Why Are Mcdonald’s Fries So Addicting?
McDonald’s fries are one of the most famous menu items in McDonald’s restaurants. Today, many people eat fewer carbs to lose weight and eat more vegetables and protein.
As a result, many customers buy the side salad instead of the fries when they order their food. But, Why Are Mcdonald’s Fries So Addicting?
McDonald’s fries are addictive thanks to their ingredients and cooking process. This fast-food favorite comprises potatoes, sunflower oil, canola, dextrose, and salt. They fry them in hydrogenated soybean oil and then cook them again to give them the perfect crispy exterior while keeping them soft on the inside.
These fries have a naturally high salt content thanks to the potassium in them, which causes their taste to be so addictive and desirable.
Potassium also helps keep you full for longer periods after eating them.
Salt stimulates insulin secretion in the body, which leads to a positive feeling and potentially more cravings for more food, thus helping you to feel more satisfied.
Especially with McDonald’s fries, since they’re fried until golden brown and then served hot, you must wait before eating them again.
This delay makes you want more because they taste even better than cold ones when one serves them hot and fresh out of the fryer.
McDonald’s is also big on its fryer oil. The potatoes are first boiled in water to make their fries soft and then fried in canola, sunflower, or soybean oil.
This oil has a lower frying temperature than several others, which helps reduce the amount of saturated fats added to them.
What Secret Does Mcdonald’s French Fries Hold?
The key ingredient to McDonald’s famous fries is a beef-flavored powder. This dry seasoning gives them their unique flavor and helps them stay crispy.
Ingredients include salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate, hydrolyzed wheat gluten, maltodextrin, citric acid, and natural flavor.
The company says the protein in the flavored powder helps make the fries crispier by preventing moisture from cooking out of them.
According to McDonald’s, the fries comprise peeled potatoes, cut into strips, soaked in water, and then fried.
They are first frozen and then shipped to restaurants, where they cook them in beef-flavored vegetable oil at 370 degrees Fahrenheit.
The process takes about 8 to 10 minutes from start to finish.
McDonald’s says they put the beef-flavored powder in the oil during frying to help keep moisture, and they add salt to ensure that the fries remain crisp during the cooking process.
Flavoring oil is a common practice in the fast-food industry.
Other major corporations, such as Burger King, which owns the Whopper, also use beef-flavored powders when frying their french fries to help keep moisture and add flavor.
The same holds for other salty foods, such as pickles.
Many fast-food restaurants coat their french fries with maltodextrin, a type of starch that resists water absorption and helps keep foods crisp during cooking and serving.
However, seasoning and flavoring products are under scrutiny by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
People worldwide consume more processed foods and seek new ways to extend their shelf life.
Does Mcdonalds Soak Their Fries In Sugar?
Yes. McDonalds soak their fries in dextrose, a form of processed sugar. At McDonald’s, they use a special blend of potato starch, maltodextrin, and dextrose to give the fries their light flavor.
Instead of using pure dextrose, they add maltodextrin so that it’s not too sweet. Dextrose is less expensive than pure glucose but more potent in sweetness.
The result is a pleasantly sweet crispy fry with an appealing texture from the potato starch.
Dextrose is a type of sugar derived from corn. It commonly gets utilized in the food industry as a sweetener and preservative.
You can often find it in soft drinks, canned fruits, jams, and jellies.
Dextrose has a very high glycemic index, meaning that it rapidly absorbs glucose from the bloodstream and rapidly raises blood glucose levels.
This can lead to an increase in insulin production to control blood glucose levels. This is a concern because high insulin levels may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes.
There are many ways that food companies can make their foods taste less sweet, such as using less sugar, adding more sweeteners, like High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), or soaking the foods in syrup.
However, dextrose is not used to reduce the amount of sugary foods. Rather, it increases its shelf life by helping food keep its crispness and prevent it from going stale.
Are Mcdonald’s Fries Peanut Free?
Yes. McDonald’s fries are peanut-free. Just ask for fry without the ketchup, and you will receive an alternative, non-peanut fry made with a Canola oil blend.
Since many people have peanut allergies, they don’t make McDonald’s fries with peanuts or peanut-based ingredients. They make them in a separate fryer using canola oil.
Even the natural flavoring gets denatured, which eliminates the risk of allergens. This oil blend has a non-allergenic certification, and they do not use peanut oil for cooking their fries.
The FDA and the American Peanut Council approve the fry recipe that McDonald’s use.
The canola oil used at McDonald’s is the same as Canola oil used in many other restaurants and fast-food chains. The American Oil Chemists’ Society approves it.
This ingredient is common and healthy in small quantities. Canola oil per pound of potatoes is less than 1% of the weight.
It also contains Vitamin E and healthy antioxidants for human consumption. French fries contain a tiny amount of Canola oil.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services approves the fry recipe used at McDonald’s.
Did Mcdonalds Change Fries?
Yes. McDonald’s changes the oil they fry their fries at least twice a year, but not every location changes its oil simultaneously.
The menu on the right gives you an approximate date when your local McDonald’s will change their oil and retrain their cooks in the new process.
A timeline is also available under “Dates We Change Fries” on the updated nutritional pages on their website.
But several restaurants change the oil during the same week, so here are some guidelines:
Many large McDonald’s restaurants use a technique called flash-frying. This system heats the oil just enough (about 170 degrees) to fully cook the fries before removing them from the frying station.
The process may take 2 or 3 minutes, depending on how hot their oil is at that moment.
Flash-frying lets them keep a shorter cooking time, which results in less greasy fries and a higher grade of oil.
This way, the fries won’t oil up as quickly as in a restaurant that takes 5 minutes or more to cook fries.
After one of these restaurants change their oil, they will heat the new oil and use it for five days to cook their fries before discarding it.
This gives them time to retrain their cooks and comfortable handling the new oil.
When they have trained all their cooks and are confident that they can handle the oil change, they will start frying again on a set schedule.
So you will notice a large McDonald’s chain change their oil in one day or the same week, depending on how many cooks they have to retrain and how well they handle the new oil.
Why Do French Fries Taste Different?
French fries taste different to people from different parts of the world. One theory says that potatoes taste different from region to region: Western-grown potatoes have a sweeter taste than Eastern Europe.
Bioflavonoids are natural plant chemicals that give fruits and vegetables their color. The anthocyanins in red-colored potatoes are strong antioxidants.
Potatoes also contain vitamin C and niacin and small amounts of thiamine, iron, magnesium, and manganese.
Other experts say that its preparation process affects the taste of French fry. Cutting the potatoes into long, thin strips causes them to cook faster and keep an outer crisp.
Refried potatoes are another example of this phenomenon—it loses the coloring of a refried potato, and instead, it appears as if a new potato has fried.
The “French fry rule” says that when you compare the two French fry recipes, the one cut more evenly will taste best for most people.
Sometimes one cooks French fries with skin attached to keep them from sticking. Some cultures, including Belgium and the Netherlands, leave a small piece of potato on the end of the fry for flavor.
Other “French fry secrets” include:
- Cooking potatoes in oil helps with the shelf life of French fries.
- When potatoes are first harvested, they’re green–they’ll continue to turn green when cooked until they turn brown.
- You can reuse a cut potato to cook more fries.
- Cutting the potatoes before they’re cooked is important to prevent the starchy center from turning to mush.
- French fries taste best when eaten freshly fried, with no seasoning. A little salt sprinkled on afterward is fine if the fries lack flavor.
Are Mcdonald’s Fries Patented?
Yes. Mcdonalds’ boasts patented fries by the company’s food scientist, Ken Strongin.
They claim to be “sweet, crispy, golden on the outside and soft on the inside” and “naturally golden on the outside, not burnt.”
The fries are so famous that their name has even become known as the “golden arches” beyond the McDonald’s restaurant chain.
The company’s food scientist, Ken Strongin, describes making the fries in strong words.
He says that “the extra-long fryers they use—each batch makes 28 pounds of fries—are especially so that the potatoes get shaken and stirred during cooking to ensure uniformity and prevent scorching.”
However, despite the company’s confidence in its famous recipe, it has some disadvantages.
The special frying procedure causes the release of extra calories from the chips. “So if you are eating McDonald’s fries all the time, it’s not great,” says Strongin.
In addition, since the process is so thorough, they have to discard the whole batch if anything goes wrong.
This means that when a customer orders fries, they could get a different batch from anyone else sitting in the restaurant at that very moment.
Did Mcdonald’s Stop Putting Salt On Fries?
No. They only cut the amount of salt by a quarter on their original recipe. They also have a seasoning called “salt and pepper” for those who want more salt.
The original recipe fries are still available in stores, but now they have a “slightly less salty” option, 25% less salt than the original recipe. They also have a “no salt added” fries with no extra salt.
By cutting the amount of salt by a quarter, McDonald’s has reduced the average person’s sodium intake by about 1/4 teaspoon per order of French fries.
The original recipe French fries at McDonald’s have 21% or 65 mg of sodium in a serving size of 1 order (equals 3.25 oz), 258 calories.
The new option has 10% or 35 mg of sodium per order (or the same amount of salt as the first option), 170 calories. They cut the calories from 258 to 170.
The second option is not on the menu, but it’s a small order of fries, about one and a half ounces. The nutrition fact for this item says there’s 5% sodium or 18mg.
This option has 100 fewer calories than the regular fries, and it also has no trans fat.
Two small orders have more salt than one large order (50 more mg). One large order has more sodium than one order of the original fries (65 mg more).
Even though there is only 5% of sodium on the second option, which means it’s only 110 mg, in theory.
If you are a serious salt-eater, this second option should be enough to satisfy your salt craving. After all, they have lived up to their slogan, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
Just to put this into perspective.
Does Mcdonald’s Dip Their Fries In Milk?
Yes. In a few countries, such as the U.S, restaurants dip their fries in milk. The reason for this is to freeze the potatoes before you can cook them and keep them from turning a chalky color after freezing; they dip them in milk.
In other countries, such as China, the fries come fresh from a fryer and oil. You don’t need to dip them as their color depends on ingredients such as wheat flour or rice starch–not freezing.
- The bags line up with two sheets of paper
- The fries touch the paper, which they moisten with water and cooled
- The potatoes absorb the moisture and cool as they do so
- They seal and freeze their bags, which allows the fries to stay cold for hours
- When you open the bag, you’ll find fresh fries
What Does Mcdonald’s Fry Their Nuggets In?
McDonald’s fry their nuggets in vegetable oil mixed with citric acid and preservatives to keep the nuggets from going brown.
The company doesn’t say what oil type they use for frying, but it lists vegetable oils with either citric acid or preservatives. Some oils include canola, corn, and soybean.
McDonald’s also says that they never add fresh vegetables to their French fry production. This helps the French fries stay crispy and golden.
McDonald’s also says they cook the nuggets for about 35 to 40 seconds in oil at 350 degrees.
According to McDonald’s Australia website, chicken nuggets are free of antibiotics and artificial ingredients.
McDonald’s has the newest addition to its menu, the “Grilled Chicken Classic.” They cook it in the same oil as the classic chicken nuggets.
McDonald’s has fried their chicken in vegetable oil since the 1970s, which uses “quick-fry.”
McDonald’s does not reveal the exact cooking process for the chicken nuggets, and it doesn’t disclose which preservatives they use.
It also says that they cook their nuggets at a lower temperature because of their size, which helps make sure they don’t become over-cooked and dried out.
McDonald’s also admits that their nuggets don’t have a typical crispy texture because of the pressure-cooked process.
The vegetable oil and preservative process helps nuggets keep moisture and stay fresh-looking.
Does McDonalds use Chickenfoot?
No. McDonald’s don’t use Chickenfoot. Chickenfoot is only used to create delicious and succulent chicken sandwiches in the fast-food chain.
You can even find it at Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC, and Mcdonald’s other restaurants when you want a taste of this famous chicken.
The original recipe came up in the 1980s, and it has been a staple in this fast-food chain ever since then.
But, not everyone is fond of Chickenfoot, and out of the millions of people who visit McDonald’s every day, some dislike this chicken.
You don’t have to cook it a certain way or have any specific ingredients. Some people dislike it, period. It’s even hard to describe it in many words.
It does not taste that great. Critics say it tastes “like chicken,” which isn’t great.
Besides having that unforgettable taste, Chickenfoot is also high in cholesterol, and it contains a lot of fat- so much so that some people are allergic to it.
Over one million people have had adverse reactions from eating this chicken, and millions have lobbied against it in the past few years, but to no avail.
Do Mcdonald’s Chicken Nuggets Have Bones In Them?
Yes. McDonald’s chicken nuggets have ground bones in them. This is because of the chicken meat processing process.
It’s ground up and mixed with other ingredients, like wheat, salt, and flavoring. They then shape this mixture into nuggets and cook them until the outside turns crisp brown.
The bones don’t come out when cooked because they’re finely grounded (like flour). They’re mixed with other ingredients to make McDonald’s chicken nuggets.
If you have trouble chewing or wear dentures, you should check with their dentist before eating chicken nuggets. Even though the bones are very small ground up, they’re still there.
Most of the bones come from chickens raised for people to eat. McDonald’s only uses chickens raised in North America and Canada (and some in Europe).
These chickens don’t have any antibiotics or hormones added to their feed. They’re also fed a vegetarian diet (no meat or fish).
They don’t feed the chickens a lot of chicken parts since some of the meat gets destroyed before it’s used in a meal.
The bones in chicken nuggets are primarily from the thighs, and they’re ground into tiny pieces. They’re also cooked very quickly, so they don’t get cooked into a gooey mass like in a stew.
Conclusion
McDonald’s makes their french fries in a factory, but the chain also sells frozen fast-food french fries. The chain started selling frozen french fries a few years ago.
They were the first of their kind to do so. Other chains sell frozen fries, but they come from the same fryer that McDonald’s uses for its fresh potatoes.
