Manischewitz described the gefilte dogs as “an American tradition your Bubbie will love.”
Ballpark food will soon be Bubbe (Yiddish for grandmother)-friendly if Manischewitz has its way: The traditional Jewish comfort food company sparked a storm on Twitter after tweeting a photo of “gefilte dogs,” gefilte fish in the shape of stadium-size hot dogs.
Gefilte fish is a food traditionally associated with Ashkenazi Jews, made out of ground-up, deboned fish which is then mixed with filler ingredients like eggs and vegetables before being stuffed into a skin or paper and boiled. The fish can usually be bought as either loaves to boil or ready-to-eat patties sitting in cans or jars of jellied broth. It is unclear how the new hot dogs are meant to be prepared — If the product indeed exists, and isn’t a viral marketing stunt.
” You asked, we listened,” tweeted Manischewitz on Wednesday. “The R&D team hasn’t slept all week and now the factory will be cranking out these babies 24/6. Just in time for July 4th! An American tradition your Bubbie will love. #GefilteDogs #GefilteBeef”
The photo attached to the tweet shows a hot dog package with the words “gefilte fish-stadium size” and a description ensuring that the fishy franks are “made with real gefilte fish” and according to “bubbie’s recipe.”
A fishy product
The ostensible product would also be Pareve, according to the photo, meaning many observant Jews will be able to enjoy a “gefilte dog” without having to wait afterward before eating dairy.
“Vegetarian and health-conscious diets are exploding and Gefilte Dogs fit perfectly into that lifestyle. And who else but Manischewitz to feed families, wholesome and delicious foods for July Fourth?” said Manischewitz’s Twitter account in a response to an inquiry by The Jerusalem Post.
When asked where the product will be offered, the account responded “On a bun? But we assume [people] may eat them straight, as well.”
The tweet announcing the product came as part of a thread started by Twitter user @JewWhoHasItAll who wrote “We’ve done some great work this past day, having established that hot dogs are gefilte beef / gefilte meat or kishke and corn dogs are kibbeh. Keep it up, chevre! I feel like we are going places.”
The tweet was sparked by a poll by the same user asking if “Gefilte meat” best describes hot dogs, meatloaf, meatballs or turducken.
Viral marketing campaign or real product?
Manischewitz responded with shock at the comparison made between hot dogs and gefilte fish in @JewWhoHasItAll’s tweet, saying “We’re gonna set the record straight here. Hot Dogs are nothing like Gefilte Fish. GFish is made of the highest quality, freshest fish….hot dogs? Who knows ?” The announcement of the hot dog-shaped, ground-up fish came just two days later.
The State of Israel’s official Twitter account responded to the announcement on Thursday, writing “Haven’t the Jewish people suffered enough?”
Thursday’s announcement is the latest in a series of tweets by Manischewitz promoting joke products such as “gefilte fish topped pizza” (Bubbie’s favorite, of course), “borscht macaroons” and “hash brownie macaroons” [described as “a new way to L’chaim” (say “cheers”)].