# Why do Ballpark Franks "plump" when you cook them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 30, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577 "2010-09-30T06:02:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![llazzllo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a698b9/32.png) [@llazzllo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llazzllo)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/1 "2010-09-30T06:02:02Z")
And why should I care that they do? ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/2 "2010-09-30T06:38:00Z")
[Googling around](http://ask.metafilter.com/129502/hotdogfilter-Why-do-BallPark-Franks-plump-when-you-cook-them)… > [@](#): > > Think of the sausage as being like dumpling batter. Even if the batter has no yeast or baking powder in it, it’s just plain flour and egg, it’ll still end up with tiny air bubbles after you cook it. These are caused by steam just like in a hot dog. When the hot dog cooks, the meat gives off water that quickly turns to steam in the heat. An emulsified sausage batter is going to already have tiny air pockets whipped into it from the mixing process. When the sausage cooks, the steam it releases causes those pockets to expand. The thing is, the cooked meat isn’t strong enough to hold those pockets forever. Eventually it’ll cool and those pockets will shrink, even smaller than when they started. That’s when you end up with a dry, wrinkly sausage. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/3 "2010-09-30T09:24:01Z")
And you shouldn’t care. Nonsensical sales pitch. Same reason you shouldn’t care that McDonald’s shakes are “thick”. You can make hot dogs plump and shakes thick without improving the quality. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/4 "2010-09-30T14:05:52Z")
It’s all that emulsified mechanically separated chicken GOODNESS trying to escape and overpower your tastebuds with their sheer AWESOMENESS. Or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/5 "2010-09-30T14:26:54Z")
> [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](#): > > That’s when you end up with a dry, wrinkly sausage. Nice tag line. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/6 "2010-09-30T15:22:42Z")
Ballpark franks, as the name implies, were first sold in the Detroit Tigers baseball stadium. They need a hot dog that didn’t dry out after prolonged heating so that the dogs were still as juicy in the ninth inning as the first. Something is added to the mix, probably some grain, that absorbs the fat that renders as the hot dog is cooked. This changes the shape of the hot dog somewhat and keeps the fat in the hot dog rather than being lost in the cooking process. The reason you should care is that the plumping shows that the hot dogs you cook at home are the same as the ones you enjoyed so much at the ballgame. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/7 "2010-09-30T15:25:36Z")
I read they contain lung parts which are the only meat that plumps when cooked. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/8 "2010-09-30T15:28:33Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I read they contain lung parts which are the only meat that plumps when cooked. You mean the damned things are _breathing_? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/9 "2010-09-30T15:57:56Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > You mean the damned things are _breathing_? Thanks…now where are the instructions for cleaning coffee out of a keyboard again? ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/10 "2010-09-30T21:09:29Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > I read they contain lung parts which are the only meat that plumps when cooked. USDA does not allow lung to be sold in the US. Feed lots are quite dusty and tons of shit (lit.) ends up in the lungs of the cattle who spend time there. Stew made with lung meat (Boetchel, sp?) is a regional delicacy in Austria. I found it quite tasty. Lung is not nearly as strong tasting as say liver or kidney. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/11 "2010-10-01T04:17:25Z")
The other reason to care is that, if the food is bigger when you eat it, it can help trick you into thinking you ate more. It’s the same reason so much air is added to weight loss smoothies and low calorie ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/12 "2010-10-01T15:52:19Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > The other reason to care is that, if the food is bigger when you eat it, it can help trick you into thinking you ate more. > > It’s the same reason so much air is added to weight loss smoothies and low calorie ice cream. Whereas artichoke is the \*real \*poor man’s feast : the one food that, when you’re done eating it, there’s more stuff on your plate than when you started 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-ballpark-franks-plump-when-you-cook-them/555577/13 "2010-10-01T21:44:36Z")
They’re arroused?