas, made ONLY with gelatina, and not with agar-agar.

The picture that you posted of the cake with gelatina and agar-agar flowers is gorgeous!

If you want to see a picture of a real live Mexican hot dog (even though the pic was taken in Salinas, California), go here: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/344164

[Eat_Nopal]

Hey Cristina... I was pointing out the historical differences... all the new consumerist zeal is a fairly recent thing.... maybe 1980's at the earliest... compared to 1950's.

But even then its only recent that the huge Commercial Mexicana's & Wal-Mart super stores have reached MOST Mexicans.

[Eat_Nopal]

Alright, your post reminded me of something very interesting.

I don't know if you are familiar with Salvador "Chava" Flores. Well if you've watched old Pedro Infante movies... and you've seen him sing funny songs like "Carta a Euphemia" or "La Tertulia"... Chava Flores wrote those songs.

In fact, Chava is an overwhelming favorite of Mexico's progressive intelligentsia... a writer with truly sharp wit who navigates easily between poltical satire and archetypes weaving aesthetically pleasing songs... and even has penned a good number of jaw dropping beautifully smart "serious" songs. Think of him as a 1940's version of Beatle's Sgt. Pepper.

Anyway one of his songs..."El Cumpleanos de Escolapia" is all about a little girl's birthday party in poor vecindad. As he weaves the story together... you begin to realize that its about a Lebanese immigrant with allusions to Lebanese archetypical characters of Mexico City... the guy who sells textiles, the dance orchestra leader who runs a bar, etc.,

And what you reminded me of was the line, in which Escolopia's mother is telling one of the little guests... there is no more cake with "jala-tina"... and it is sung with such a marked Lebanese accent... thats when you know Escolopia's mother is Lebanese.

Knowing the work of Chava Flores we know this 1940's song was documenting the importance of gelatine in Lebanese immigrant social life (as well as many other things). Sure enough, if you do some research gelatine originates in the middle east... being particularly important in Turkey as well as Syria & Lebanon.

So its very likely that Mexico had a gelatine culture before Jello was even invented.

[cristina]

You're absolutely right, EN. Even though DiningDiva parenthetically mentioned Jello(TM) in her original post, I think it was only to clarify for the North of the Border reader what she meant by gelatina.

However, Jello(TM) (the brand-name product), is barely represented in the vast Mexican gelatina repertoire. I've only seen Jello(TM) on the shelves at a couple of the big-box stores. Other brands of gelatina, such as D'Gari, Klass, and many smaller companies--brands well-known in Mexico since long before the advent of Jello(TM), but brands almost completely unknown North of the Border--are sold in abarrotes and dulcerías everywhere in the República, usually bagged in sizes to make anywhere from a few servings to enough gelatina for a large party.

And sweeter even than gelatina are the memories of Chava Flores. Thanks for thinking of him.

[Sam Fujisaka]

The cultural context that you've alluded to is perhaps the answer that cannot be further "explained". Many people in the Philippines view eating at McDonalds as relatively classy. Many people look down at street food in their own countries and are surprised when outsiders appreciate it. Many people in Hawaii genuinely appreciate Spam. Many Japanese Americans eat (or used to) sliced weiners cooked in a bit of soy sauce and other bits, and in scrambled eggs. Weiners are not that popular here in Colombia, but aren't seen as children's food either. The only times I've seen perros calientes on sale were at bull fights.

Finally, I think CHers may have a classificatory system that dichotomizes junk/trailer food from respectible. For the most part and due to far fewer convenience foods in the developing world, regions such as Latin America don't have the same dichotomy. Weiners here are not "on the other side of the line".

[paulj]

On which side of the line are Frankfurters and Vienna Style sausages in Germany and Austria?

paulj

[Sam Fujisaka]

Here in Latin America they, like almost everything else, are just value-free food. Real German and Austrian sausages are made by Germans/Austrians here in Cali, are good and very expensive. I have no idea about perceptions in the US. On the other hand, I remember with disgust the "Vienna" sausages in cans (although filipinos love em).

[DiningDiva]

I appreciate the responses, but let me clarify just a bit since this question was originally posted on the Mexico board and moved by the list mods, so it ́s a little out of context.

I appreciate the information on Salchichas, but that ́s not exactly what I ́m looking for. Actually, I ́m more interested in the soci-cultural aspect. I agree that economics and speed are probably a contributing factor to the widespread use of hot dogs (and gelatina for that matter). Let ́s face it, while hot dogs have a place in the scope of Americas eating habits, they are usually disdained as being "less than" or a less desirable choice. A lot of people will simply turn up their collective noses at hot dogs and refuse to eat them (except possibly at the ballpark where they do taste different). I don ́t find that same level of wholesale dismissal in Mexico. I ́m just curious as to why one culture dismisses a food item and another embraces it. This may possibly be a rhetorical question, but if anyone wants to take a shot at it -- go for it.

You see the same thing with regard to Jello. Americans reject gelatine as a throw-back to the dreadful food of the 50s. Mexicans have taken it to an art form. Last Sunday in Morelia I was having breakfast at a sidewalk cafe/taqueria when a woman came by selling gelatines. These were fabulous floral works of art. God help the person that brings a gelatin salad or dessert to an American pot luck.

And for the record, if you haven ́t had a hot dog, stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon and slowly griddled on a flat top you ́re missing one of lifes most delicious fat-laden and cholesterol filled treats. Que sabroso

[Eat_Nopal]

In general, what one culture disdain... another finds exotic. Among Mexican Creoles... they can't understand why the culinary establishment thinks so highly of Oaxacan moles & other foods. For them, they are pedestrian dishes from the "patas rajadas"... "cracked, heel barefoot people". Yet, many foodies around the world devote books, restaurants and lots of energy to recreating the food of the "patas rajadas"

Further... with Jello there is a difference. Mexicans typically make gelatine from with real ingredients & natural gelatine... Americans make Jello from an instant mix. So that one is less clear.

[paulj]

Instant mixes are readily available in Mexican stores as well. Mexican groceries in the US sell imported mixes.

I am sure some Mexican cooks are more familiar with home made gelatins, since they are more likely to have cooked cows feet. But that 'natural' gelatin still has to be purified if you want to use as a base for a sweet dish. Is a Mexican cook any more likely to do that at home?

paulj

[Eat_Nopal]

Paul see Diva's response... I mean using Knox with things like Sherry Wine, Fruit Purees, Sweetened Milk, Rompope or Cajeta in gelatines etc.,

[rworange]

When I worked in Mexico City in the late 90's, the culture & economy reminded me very much of the US in the 50's-60's ... which was good and bad.

The US in mid-20th century and earlier did not turn up their noses at jello or hotdogs. Franks and beans were common suppers and the cookbooks of the time were dedicated with creative uses of jello.

My mom occasionaly made scrambled eggs with hot dogs.

It is a function of economy. Hot dogs and jello are cheap and satisfying eats. It is just a different take on franks and beans.

Even in the US you can pick up a package of FUD hotdogs sometimes 2 for $1. What other meat source is that cheap?

Also, hot dogs are a little more forgiving in terms of refrigeration than most meats.

Looking around to see if there was anything on the web about the history of the hot dog in Mexico, I did find one reference to .... Salchicha Oaxaqueña, a bright-pink loaf of compressed meat.

Don't know if that preceeded the dog and when the peros crossed the border, it was a compact version of a familiar food.

As to Jello, a lot of Mexico is a warm climate. Jello is refreshing as well as cheap. Mexicans are into fresh fruit and juices so this is another inexpensive way to serve that. I started making my own gelatin from fruit juices and Knox this year and it is a whole different thing from the boxes. Got one of my original ideas from Martha Stewart with a cabernet blackberry jello. I'm currently working on pineapple chardonnay.

[DiningDiva]

Excellent comments! As was pointed out to me recently, being able to serve gelatina in the summer would have been an indication to others that the family had money, or at least enough money to afford a refrigerator. So in some respects gelatina is - or at least was - an indicator of social status.

Some of the gelatine creations available in Mexico are truly almost too beautiful to eat. And, yes, most of them are probably made from unflavored gelatine, Knox or otherwise. That is a big improvement over the packaged brands on either side of the border.

I was served gelatina de límon last night and the woman who served it to me lamented that it was not the usual "marca" that she purchased as she didn ́t like this one as well, but the other one wasn ́t available.

[Eat_Nopal]

Hey DD,

I realize this deserves a more comprehensive response... see here are various theories that probably cover some aspect of reality:

> New to Me / Grass is Greener: The concept that things that are old/ out of date in one culture, can be new and/or exotic, in style in another... without indicating any relative superiority.

> The Mexican Quality Parity Theory (that I came up with a few hours ago on the freeway).

Mexico is a country that historically has less product depth, and higher average quality than the U.S. For example, during teh 20th Century... mainstream Mexican Beers where generally better than U.S. mainstream Beers. In the last 20 years, the U.S. has developed lots & lots of artisan beers whereas Mexico only has a handful. So now, you have the U.S. that runs a wider gamut from low end crap like Coors to high-end Microbrews. Whereas Mexico has a wide range of good to excellent beers without much in the exceptional, artisan crafted category. This is similar to what happened with hot dogs. From the get go, Mexican dogs where always a relatively high quality mass produced item... without any of the really low end, bargain priced products you had in the U.S. So now, hot dogs in the U.S. have a lot of cheapness baggage even when artisan, free range organic blah, blah dogs exist in the market.

This is true beyond beer & hot dogs... since processed products are relatively expensive in Mexico, they must have some quality advantages to survive. Whearas in the U.S., processing usually meant a competition to achieve a new bargain price point.

Undeveloped Marketing Theory

Mexico is a less consumer

[Eat_Nopal]

What is the big deal? They are cheap & easy to cook with. But, lets put this in perspective. Anonimo & Diva are talking about a very rural area of Michoacan... and as charming as Patzcuaro, Janitzio and Day of the Dead can be... the U.S. analogy would still be to a small town in Appalachia or the Catskills.

In Mexico City... I haven't seen weenies make the jump from bacon wrapped dogs to restaurant tables. (At home they can end up in omelettes or beans of course).

[rworange]

The little restaurants near the old bull-fighting ring in Mexico City had lots of dishes with hot dogs. This is where I learned to my dismay what salchichas meant. Usually tortas, sometimes with eggs. This was a pretty downscale local ... ain't any tourists here and about as far away from the Zona Rosa that you could get in Mexico City.

[paulj]

Where does the word Wiener come from? Vienna. What's the other name? frankfurter. The American hot dogs have their origin in the fine textured cooked sausages of Europe. Bologna and mortadella are the large diameter Italian versions.

In Latin America the skinless version may have originated in the USA, but the natural casing version must have the same European roots.

This type of sausage is also very popular in Canada. In an ordinary Canadian grocery you can buy wieners in bulk, not just the shrink wrapped packages of the USA.

The use of a soft bun with wiener is probably a USA import, but a hard crust roll has European roots. Consider for example the Mexican bolillo.

In some parts of Latin America (such as Venezuela), a hot dog is topped with crushed potato chips, adapting another USA invitation to a new use.

paulj

[annimal]

In Brazil, hot dogs are topped with all manner of crazy things. Shoestring potato chips are extremely common. But I've also seen them come with a tomato/onion mix, chicken, catupiry cheese (a creamy white cheese... I have no clue how to describe it other than DELICIOUS), corn, the potato sticks, mashed potatoes, and finished with a squirt of mayo spread over the mp then sprinkled with parmesan. I was really grossed out the first time I saw that, then I discovered that it's REALLY good. It got me eating hot dogs for the first time in probably 15 years. Yum yum... I should do it at home sometime, for a throwback.

[Will Owen]

Hey, one of the more popular breakfast meat choices at several Nashville diners is fried bologna...and this in a part of the world where good dry-cured bacon and ham and smoked country bulk sausage are commonplace! Go figure.

[rworange]

They are inexpensive which explains the popularity, I think, just like in the US.

This can't possibly be true, but it makes a great urban legend

The Rise & Almost Fall of the Hot Dog in Mexico
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel...

According to the above story the franks were introduced at a bullfight in 1943 with the literal translation "Perros Caliente, which to most of the Mexicans who had never seen or heard of a hot dog, meant cooked dog meat".

All hell broke out. Vendors were attacked for selling gringo dog meat ... dogs flew.

[laylag]

I don't think that has anything to with it rworange. I believe that a salchicha has come to mean a hot dog, only a hot dog and not, as some people seem to believe, to sausages in general.

[Grubbjunkie]

I ordered a salchicha torta in San Miguel last month, hoping to get the course ground, italian sausage looking stuff on the grill right in front of me (I even pointed). Nope, I basically got a weenie sandwich.

[laylag]

I am not definitive and not of Latin origin but was in U.S. Hispanic and Latin American businesses for many years. I think that salchicha is specifically a hot dog style sausage, bologna, mortadella, that type of food. Other foods one would categorize as latin sausage such as chorizo or merguez will be on a menu by their specific name - ie, queso fundido con chorizo. In Argentina where meat is a big thing, we often were served many sausages and while I don't remember all the individual names, I don't ever recall seeing any listed on the menu as salchicha.

In many latin restaurants (of various countries) they offer salchipapas which is specifically hot dog slices with papas fritas (french fries). I've never seen salchichas on a menu as anything but hot dogs and I've never seen them in any other form than sliced.

I hope some CHers of Latin origin or descent can chime in here and correct/clarify my post and help you out better.

[Anonimo]

"In many latin restaurants (of various countries) they offer salchipapas which is specifically hot dog slices with papas fritas (french fries)"
I have seen them fried with the papas francesas, at the Feria de Cuanajo. http://www.pbase.com/panos/image/6654... (Note the bowl of weenie chunks in the background.
) On quesadillas in Erongarícuaro, and (ugh—Puh-leeze!) on catsup-smothered pizza.

[Nicole]

My husband, who is from Peru, loves salchipapas. I don't quite get the appeal, but I can vouch for their popularity in another latin american country.

[julesrules]

My family travelled in Peru when I was 6 and my sister 3, we were fairly adventurous eaters (kind of had to be as we spent a year total in SA), but needless to say salchipapas were very popular with us - total kiddie food and ubiquitous!

[Nicole]

How funny! I was also amazed at how spaghetti was always on the menu when I went to Peru. Never ate it myself, but another good kiddie standby!

[Sam Fujisaka]

Salchichas are weiners in Latin America. Chorizos are sausages. We also make homemade embutidos and rellenos that look like sausages. Hotdogs are "perros calientes" in Colombia. I was just having fun with the Spanglish in the above post. Sorry.

[Sam Fujisaka]

Hey, its not solamente salchichas in Mexico, sisterita. Se las find all over America Latina, Asia, and hasta Africa. Mi daughter (con tres years) likes those weenies cortadas in trozitos con eggs also. Solamente, jou ave to pensar en ellas like they are another comida y not chorizos. Nosotros nos live en Colombia.

[Leucadian]

Cracking up, senor Sam-san. :) So weenies in Mexico are like spam in Hawaii, just another food?

[Sam Fujisaka]

Right, that's my take on it. Because we have a lot less convenience, fast, and packaged foods, we don't have (such) a big line in the sand to divde "good" and "bad". Plus glad someone found the entry funny.