I’m referring to the wieners from Oscar Mayer. How else can you describe a food they once had everyone wishing they could be? So who better to have a word with about wieners than Oscar Mayer…?

Dear Wiener Lovers:

Wiener is just one of those words that bring a smile to your face whenever you hear it. Where did the word originate from anyway?

Any idea how the actual length of a wiener became standardized? Was there a Board of Wieners that sat around shouting, “Make it 5 inches — No, make it 6!”? Also, do you have any idea what those little indigestible rubbery pieces are in hot dogs that you have to spit out when no one is looking?

Finally, what’s the inside scoop behind your “I Wish I Were An Oscar Mayer Wiener” song? I once knew a guy whose last name was Wiener and he really was one, but let’s not get into that now. So, please be frank with me and explain why anyone would actually want to be a wiener.

Wieners take all!

A Consumer Representative from Kraft Foods, makers of Oscar Mayer Wieners, responded with:

Thanks for taking the time to contact us.

Wieners, refers to Vienna, Austria, whose German name is “Wien,” home to a sausage made of a mixture of pork and beef. In German speaking countries, except Austria, hot dog sausages are called Wiener or Wiener Würstchen (Würstchen means “little sausage”). In Swiss German, it is called Wienerli, while in Austria the terms Frankfurter or Frankfurter Würstel are used.

In regards to the substance you stated you have been noticing in your Oscar Mayer Wiener, because we have not seen the object you describe, I can’t tell you accurately what it could be. However, it sounds like you may be describing a piece of tendon, cartilage, or gristle. We operate under the highest quality control procedures at all our plants. All tendons, cartilage and gristle are normally trimmed out during the boning process, leaving only lean meat cuts. I will share your comments with our Quality Assurance Staff.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us.

Final Thoughts: I hope you enjoyed the wiener word geography lesson as much as I did. Now you know why Oscar Mayer is top dog in the world of wieners. Also enclosed with the response were 3 coupons Good for ONE FREE Oscar Mayer product up to $4.50. There wasn’t anything mentioned about the famous wiener song, but watch this video for the inside story as told by Jerry Ringlien from Oscar Mayer, which also includes the TV commercial from the 1960s…

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