Alan Geisler (1931-2009)

Food chemist, best known for creating the red onion condiment used as a topping on hot dogs in New York City.[65]

What is Alan Geisler (1931-2009) known for?

Alan Stark Geisler, born on September 30, 1930, was a renowned American food chemist. Best known for creating the red onion sauce often used as a condiment on hot dogs in New York City, Geisler's contribution to the food industry is iconic. He was a graduate of Tenafly High School in Tenafly, New Jersey.

Geisler's career journey began after receiving his bachelor's degree in food technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Soon after, he founded a company in 1960 that manufactured shortening, emulsifiers, and other baking ingredients. His clientele included Gregory Papalexis, who made both hot dogs and buns. When Papalexis's customers, New York City's hot dog street vendors, sought a factory-made onion sauce for their dogs, Geisler stepped in. He, with inputs from Papalexis, created a mass-produced onion sauce that consisted mainly of onions, olive oil, and tomato paste, giving the sauce its distinctive red coloring.

The red onion sauce was not just a hit amongst the vendors, who no longer needed to make time-consuming homemade sauces, but also amongst hot dog consumers. The factory-produced sauce became the flagship product of Marathon Enterprises, Inc., where it was marketed as Sabrett's Prepared Onions. As of 2009, the red onion sauce enjoyed a healthy sales figure of a couple of million dollars a year.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Geisler was a passionate stamp collector, golfer, and bagpipes musician. He even performed with the Fairleigh Dickinson University Pipe Band and the Kearny Caledonian Pipe Band at the St. Patrick Day Parade in NYC.

Geisler spent the last years of his life in Mahwah, New Jersey, staying active in his company until his death in 2009, at his winter home in Hernando, Florida, at the age of 78.