We answer to a higher authority is a slogan used by Hebrew National, now a subsidiary of ConAgra Foods, for its brand of kosher-certified hot dogs and processed meats, which portrays the products as being of a higher quality than other, similar products. A 1997 article in The New York Times called the campaign "among the longest running and best known ever". [1]
In a 2009 article The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council cited statistics indicating that three-quarters of the six million Americans who prefer kosher hot dogs are not themselves Jewish. [2] In 2010, The New York Times wrote that Hebrew National's hot dogs "aren't kosher enough for most Jews who keep kosher". [3]
The slogan dates back to 1965, and has been used since then as a means to market the product to Jews and non-Jews as a superior product. [2] Some of the campaign's earliest television advertisements, created by Scali, McCabe, Sloves in 1972, featured Uncle Sam preparing to consume a hot dog that includes the additives and fillers permitted under federal regulations, while an ethereal narrator states that Hebrew National cannot, panning up to the heavens and stating because "we answer to a higher authority", and appeared sporadically for nearly two decades. [1] [4]
A 1992 revision featured a supposed competitor named "Frank Wiener" who must answer to the higher authority himself for producing inferior products that didn't match the quality of those manufactured by Hebrew National. [5]
A 1997 campaign developed by New York City firm Grey Advertising featured Robert Klein as an all-knowing hot dog vendor with an ethereally shiny cart, purveying both hot dogs and words of deep wisdom. The campaign played on the nostalgia for the company's earlier television advertisements with a touch of humor. In various spots in the campaign, a single man is guided to his future wife, the finder of a bag full of money is told to return the loot and is rewarded with winning the lottery and a customer who asks if the vendor accepts credit cards is told by the character that "I take credit for everything". The $5 million campaign, double the previous year's budget, would feature ads broadcast in its traditional markets, as well as in cities such as Baltimore, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Arizona and San Francisco, where the products were popular but had not been directly targeted in previous campaigns. [1]
Kashrut is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the term that in Sephardi or Modern Hebrew is pronounced kashér, meaning "fit". Food that may not be consumed, however, is deemed treif, also spelled treyf.
A hot dog is a dish consisting of a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener or a frankfurter. The names of these sausages commonly refer to their assembled dish. Hot dog preparation and condiments vary worldwide. Typical condiments include mustard, ketchup, relish, onions in tomato sauce, and cheese sauce. Other toppings include sauerkraut, diced onions, jalapeños, chili, grated cheese, coleslaw, bacon and olives. Hot dog variants include the corn dog and pigs in a blanket. The hot dog's cultural traditions include the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
A hechsher or hekhsher is a rabbinical product certification, qualifying items that conform to the requirements of Jewish religious law.
Wienerschnitzel is an American fast food chain that specializes in hot dogs and other food products. The brand was founded in 1961 by former Taco Bell employee John Galardi and originally named Der Wienerschnitzel. Despite the name, the company does not ordinarily sell Wiener schnitzel, doing so once as a promotion. Wienerschnitzel locations are found predominantly in California and Texas; others are found in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Washington, as well as the US territory of Guam. Outside the United States of America, there are stores located in Ecuador.
Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of kashrut. The laws of kashrut apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish meeting specific criteria; the flesh of any animals that do not meet these criteria is forbidden by the dietary laws. Furthermore, kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a process known as shechita and their blood may never be consumed and must be removed from the meat by a process of salting and soaking in water for the meat to be permissible for use. All plant-based products, including fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs and spices, are intrinsically kosher, although certain produce grown in the Land of Israel is subjected to other requirements, such as tithing, before it may be consumed.
The Sara Lee Corporation was an American consumer-goods company based in Downers Grove, Illinois. On July 4, 2012, Sara Lee Corporation was split into two companies: one for North American operations renamed Hillshire Brands, the other for international beverage and bakery businesses named D.E Master Blenders 1753.
A danger dog is a hot dog that has been wrapped in bacon and deep-fried. It is served on a hot dog bun with various toppings. Also known as a bacon-wrapped hot dog, it was first sold by street vendors in Mexico. Its origin has been placed in either Tijuana or Hermosillo, where it was originally served in a bolillo instead of a hot dog bun. These dogs are sold from carts that are ubiquitous along Avenida Revolución and the area surrounding the border in Tijuana, as well as the bar district in Ensenada.
A Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago Dog, or Chicago Red Hot is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" due to the many toppings. The method for cooking the hot dog itself varies depending on the vendor's preference. Most often they are steamed, water-simmered, or less often grilled over charcoal.
Hebrew National is a brand of kosher hot dogs and sausages made by ConAgra Foods. In 1982, Hebrew National opened a non-kosher division under the name National Deli; it was sold off in 2001, and is now based in Florida.
Gribenes or grieven is a dish consisting of crisp chicken or goose skin cracklings with fried onions.
Different areas of the world have local variations on the hot dog, in the type of meat used, the condiments added, and its means of preparation.
Kosher style refers to foods commonly associated with Jewish cuisine but which may or may not actually be kosher. It is a stylistic designation rather than one based on the laws of kashrut. In some U.S. states, the use of this term in advertising is illegal as a misleading term under consumer protection laws.
Triangle K is a kosher certification agency under the leadership of Rabbi Aryeh R. Ralbag. It was founded by his late father, Rabbi Yehosef Ralbag. The hechsher is a letter K enclosed in an equilateral triangle.
Marathon Enterprises, Inc., is a major regional supplier of meats and gourmet delicatessen products to the food service industry in the New York City metropolitan area. Headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey, it is a private corporation, and sells its products under the Sabrett brand name.
Leonard Pines was a businessman who expanded Hebrew National Kosher Foods and introduced deli meats packaged for supermarkets.
Alan Stark Geisler was an American food chemist, best known for creating the red onion sauce most often used as a condiment topping on hot dogs in New York City. Specifically, the sauce, which is marketed as Sabrett's Prepared Onions, is usually served on Sabrett brand hot dogs sold by New York's many pushcart hot dog vendors.
Charley Marcuse is a former hot dog vendor at Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan. He became known for his distinctive yell while selling hot dogs as well as his refusal to serve ketchup with them, responding "There is no ketchup in baseball!" when asked. He received national recognition after he was temporarily banned in 2004. He was fired permanently in 2013.
American Jewish cuisine comprises the food, cooking, and dining customs associated with American Jews. It was heavily influenced by the cuisine of Jewish immigrants who came to the United States from Eastern Europe around the turn of the 20th century. It was further developed in unique ways by the immigrants and their descendants, especially in New York City and other large metropolitan areas of the northeastern U.S.
Jeff's Gourmet Sausage Factory is a glatt kosher sausage factory and restaurant in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1999 in a small storefront in the Pico-Robertson district, it serves a variety of Eastern European Jewish– and Mediterranean-style sausages, hamburgers, and deli sandwiches and wraps. All of its meats are prepared in-house.
Schulem Rubin served "three successive New York governors ... for more than two decades" as "Director of the Kosher Law Enforcement Division" of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, a position whose responsibilities included appearance in court, defending New York States' kosher laws.
Curiously, those dogs that answer to a higher authority aren't kosher enough for most Jews who keep kosher.