What exactly is in McDonald

[Hum]

Potatoes

 

Mickey D's uses varieties like the Russet Burbank, which have a nice oval shape and just the right balance of starch and sugar. Excess sugar can cause a fry to have brown spots where it's over-caramelized, leaving a burnt taste and deviating from the uniform yellow-arches color. Just in case, the spuds are blanched after slicing, removing surplus sugar.

Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate

 

Taters can turn a nasty hue even after they're fried?iron in the spud reacts with the potato's phenolic compounds, discoloring the tissue. The phosphate ions in SAPP trap the iron ions, stalling the reaction and keeping the potatoes nice and white throughout the process.

Vegetable Oil

 

In the good old days, McDonald's fries were cooked in beef tallow. But customer demand for less saturated fat prompted a switch to vegetable oil in the early '90s. Here, that means oils of varying saturations combined into something reminiscent of beef tallow. There's canola (about 8 percent saturated fat), soybean oil (16 percent), and hydrogenated soybean oil (94 percent). And to replace the essence of beef tallow? ?Natural beef flavor,? which contains hydrolyzed wheat and milk proteins that could be a source of meaty-tasting amino acids.

More Vegetable Oil

 

That's right, the fries get two batches of vegetable oil?one for par-frying at the factory and another for the frying bath on location. The second one adds corn oil and an additive called TBHQ, or tertbutylhydroquinone, which at high doses can cause nasty side effects in rats (mmmm ? stomach tumors). McDonald's uses this oil for all its frying, so the stuff usually sits around in big vats, which means it can go rancid as oxygen plucks hydrogens from lipids. TBHQ acts as an antioxidant, replacing those pilfered hydrogens with its own supply.

Dextrose

 

A brief dip in a corn-based sugar solution replaces just enough of the natural sweet stuff that was removed by blanching. The result is a homogeneous outer layer that caramelizes evenly. You'll add more sugar later when you squirt on the ketchup.

Salt

 

Sprinkled on just after frying, the crystals are a uniform diameter?just big enough to get absorbed quickly by crackling-hot oil. Now add ketchup and you've achieved the hedonistic trifecta: fat, salt, and sugar.

source

[DocM]

Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate is the acid in baking powder. Makes it foam and cause baked goods to rise without yeast.

tertbutylhydroquinone is an anti-oxidant, which a lot of people pursue in their diet. Even the EU calls it safe. Just because something is a problem for rats doesn't mean it's harmful to people.

The meaty.taste is known as umami and the one given is just one way to get it. Milks have an umami flavor, including breast milk, and so do items like tomatoes, fish sauce, anchovies, shellfish etc. Dunno how those would work with fries.

Double-frying (low temp, cool, then high temp) is EXACTLY how a good cook prepares fries in their kitchen. One of the oldest tricks in the potato book.

Dextrose - meh, also an old trick when doing fries.

Salt - meh.

[Boo Berry]

Yummy.

[macoman]

I said this before to my friends, anyone that eat in McDonald's. Most likely will die of a stroke or heart attack.

[McKay]

I said this before to my friends, anyone that eat in McDonald's. Most likely will die of a stroke or heart attack.

 

If you eat there regularly and don't exercise sure.

[sweetpoison07]

To be honest I've looked at the box ( yes the box in the deep freezer with like 36 lbs in it or whatever it is) and there's like 20-30 ingredients. I'll try to snap a picture for you guys. Check back in a day or two if I don't, oh well, but there's quite a bit involved there.

[neufuse Veteran]

I said this before to my friends, anyone that eat in McDonald's. Most likely will die of a stroke or heart attack.

You know what I tell people, if you eat anything you will most likely die of one of them... it's not what you eat, its how you eat.... Small fry from McDonalds not bad, largest fry 2 times a day not good.... besides all the political/health nut BS around about fast foot, a lot of restaurants are WAY worse to eat at... Ruby Tuesday for example... some of their meals are the equivalent of 2+ large big mac meals at mcdonalds... for a single meal and people think oh it's a restaurant with cook prepared food, it must be better.... not true

To be honest I've looked at the box ( yes the box in the deep freezer with like 36 lbs in it or whatever it is) and there's like 20-30 ingredients. I'll try to snap a picture for you guys. Check back in a day or two if I don't, oh well, but there's quite a bit involved there.

I'll save you some time....

 

FRENCH FRIES:

Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*, Citric Acid

[Preservative]), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (Maintain Color), Salt. Prepared in Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean

Oil with TBHQ and Citric Acid added to preserve freshness), Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

*

CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK.

*Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.

[Torolol]

no pepper?

[compl3x]

If you eat there regularly and don't exercise sure.

 

 

Which is true for way too many people.

[Hum]

Potatoes ? Contains actual potatoes ?  shocking :huh:

[Raa]

Po-ta-toes.

 

Oil and salt. :P

[Wyn6]

To be honest I've looked at the box ( yes the box in the deep freezer with like 36 lbs in it or whatever it is) and there's like 20-30 ingredients. I'll try to snap a picture for you guys. Check back in a day or two if I don't, oh well, but there's quite a bit involved there.

Yes. There's a reason why when these get cold they no longer taste like any food known to man. And, don't even try and reheat them.

 

You see. French Fries made from fresh cut potatoes can get cold and still taste like potatoes, albeit cold, fried ones. And, if you reheat them in an oven, they taste almost like they did after they were first fried.

 

Oh yeah. And, McDonald's is for the devil, Bobby.

[vcfan]

dont blame mcdonalds for a persons bad health, blame the person who can't control their food intake. the only crime mcdonalds is responsible for is that they stopped offering the supersize option.

[francescob]

Ingredients? What about free samples instead? Also apparently there's nothing french in those fries, time for a class action lawsuit!

[blerk]

Po-ta-toes.

 

Ba-na-naaaaaaaaa

 

[+Red King Subscriber²]

dont blame mcdonalds for a persons bad health, blame the person who can't control their food intake. the only crime mcdonalds is responsible for is that they stopped offering the supersize option.

Blame nations which have a large lower class living below the poverty line unable to eat healthy because that costs more money.

But that is pol. not sci.

[Hum]

What I find shocking is, McDonald's charges more for a large fry than what a 5 pound bag of potatoes costs at the grocery store -- and people pay it. :pinch:

[i_was_here]

Convenience has a cost. I'm sure if people had the time and motivation they would make their own french fries or whatever food they want.

[Ian W]

Am I the only one who likes the taste of the french fries . . . ? I will admit that I do not eat them often.

[Osiris]

I rarely eat there these days but maccas fries and kfc chips are hard to beat.  Actually gourmet polenta chips are the only thing that comes close.  Nothing in the list is surprising except salt, anyone who ever played theme park in the day knows you need to over salt them to increase drink sales!

[Gladiatorus]

Dead people, corpses, cadavers is whats inside McDonald's french fries. :x :x :x

 

And don't even think about McDeadnald's "burgers". :wacko:

[macoman]

Blame nations which have a large lower class living below the poverty line unable to eat healthy because that costs more money.

But that is pol. not sci.

I blame people, not countries. Not matter how poor you are, if you want to eat healthy you can. Go to any supermarket that have a good price and buy healthy veggies and fruits. Even a tuna can is better than a $1 burger.

[Hum]

Am I the only one who likes the taste of the french fries . . . ? I will admit that I do not eat them often.

Honestly, McDonald's fries are NOT the best I've ever eaten.

[+Random Stranger Subscriber¹]

After frying my own potatos, I cannot eat McD crap ever again.  And I will not. Unless I have not eaten anything for a few days, I will not consider taking a bite.  It is vile.

[game_over]

I said this before to my friends, anyone that eat in McDonald's. Most likely will die of a stroke or heart attack.

 

I'm doomed.