Alan Geisler
Encyclopedia
Alan S. Geisler was an American food chemist best known for creating a red onion
sauce
most often used as a condiment
topping on hot dog
s in New York City
. Specifically, the sauce, which is marketed as Sabrett's Prepared Onions, is usually served on Sabrett brand hot dogs sold by New York's many pushcart hot dog vendors
.
Sabrett brand
hot dogs and the red onion sauce which Geisler created are the flagship
products of Marathon Enterprises, Inc.
The company is headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey
.
in Tenafly, New Jersey
. He received his bachelor's degree in food technology
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
Geisler resided in Mahwah, New Jersey
, for 45 years.
s, emulsifiers and other ingredients for the baking
and baked goods industry in 1960.
One of his customers was Gregory Papalexis, who manufactured both hot dogs and hot dog bun
s. Papalexis's customers included hot dog street vendors, who often made a popular homemade, but time laborious, onion sauce as a topping. Papalexis asked Geisler to come up with a factory-made onion sauce for the hot dog vendors to sell at their carts in New York City.
Geisler, with input from Papalexis, created a new, mass-produced onion sauce for hot dogs. The main formula and spice blends of the sauce consisted predominantly of onion
s, olive oil
and tomato paste
, which gives the sauce its distinctive red coloring. The sauce proved to be a hit with both the street vendors, who no longer had to make their own time consuming sauces, and hot dog consumers.
Geisler and Papalexis partnered to form their own company, called Tremont Foods, to market and make the new red onion sauce. The sauce was initially sold to New York City hot dogs vendors under the brand names Tremont Foods or House of Weenies.
Papalexis acquired Sabrett Food Products in 1989. As a result of the acquisition
, Geisler's onion sauce became the only onion sauce served on Sabrett hot dogs by vendors in New York City. The red onion condiment also became available for purchase in supermarket
s under the Sabrett's brand. It is marketed nationwide as "Sabrett's Prepared Onions."
As of 2009, Geisler's red onion sauce enjoys "a couple of million dollars a year in sales," according to Papalexis. Geisler's and Papalexis's original company, Tremont Foods, is currently a division
of Marathon Enterprises, Inc.
, which owns the Sabrett trademark. (Marathon Enterprises is owned by Papalexis.) The only product made by Tremont Foods is the popular red onion sauce. The sauce is manufactured in The Bronx
, but production is scheduled to shift to a new facility, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey
, in 2009.
Geisler remained active with the company until his death in 2009.
, on January 6, 2009, at the age of 78. Geisler had been suffering from a protein
disorder
called amyloidosis
. He was survived by his wife, Jean Geisler, his daughter, Martha Geisler, his son, Glenn Geisler, his brother and a grandson.
Red onion
Red onions, sometimes called purple onions, are cultivars of the onion with purplish red skin and white flesh tinged with red.These onions tend to be medium to large in size and have a mild to sweet flavor. They are often consumed raw, grilled or lightly cooked with other foods, or added as color...
sauce
Sauce
In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
most often used as a condiment
Condiment
A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...
topping on hot dog
Hot dog
A hot dog is a sausage served in a sliced bun. It is very often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish and/or sauerkraut.-History:...
s in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Specifically, the sauce, which is marketed as Sabrett's Prepared Onions, is usually served on Sabrett brand hot dogs sold by New York's many pushcart hot dog vendors
Street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...
.
Sabrett brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
hot dogs and the red onion sauce which Geisler created are the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
products of Marathon Enterprises, Inc.
Marathon Enterprises, Inc.
Marathon Enterprises, Inc. is a private corporation headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey, United States that is a major regional supplier of meats and gourmet delicatessen products to the food service industry. Marathon products carry the Sabrett brand name....
The company is headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...
.
Personal life
Geisler was a graduate of Tenafly High SchoolTenafly High School
Tenafly High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in grades nine through twelve from Tenafly, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Tenafly Public Schools...
in Tenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 14,488. Tenafly is an affluent suburb of New York City....
. He received his bachelor's degree in food technology
Food technology
Food technology, is a branch of food science which deals with the actual production processes to make foods.-Early history of food technology:...
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
Geisler resided in Mahwah, New Jersey
Mahwah, New Jersey
Mahwah is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 25,890. The name Mahwah is derived from the Lenni Lenape word "mawewi" which means "Meeting Place" or "Place Where Paths Meet".The area that is now Mahwah was...
, for 45 years.
Career
Geisler founded a company that manufactured shorteningShortening
Shortening is any fat that is solid at room temperature and used to make crumbly pastry. The reason it is called shortening is because it prevents cross-linkage between gluten molecules. Cross linking is what causes doughs to be sticky. Seeing as cake is not meant to be sticky, shortening is used...
s, emulsifiers and other ingredients for the baking
Baking
Baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection, and not by radiation, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones. It is primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries and pies, tarts, quiches, cookies and crackers. Such items...
and baked goods industry in 1960.
One of his customers was Gregory Papalexis, who manufactured both hot dogs and hot dog bun
Hot dog bun
A hot dog bun is a type of soft bun shaped specifically to contain a hot dog. The original purpose of this bun was to make it possible to eat hot dogs without burning ones hands....
s. Papalexis's customers included hot dog street vendors, who often made a popular homemade, but time laborious, onion sauce as a topping. Papalexis asked Geisler to come up with a factory-made onion sauce for the hot dog vendors to sell at their carts in New York City.
Geisler, with input from Papalexis, created a new, mass-produced onion sauce for hot dogs. The main formula and spice blends of the sauce consisted predominantly of onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
s, olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
and tomato paste
Tomato paste
Tomato paste is a thick paste that is made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce moisture, straining them to remove the seeds and skin, and cooking them again to reduce them to a thick, rich concentrate...
, which gives the sauce its distinctive red coloring. The sauce proved to be a hit with both the street vendors, who no longer had to make their own time consuming sauces, and hot dog consumers.
Geisler and Papalexis partnered to form their own company, called Tremont Foods, to market and make the new red onion sauce. The sauce was initially sold to New York City hot dogs vendors under the brand names Tremont Foods or House of Weenies.
Papalexis acquired Sabrett Food Products in 1989. As a result of the acquisition
Takeover
In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...
, Geisler's onion sauce became the only onion sauce served on Sabrett hot dogs by vendors in New York City. The red onion condiment also became available for purchase in supermarket
Supermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
s under the Sabrett's brand. It is marketed nationwide as "Sabrett's Prepared Onions."
As of 2009, Geisler's red onion sauce enjoys "a couple of million dollars a year in sales," according to Papalexis. Geisler's and Papalexis's original company, Tremont Foods, is currently a division
Division (business)
A division of a business entity is a portion of that business that operates under a different name. It is the equivalent of a corporation or limited liability company obtaining a fictitious name or "doing business as" certificate and operating a business under that fictitious name...
of Marathon Enterprises, Inc.
Marathon Enterprises, Inc.
Marathon Enterprises, Inc. is a private corporation headquartered in Englewood, New Jersey, United States that is a major regional supplier of meats and gourmet delicatessen products to the food service industry. Marathon products carry the Sabrett brand name....
, which owns the Sabrett trademark. (Marathon Enterprises is owned by Papalexis.) The only product made by Tremont Foods is the popular red onion sauce. The sauce is manufactured in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, but production is scheduled to shift to a new facility, in Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Fair Lawn is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and a suburban municipality in the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 32,457. Fair Lawn was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March...
, in 2009.
Geisler remained active with the company until his death in 2009.
Death
Geisler died at his winter home in Hernando, FloridaHernando, Florida
Hernando is a city in Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,253 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hernando is located at ....
, on January 6, 2009, at the age of 78. Geisler had been suffering from a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
disorder
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
called amyloidosis
Amyloidosis
In medicine, amyloidosis refers to a variety of conditions whereby the body produces "bad proteins", denoted as amyloid proteins, which are abnormally deposited in organs and/or tissues and cause harm. A protein is described as being amyloid if, due to an alteration in its secondary structure, it...
. He was survived by his wife, Jean Geisler, his daughter, Martha Geisler, his son, Glenn Geisler, his brother and a grandson.