TASTE TEST : Frank Discussion

All hot dogs taste pretty much the same, right? Wrong! When nine people from the Times Food staff sat down to this tasting, we discovered that flavor varies enormously from dog to dog. Some are sweet, some are smoky, some are salty and some are downright bland. But since hot dogs don’t actually exist in nature, it’s pretty much up to the individual eater to decide which sort of hot dog he or she likes.

We also found that individual preferences vary as much as the hot dogs themselves. Each of us rated the dogs on a scale from 1 to 13. Four of us rated Nathan’s as our favorite, giving it the most first-place scores. But two tasters rated it as the worst hot dog of the bunch, so in the end it finished only fourth.

The hot dogs were cut into slices and tasted blind. Both regular and light hot dogs were included; poultry hot dogs were not. In every case we preferred the light hot dogs to their regular counterparts. In fact, the winning hot dog, which was rated first by two tasters, second by three tasters and third by another, turned out to be a light hot dog (it has only 110 calories). The regular version of the same hot dog placed a close second.

Hot Dogs, Non-Poultry

Brand & Comments

1. Hebrew National Light: “Good sausage flavor,” “nice snap,” “hot doggy taste.” 2. Hebrew National: “Lots of fat,” “good skin,” “salty.” 3. Hoffy: “Fine,” “bland,” “classic manufactured hot dog.” 4. Nathan’s: “Juicier,” “spicier,” “beefy,” “good flavor.” 5. Oscar Mayer Light: “Smoky flavor,” “bland,” “neutral,” “salty.” 6. Oscar Mayer: “Smoky and sweet,” “fine texture.” 7. Farmer John: “Average,” “pleasant smoky quality,” “not objectionable.” 8. Ball Park Light: “Tangy,” “salty,” “soapy.” 9. Dodger Dog: “Strong smoke flavor,” “soft texture,” “old-fashioned flavor,” “mushy.” 10. Healthy Choice: “Horrible color,” “like bologna,” “smooth texture.” 11. Ball Park: “Chemical taste,” “mushy,” “soapy.” 12. Hormel Light & Lean: “Odd color,” “poor flavor,” “looks dead,” “doesn’t taste like meat.” 13. Shofar: “Weird,” “greasy,” “awful,” “unpleasant.”