Two-thirds of Americans plan to host or attend a holiday cookout for Independence Day, according to a National Retail Federation survey. That’s the best barbecue attendance since 2017.
Here’s what’s on the menu.
On the grill
When the grillmaster asks, “Hot dog or hamburger?” the majority of Minnesotans are going to ask for a dog (or brat).
For the week ending on the Fourth of July last year, Minnesota and 29 other states ordered more hot dog buns than hamburger buns through Instacart.
“Something delicious is paired with the buns,” the grocery delivery service wrote, “making them the best indicator of how many hamburgers and hot dogs Americans are consuming.”
Burger lovers will be heartened to know that throughout the year, more ground beef patties than hot dogs are coming off the grill.
About 18.6 billion pounds of beef was available for purchase in 2021, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture data. If just half of that was used to make burgers, it works out to more than 37 billion quarter-pound burgers.
Americans consume about 20 billion hot dogs per year, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates.
As for the other key decision that millions of Americans will make on Tuesday — ketchup or mustard — don’t forget the relish.
“Relish sales beat all others by a long shot, growing by 79% the week of the Fourth,” Laurentia Romaniuk, Instacart’s trends expert, said in a news release.
That’s not to say the red and yellow sauces are less popular than the pickle mix, just that sales for relish shot up ahead of the holiday.
“Ketchup, mayo and mustard are more common kitchen staples, whereas relish is more likely to be purchased for festive BBQs.”
Side dishes
Since many sides are assembled at home and not purchased ready-to-eat, it’s difficult to precisely gauge their popularity.
By one measure — Google search traffic — Minnesota is the capital of red-white-and-blue fruit pizza, at least compared to other states.
The patriotic stars and stripes of berries and cream on a cookie crust is the most-Googled side dish for the Fourth of July in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota, according to an analysis of search data by time2play.
Potato salad is the top-searched side dish in Wisconsin, while baked beans and deviled eggs are tops in other states.
The top savory side in Minnesota is pasta salad, according to Google Trends data.
Minnesotans’ most-searched Independence Day recipe from Betty Crocker is Lake Superior strawberry-almond shortcakes.
The receipt
The National Retail Federation estimates Americans will spend more than $93 on food for the Fourth, a 10% increase over last year.
Part of that jump might be more mouths to feed as celebrations return or grow. Grocery inflation has cooled substantially since this time last year. Ground beef is up just 1% from a year ago.
“That’s a lot of price relief from last year’s inflation rate of 16%,” said Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo’s chief agricultural economist, in a Fourth of July food report. “Like so many things in agriculture and food, the wheel of fortune never stops spinning, and you should expect a new deal coming around the corner sooner rather than later.”
Some food items — cheese, bread, soft drinks and chips — are still seeing price increases of 10% or more compared to last summer even as ingredient costs have fallen and supply chains have been improved.
“Like with the rest of the food supply chain, the lower ingredient costs will eventually help the consumer, but it will be a slow trickle down,” Swanson said.
A total of $9.5 billion will be spent on food for Independence Day festivities, the retail organization found.
