Ballpark food

Ballpark food is an enjoyable aspect of attending a live baseball game. Traditional foods include hot dogs, peanuts, Cracker Jack and beer.[1] One will also find more modern treats at the ballpark these days, often reflecting local specialties or more modern and varied items, such as stuffed potatoes, grilled salmon and shrimp tacos.[2].

In stadium ad for roasted peanuts at the Rogers Centre

Traditional fare

• A hot dog is a type of fully-cooked, cured and/or smoked moist sausage of soft, even, texture and flavor. It is usually placed hot in a soft, sliced Hot dog bun of approximately the same length as the sausage, and optionally garnished with condiments and toppings. Famous dogs include the "Dodger Dog" at Dodger Stadium (selling over 1.6 million a season) and the famous hot dogs at Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium in New York City. [3]

• Cracker Jack is a U.S. brand of snack consisting of caramel-coated popcorn and peanuts. It is also well known for being packaged with a "Toy Surprise Inside" of nominal value. This attained pop-culture status with the term "came in a Cracker Jack box" referring to an object of limited value.

The product's name is often misstated in a plural form, as in "Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks..." from the song "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", even though it is in the singular in the proper version of the song. Cracker Jack is a staple at baseball games, famously mentioned in that 1908 baseball song: "Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I never get back." When the Frito-Lay Company replaced the waxed box in which Cracker Jack had been traditionally sold for a plastic bag, management at Yankee Stadium were upset. They replaced the Cracker Jack with Crunch N Munch, but fan disgust forced them to return to the traditional Cracker Jack.[4]

• Edible peanuts account for two-thirds of the total peanut use in the United States. Peanuts sold at ballgames are usually in the shell, salted or unsalted. These are often sold by vendors roaming the stands to the fans. (Salted peanuts are usually roasted in oil and packed in retail size, plastic bags or hermetically sealed cans. Dry roasted, salted peanuts are also marketed in significant quantities). However, due to growing allergy concerns - it is estimated that 2.2% of children in the United States are allergic - ballparks have begun to include peanut-free sections in the stands or designate peanut-free days so that families with affected children can still come to games. In 2019, one ballpark went one step further: Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford, CT became entirely peanut and Cracker Jack-free (the confection also contains the nuts).

• Beer is also a traditional ballpark treat, sold in plastic cups to be consumed in the stands. Also sold by roaming vendors, often at elevated prices to discourage drunkenness by patrons. American brews are often the most common, but one can also find several varieties of import beers from food vendors around the stadium (at Rogers Centre for example).

All You Can Eat Events

Several MLB teams have started offering "All You Can Eat" seats, where for a certain amount above the regular ticket price, fans can consume unlimited amounts of traditional ballpark foods. Fans at the "All You Can Eat" games are given wristbands to wear, and allowed unlimited amounts of hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos and soft drinks. Beer is usually extra and not included in the price. The items are self-serve, and as no money changes hands, the lines move quickly.[5]

The trend has come under fire from health professionals in light of the obesity epidemic, but has been a great success for the teams involved as it fills seats that might otherwise stay empty. Fans have an enjoyable experience and often return for similar events when they are offered.

additional information

Please refer to [6] for a visual tour of several ballparks and their food items.

Further Reading

• Bennett Jacobstein: The Joy of Ballpark Food: From Hot Dogs to Haute Cuisine, Ballpark Food Publications, San Jose, CA, 2015. ISBN 978-0692336540
• Chris Landers: "The history of classic ballpark foods, explained: Why is it 'peanuts and Cracker Jack,' anyway?", mlb.com, April 3, 2020. [7]

Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cracker Jack". and Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Hot dog". and Some or all content from this article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Peanut".