I worked at McDonalds long ago, and I am a huge fan. If you are interested in understanding why they are so incredible, make sure to read "Grinding It Out" which is the story of McDonalds told by Ray Croc, who turned a small local store into one of the greatest franchises the world has ever known. He was in his mid-50s when he stated, and the whole thing is just inspiring for entrepreneurs no matter how many time you might have failed before. But I digress...
The thing about working at McDonalds is that you learn exactly what everything tastes like - and you notice all the little changes. For example, the difference in quality between a quarter pound patty used in the quarter pounder and double quarter pounder, and a "10" (1/10 pound) patty used in the regular cheeseburger and double-cheeseburger. I have eaten everything on the McDonalds menu, and can tell you what the most disgustingly unhealthy thing by caloric density is (not the fries!).
So, the most important factor we noticed about the french fries was how old the fry grease was. Each night 1 of three things happen to the fry grease:'
1) it is skimmed for any remnants of fries and left to simmer at a low warm temperature for the next day
2) it is run through a cleaning machine (2-3 times per week)
3) it is completely replaced by a technician (every 1 or 2 weeks depending on time of year)
New grease is very clear, like fresh motor oil you put into your car. As the grease gets older turns more and more golden brown as it gets more carbon in it from little bits of fries that break off and burn in the hot oil and disintegrate. Eventually, right before it is replaced, the grease is very brown and the fries will actually come out with tiny brownish bits on them. Some people really liked the "dirty grease fries" but the majority of staff knew when the best french fries were made - when the grease was about 4 days old, right after the first cleaning. I can't tell you exactly why, but these fries were the yummiest to the point where I would only eat them at this point (gotta stay thin somehow working there!) and crew members would bring in their kids on that day to eat.
Its also important to know that fries are never ever cooked in the same grease used for chicken nuggets, fish filets, etc. I'd be curious to know what that tastes like if anyone has every broken the rules and tried it, but that was a religious issue at the McDonalds locations I worked at so we never did.
Anyway, if you're curious and have a regular McDonalds you can always ask them when the last time the grease was cleaned or changed.
You really should have been filtering your oil ("run through a cleaning machine") daily. The filtering process removes the carbon build up that causes oil to degrade. The labour cost to doing this daily is far smaller that the cost of the oil you save.
Fries aren't cooked in the same oil as the fish fillets and nuggets because of vegetarian concerns. Never tried the fries in any oils other than its oil (mainly because they were in different areas in the building).
The oil of the fried chickens (the nuggets, McChicken patties and Crispy Chicken patties (maybe more or less different types depending on what country you are from)) are kinda interchangeable.
The oil in the fry vats, when it got too old for fries, was put into the pie or fish vats.
> Its also important to know that fries are never ever cooked in the same grease used for chicken nuggets, fish filets, etc. I'd be curious to know what that tastes like if anyone has every broken the rules and tried it
The fries would pick up the flavor of the fish or pies and taste weird. Since the vat temperatures are different, and the vat sizes are different, the fries would not come out consistently fried either.
* Nicholas Kurti's "But the Crackling is Superb: An Anthology on Food and Drink by Fellows and Foreign Members of The Royal Society of London" (ISBN 0-7503-0488-X)
I first learned of the obsession with perfecting food through understanding the chemistry behind it through Cook & Chemist (http://www.cookandchemist.com). Unfortunately, the two books they have published are in Dutch and there appear to be no translations yet.
The major influence Heston Blumenthal has had in my (sparsely equipped kitchen) is this: fennel should be microwaved. Wrap the stuff in microwave foil and zap it five times for one minute (leaving time inbetween to allow the heat to dissipate).
McDonald's main problem is that they sacrifice quality for consistency. I can understand why a chain restaurant would want that. I can even understand why a customer would want that. What I can't understand is why a home cook would want that.
If you read the article, he actually tries to improve on McDonalds fries. He says they get soggy too quickly, and tinkers with the recipe to achieve longer crispness.
Responding to you first two sentences, I don't think that's actually a bad thing. It's very far from being the best food ever but it has a consistent quality - you can walk into any McDonald's restaurant anywhere in the world and you will know exactly what you will get. Sometimes (especially when you travel) you don't have that many options when it comes to food and you know that at least you won't get food poisoning at McDonald's.
The way McDonalds makes its fries isn't a secret. They let Food Network film part of a documentary on fried food in one of their french fry factories, and showed the entire process from potato to frozen product ready to ship. It was basically cleaning and sizing (large potatoes cut in half), shot through pipes by water pressure with a grate on the end of the pipe that cuts the potato into fries, steamed to make the inside fluffy, then fried twice at two temperatures.
That's kind of like saying that the way Google processes mail for Google Mail isn't a secret. It's not, but knowing how "it's done" and knowing how they "actually do it" are two different things.
While that may be true, the interesting thing about this article is that it presents a recipe that can be reproduced in an average kitchen. I'm no chef, so I don't know if this has done before, but if it hasn't, it's pretty cool.
With a bit of social engineering... aka "asking someone who works in a McD kitchen"... he could have got the oil cooker temperature and timings.
The McD website, or a pamphlet you can get instore, would list the ingredients.
Anyway, kudos to the writer for doing it the hard way.
Finally, telling a McD fry lover (I put my hand up to that!) that the fries are rubbish is like telling a smoker that cigarettes are bad for them. We know.
I really don't like fries of this style. I'll take a real, honest fench fry where one can tell it is made from a sliced potato. Five Guys, for instance, makes excellent fries. They appear to do so by cutting up a potato and immersing it in boiling oil. Imagine that!
I have absolutely no desire to eat processed, partially synthesized corporate potato product.
They don't know how to make anything without preservatives and additives. They don't care. Of course they're full of absolute death wax, not to mention all the petro/organochlorines the potatoes, canola, corn and soybeans were probably soaked in while being grown (highly likely to be genetically engineered, too)
[+] [-] danielle17|16 years ago|reply
The thing about working at McDonalds is that you learn exactly what everything tastes like - and you notice all the little changes. For example, the difference in quality between a quarter pound patty used in the quarter pounder and double quarter pounder, and a "10" (1/10 pound) patty used in the regular cheeseburger and double-cheeseburger. I have eaten everything on the McDonalds menu, and can tell you what the most disgustingly unhealthy thing by caloric density is (not the fries!).
So, the most important factor we noticed about the french fries was how old the fry grease was. Each night 1 of three things happen to the fry grease:'
1) it is skimmed for any remnants of fries and left to simmer at a low warm temperature for the next day
2) it is run through a cleaning machine (2-3 times per week)
3) it is completely replaced by a technician (every 1 or 2 weeks depending on time of year)
New grease is very clear, like fresh motor oil you put into your car. As the grease gets older turns more and more golden brown as it gets more carbon in it from little bits of fries that break off and burn in the hot oil and disintegrate. Eventually, right before it is replaced, the grease is very brown and the fries will actually come out with tiny brownish bits on them. Some people really liked the "dirty grease fries" but the majority of staff knew when the best french fries were made - when the grease was about 4 days old, right after the first cleaning. I can't tell you exactly why, but these fries were the yummiest to the point where I would only eat them at this point (gotta stay thin somehow working there!) and crew members would bring in their kids on that day to eat.
Its also important to know that fries are never ever cooked in the same grease used for chicken nuggets, fish filets, etc. I'd be curious to know what that tastes like if anyone has every broken the rules and tried it, but that was a religious issue at the McDonalds locations I worked at so we never did.
Anyway, if you're curious and have a regular McDonalds you can always ask them when the last time the grease was cleaned or changed.
[+] [-] brianwillis|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] someperson|16 years ago|reply
The oil of the fried chickens (the nuggets, McChicken patties and Crispy Chicken patties (maybe more or less different types depending on what country you are from)) are kinda interchangeable.
[+] [-] Tangurena|16 years ago|reply
> Its also important to know that fries are never ever cooked in the same grease used for chicken nuggets, fish filets, etc. I'd be curious to know what that tastes like if anyone has every broken the rules and tried it
The fries would pick up the flavor of the fish or pies and taste weird. Since the vat temperatures are different, and the vat sizes are different, the fries would not come out consistently fried either.
[+] [-] RobertL|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] unknown|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] micheljansen|16 years ago|reply
* Anything by Hervé This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hervé_This#Bibliography)
* Nicholas Kurti's "But the Crackling is Superb: An Anthology on Food and Drink by Fellows and Foreign Members of The Royal Society of London" (ISBN 0-7503-0488-X)
* Stuff by Heston Blumenthal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heston_Blumenthal)
I first learned of the obsession with perfecting food through understanding the chemistry behind it through Cook & Chemist (http://www.cookandchemist.com). Unfortunately, the two books they have published are in Dutch and there appear to be no translations yet.
[+] [-] davnola|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mtts|16 years ago|reply
The major influence Heston Blumenthal has had in my (sparsely equipped kitchen) is this: fennel should be microwaved. Wrap the stuff in microwave foil and zap it five times for one minute (leaving time inbetween to allow the heat to dissipate).
Best fennel you've ever had.
Also works with asparagus.
[+] [-] bryanh|16 years ago|reply
Very cool.
[+] [-] lincolnq|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nadim|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] KC8ZKF|16 years ago|reply
Pommes frites are fresh potatoes cooked in animal fat, and seasoned with salt and rosemary. http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/4205683848/
[+] [-] rbranson|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rue|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DrJokepu|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] ars|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] jrnkntl|16 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] xtacy|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dangrossman|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tptacek|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Nycto|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ivankirigin|16 years ago|reply
A fry party is exactly what it sounds like. You make kilos of fries and dozens of dips and get drunk on the power.
[+] [-] soyelmango|16 years ago|reply
The McD website, or a pamphlet you can get instore, would list the ingredients.
Anyway, kudos to the writer for doing it the hard way.
Finally, telling a McD fry lover (I put my hand up to that!) that the fries are rubbish is like telling a smoker that cigarettes are bad for them. We know.
[+] [-] Splines|16 years ago|reply
While that may have answered the "how", only through this type of process could the author have answered the "why".
[+] [-] malkia|16 years ago|reply
Nothing is better than fresh potatoes, made by my wife with feta cheese on top of them and beer. I like them to have some meat in them.
[+] [-] code_duck|16 years ago|reply
I have absolutely no desire to eat processed, partially synthesized corporate potato product.
[+] [-] tszming|16 years ago|reply
http://www.google.com/patents?lr=&q=french+fries&btn...
[+] [-] sushi|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stefanp|16 years ago|reply
http://www.cookingissues.com/2010/04/27/the-quest-for-french...
[+] [-] stfp|16 years ago|reply
No biggie, but it'd be a shame, the article I linked to is as impressive, it not more in terms of cooking-engineeringness.
[+] [-] Aegean|16 years ago|reply
[+] [-] code_duck|16 years ago|reply
here you go, from http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/ingredients...
Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola 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)
[+] [-] cacaolat|16 years ago|reply
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