Hotdogs aren’t exactly healthy. There’s a lot of fat in them that you don’t see. If you’ve seen documentaries of how hotdogs are made in factories, well, you might have the same reaction as Sam — she doesn’t eat hotdogs anymore. She hasn’t in something like two years.
Nevertheless, hotdogs are here to stay. Purefoods and Swift are, arguably, the big names in local hotdogs. So, we decided to pit them against each other. Nine days ago, we bought a 500-gram pack of Purefoods Tender Juicy cocktail hotdogs and a 500-gram pack of Swift’s Mighty Meaty cocktail hotdogs. We’ve been cooking them for days, having them in several ways, my initial assessment changed over time in more ways than one.
But let’s start with the most basic: the price. Purefoods price: PHP127.00. Swift price: PHP99.25. Substantial difference.
What about the packaging? Purefoods has balloons and a party hat. Swift has a healthy-looking boy in a healthy and active looking pose holding a hotdog. The Swift package also says “With Vitamins A and B1″. It’s quite obvious what the target market is.
What’s inside the packages?
Hotdogs, of course — each wrapped in plastic. These individual plastic wrappers were non-existent when I was a kid and I’ve always wondered how much weight they add and whether that added weight forms part of the total net weight of each bag of hotdogs. I still don’t have an answer to that.
Let’s go to the intrinsic merits of the two brands.
The first time we cooked the hotdogs — pan-fried — I found the flavors of Purefoods Tendery Juicy hotdogs too overwhelming. I couldn’t quite decide whether they were too sweet or too salty. I appreciated the relative blandness of the Swift Mighty Meaty hotdogs more as they seemed to contain less artificial flavorings.
The second time we ate the hotdogs, the girls were home. Alex fried them and she announced that Purefoods Tendery Juicy hotdogs tasted better. Well, yes, they were tastier — maybe too tasty as I have detailed above. I also noticed that the Swift Mighty Meaty hotdogs had a grainy texture. Sandy. As though bones that had been ground into sawdust were mixed in. If you have dogs, you might be familiar with the term “sawdust” — it is finely ground bones sold in some meat shops as dog food. I’m not saying that Swift Mighty Meaty hotdogs are made with dog food but the grainy texture left that impression on me. And it’s just an impression.
Just an hour ago, I cooked some more hotdogs in two different ways. I microwaved some and fried a few others.
Above, the Swift Mighty Meaty hotdogs after two minutes on HIGH in the microwave.
Above, the Purefoods Tender Juicy hotdogs after two minutes on HIGH in the microwave.
Both had a chewy rubber-like texture. Obviously, hotdogs aren’t meant to be cooked in the microwave.
As a final test, I pan fried two of each.
That’s Swift on the left; Purefoods on the right. The texture was better. The hotdogs were softer and juicier.
I ate them with no bread or spreads or condiments to get the pure taste of the hotdogs in my mouth. Final verdict?
The Swift Mighty Meaty hotdogs were still grainy whether microwaved or pan fried.
The Purefoods Tendery Juicy hotdogs were still too cloying. And as I ate slowly, I noticed how salty they were — the extreme saltiness actually hit the back part of the roof of my mouth.
What would I recommend between the two brands? Neither. We’ll try some other brands and make some more comparisons. AFTER we finish the remaining Purefoods and Swift hotdogs in the freezer. I know, I know. We bought them nine days ago and there are still some in the freezer. Told you, they’re not that great.
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we normally cook hotdogs using small amount of water, and here in sg where we are food coloring hotdog deprived, we would would welcome kahit anong brand, wag lang yung may corn flavor, blah!
I’d take the kind with no food coloring anytime!
i used to buy swift because its cheaper and its sweet and juicy however i discovered purefoods star is better…. almost same price as swift sweet and juicy not too salty… a lot cheaper that regular purefoods hotdog brand… and also virginia hotdog taste great a little bit expensive
the exports of swift here has no food coloring…when i was working in pampanga, i think i buy roel’s or was it ariel?
honestly, after taking a lifesyle course in meat processing, i don’t want to buy processed food anymore. because of competition, selling price is a big consideration in the Phils. Processed foods, particulaly those made out of ground meat contains a lot of extenders esp hotdogs. okay lang sana if TVP (texturized vegetable protein) lang ang extender but some are using mechanized deboned meat (MDM). According to our instructor, this MDM contains all the scap meat and sometimes including the bones….yikes! one of my classmates in that class proudly admits that he is using only MDM in his processed meats and claims that all meat processing companies (including the biggies) are using MDM but ofcourse, I have no proof of that.
Personally, I’ve always liked Swift’s SAM hotdogs better than either. My niece prefers Purefoods though.
my favorite is CDO cheesedogs. doesnt have the grainy taste as red hotdogs
Virginia brand of hotdogs seem to be better than purefoods which I also find too tasty. Swift’s SAM hotdogs also tastes good.
So glad that my 3 year old daughter doesn’t like hotdogs or any processed foods
We seldom buy Hotdogs but when we do I always pick up those from Mekeni…not too expensive and for us tastes better than those high priced hotdogs….
In the early 90s, my mom would us Cook’s chicken hotdogs. I’ve never liked any other brand/type of hotdogs until the day it was discontinued. Up to this day, its my favorite. Since I have no choice right now, I go for CDO. TJ is to salty without ketchup.
The current brand that we have on the freezer is Virginia Hotdog. But I was never hotdog fun even when I was a kid, especially as a baon. I get unsettled when the hotdog’s coloring ‘stains’ the pandesal and rice, rendering them pink. Ick.
thanks for the tips Connie…
I’m probably paying 4 times the price for purefoods hotdog here in abu dhabi. But, no choice, pikit mata, coz i miss It. Weekends are nicer with hotsilog and ufc ketchup. Purefoods is the best for me
I really enjoy reading your face off posts. I’m a purefoods tender juicy loyalist. Never liked the taste of swift hotdogs. But ever since i had a baby, i have stopped eating processed meats. I miss tj hotdog, though.
I wonder kung kapag inexport dito yung swift hotdog ay tatakpan yung “with vitamins A & B1″ at babaguhin ang nutritional info. Ganyan ang nangyayari in most food imported from the Philippines. Nutritional info must be true ALL the time dahil kapag nagrandom test ang taga regulate ng food and drugs dito at hindi matched ang result sa label, manufacturers or importers are faced with huge penalties and even legal charges. Walang pang frozen meat products dito na manufactured by Purefoods or Swift.
Miss Connie, I really enjoy your face-off blog entries. You should have your own TV show or at least a youtube channel in the future? Demanding lang e hehehe.
My dad designed one of the manufacturing plants for Swift and he always says that I should buy that brand because he knows first hand the quality and cleanliness that goes into making them. He never fails to say this when we’re eating hotdogs at home (purefoods tender juicy).
He likes the Swift “brown” ones, so I don’t know if he’s partial to this kind only or if its this kind of hotdog he “saw’ made…
I actually like purefoods, because as you said, mas malasa.
I stopped buying Purefoods hotdogs when I discovered Virginia hotdogs from Mandaue. I immediately became a fan of this brand. Its hotdogs are not that salty as compared to Purefoods. Moreover, they are also juicy yet firm. And I usually boil them.
By the way, they are only available in Robinsons supermarkets.
Hi Miss Connie! I remember, sarap na sarap ako sa Purefoods hotdogs when I was still a kid. That was like more than 20 yrs ago. Tama yung “kids can tell” na slogan ng Purefoods. Alam ko talaga noon pag Purefoods hotdogs ang kinakain ko or hindi. Sadly, parang di na sya gaano masarap katulad noon. I’m not sure kung binago na nila ang taste ng Purefoods hotdogs or baka yung panlasa ko lang ang nagbago. Grainy na rin ang Purefoods hotdogs ngayon. It wasn’t grainy before pero recently, napansin ko grainy na sya. Aside from that, I find Purefoods hotdogs way too salty. Nakailang bili na kami ng Purefoods hotdogs (mapaclassic man or jumbo) pero lahat talaga grainy na ang texture. This made me stop buying red hotdogs all together. Feeling ko may halong ground bones yung hotdogs na kinakain namin. If ever I have to buy hotdogs, I get it from Bounty Fresh. They’re chicken hotdogs though pero mas mura and for me the Bounty Fresh hotdogs taste better than Purefoods.
my girls love purefoods, they call it ‘pulang hotdog’ and usually eat them mixed sa fried rice, never as a stand alone snack.
purefoods all the way. i do wish these hotdog brands do away with the red color but i guess buyers won’t consider it a hotdog if it’s not red. german franks na lang.
I’m shocked with the price in peso…. Kse here in Ireland, Filipino store sells the Tender Juicy Hotdogs for €35/kilo (1,900+ pesos) such a rip off
Oh my goodness.
My family are die-hard Purefoods hotdogs lovers. However, I recently tried the new Yummy hotdogs by Frabelle, and they really liked it! It looks like we’re switching.
why don’t you include to your comparative hotdog taste test the Frabelle Foods Yummy! Hotdogs? It’s good too. One of my favorite breakfast nowadays except from their cheesedogs. I bought it in Robinson’s supermarket.
Not available in the boondocks.
I do not know if you are familiar with the brand Mother Earth but I remember very well when I was living in Angeles City, Philippines, I would always prefer their product especially the hotdogs. But if Mother Earth was not available, or if I was in Manila, I would prefer the Mekeni Brand, from Pampanga too. I think it’s called PIKNIK.
However, my bros always preferred Purefood’s Tender Juicy, maybe because it is a lil’ bit salty but that’s what they really like, so yeah!
I enjoy your blog so much!
I am. And it was our preferred brand especially for cheese dogs. Sadly, Mother Earth is soooooo hard to find in Metro Manila. For bacon, we usually buy Mekeni. But I haven’t tried Mekeni hotdogs.
hay naku tikman nyo muna ang “yummy hotdog ” ng Frabelle bago kayo mag comment.