Volkswagen Sausage and the Enduring Appeal of Culinary Car-Industry Crossovers

For many years, car producers likewise got into the video game of posting guides and, in the case of the Ford Electric Motor Company, the occasional cookbook of recipes from restaurants along their recommended paths. In some cases, automobile business go one step further, lending their names to delicious chocolates, sausages, and also legendary pieces of kitchen equipment. This week, we’re checking out a handful of these curious culinary connections.

Majani won the competition, and also after the last Tipo 4 put-putted off the roadway, they remained to sell the Fiat cremino. These days, it can be found in numerous tastes, but the product packaging constantly brings the Fiat logo, provided as a dazzling sunburst. In the 2021 obituary of business heir Anna Majani, the New york city Times relevant that “Fiat’s president, Gianni Agnelli, once told Ms. Majani that her firm marketed even more Fiat delicious chocolates than he offered vehicles.”

As Amanda Sims composes for Food52, when you raise a pepper mill in your mind, you’re thinking of the Peugeot’s design. She additionally keeps in mind that the company declines to claim the honor of having actually designed the table-top pepper shaker, but they’re so common that many people merely think they did. While Peugeot vehicles are now made by a gigantic multinational firm, the Peugeot family members still produces the pepper shaker and other cooking area tools as a different worry.

In 2015 and 2017, the firm made much more sausages than it did autos.

Food and vehicles go way back. Some people are surprised to find out that the Michelin stars that commemorate the world’s greatest restaurants are doled out by the exact same business that makes tires. In the very early 20th century, however, drivers needed locations to go in their new lorries. In 1900, French siblings André and Édouard Michelin began distributing a booklet of travel info to customers to aid them browse the roadways, fill their tanks, and fill their tummies.

The business seems to have actually cottoned on to the silly charm of its proprietary currywurst. In 2014, to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary in the USA, Volkswagen of America, Inc., distributed cost-free bottles of “Product Item Number 00010 ZDK-259-101”: their very own mix of curry catsup.

Here at Atlas Obscura, we talk a lot about the food available on trains and airplanes. But what about vehicles, and their link to food? It’s very easy to think of a vehicle as merely a conveyance to a restaurant, or as the place to consume an unglamorous fast-food dish while when driving.

This was not a beloved cars and truck component. This was Volkswagen’s extremely own currywurst, with 30 employees turning out 18,000 sausages a day. Said sausages, offered in company snack bars with signature curry catsup, were also often packaged up and given as thank-you presents to German VW consumers. Even the writing on the casing (Volkswagen Originalteil, or “Volkswagen Original Part”) represented the sausage as a honored VW item. In 2015 and 2017, the company made a lot more sausages than it did autos.

Similar to how individuals are amazed to discover that the Michelin tire firm is still straight involved in evaluating dining establishments, some are surprised to discover that their fancy pepper mill can map its roots to a French automobile producer.

In 1911, the auto firm held a contest between Italy’s delicious chocolate business, with the goal of releasing a confection to celebrate their brand-new “Tipo 4” model. The winning chocolate, the Fiat cremino, is still sold today.

In 2021, Volkswagen determined to swap the sausage at their Wolfsburg head office for vegan and vegan alternatives, leading to warmed speculation that the Volkswagen currywurst was not long for this globe. However, this relocation was carried out just at the major headquarters, and workers there ultimately requested for the original currywurst ahead back, which it did in 2023.

It took another 3 decades for the business to begin generating household products, such as their coffee mill in 1840. The company christened it the “Design Z,” which, funny sufficient, would not be a poor name for an auto.

In 1911, the auto company held a contest between Italy’s chocolate companies, with the goal of releasing a confection to celebrate their brand-new “Tipo 4” model. Over the years, vehicle producers additionally got into the video game of posting overviews and, in the case of the Ford Electric Motor Firm, the occasional cookbook of dishes from dining establishments along their suggested routes. In some cases, auto companies go one step better, lending their names to chocolates, sausages, and even renowned items of kitchen area tools. In the 2021 obituary of company successor Anna Majani, the New York Times associated that “Fiat’s head of state, Gianni Agnelli, when told Ms. Majani that her company marketed even more Fiat chocolates than he marketed vehicles.”

Back to the tale of Fiat delicious chocolates. When the business got competition entries, Majani, a company from Bologna, sent a cremino delicious chocolate with alternating layers of gianduja (hazelnut chocolate) and almond paste. What distinguished it was its four layers as opposed to the cremino’s normal three: a nod to Fiat’s new Tipo 4.