In Europe, the sausages were known as Frankfurter wurst and Vienna wurst, but the wurst part - which means sausage - was dropped soon after the introduction of the name to North America.
Most sausages sold as frankfurters in America are made of a mixture of pork and beef, unlike the original frankfurters which consist only of pork. They are lightly smoked.
American frankfurters also lack the particular casing that produces a crackling sound when the people bite into it.
In recent years, poultry, especially turkey, has become relatively widely used in frankfurter-type sausages.
The city of Frankfurt, Germany, claims to be the birthplace of the ‘frankfurter’ sausage. They claim the sausage was created in 1487 and celebrated the sausage’s 500th anniversary in 1987.
In 1929, a court in Berlin decided that only sausages made in the Frankfurt are could legitimately be labeled Frankfurter Würstchen or Frankfurter sausages.
Hot dog is a frankfurter sausage served hot in a bun. The name probably arose as an American joke related to 19th century German immigrants.
Frankfurters are long skinny, and always served in pairs; like all German sausages, they contain no fillers.
What is a frankfurter sausage?
