America put a man on the moon, but we can’t seem to get the hot dog to bun ratio right. For more than a century, Americans have been downing dogs. Yet, to the bemusement of barbecuers, the buns come in 8-packs, while the dogs come in 10-packs. Heinz has had enough. The Pittsburgh-based condiment maker challenged hot dog and bun companies to find an answer once and for all. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council (NHDSC), there’s some history behind the mismatch. As it turns out, hot dogs were originally eaten without a bun and were sold in varying quantities at the butcher shop. It wasn’t until 1940 that hot dogs started to be mass-produced, and most manufacturers settled on the 10-pack. As for the buns, the baking pans used were designed to hold a maximum of eight buns. More recently, larger pans have been introduced, allowing manufacturers to bake 10 or even 12 buns at a time. However, the 8-roll pan remains the most popular. For those looking to avoid a mismatch in their hot-dog-to-bun ratio, the NHDSC says that you’ll have to buy four 10-to-the-pack hot dogs and five bags of eight-to-the-pack buns to break even. That’s a total of 40 hot dogs and buns. If you're inclined to purchase that many hot dogs, we suggest inviting some friends over first.
