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Why Nothing Else Tastes Like McDonalds Fries
Oct 3, 2025
Whether you’re headed to McDonald’s for a Big Mac, a box of Chicken McNuggets, or a Filet o’Fish, odds are… you’re probably gonna have some fries with that. And that’s because -- all over the world -- pretty much everyone loves the taste of McDonald’s french fries. So what’s the secret?
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0:00
Today, we're climbing over the counter to figure out why McDonald's fries are so different
0:05
After buying the franchise rights from the McDonald's brothers in 1955, Ray Kroc would become borderline obsessive about making sure those fries were always up to the company's high standards
0:15
He also began dispatching teams of specialists to his restaurants to keep tabs on whether or not their spuds had the correct water content and solidity levels
0:24
But the fries would still vary in crispiness. To address the issue, in 1962, Kroc hired a Motorola engineer named Lou Martino and put him to work
0:33
Long story short, Martino eventually determined that placing cold fries into hot oil lowers the temperature of the oil a variable amount each time
0:42
The oil then needs to recover a certain amount of that lost heat before the fries will come out right
0:48
To make sure that happened every time, Martino invented a so-called potato computer, which would alert employees as to when the ideal temperature had been achieved
0:56
And, sacrilegious as it may seem, Kroc would even tinker with the recipe for that oil
1:01
changing it over to a most cost-effective mix of vegetable oil and beef tallow
1:05
But in 1990, they finally caved and agreed to cook their fries in vegetable oil
1:10
The substitution drastically changed the taste of the fries, which McDonald's tried to mask with something called natural beef flavor
1:18
Turns out, the trans fats in hydrogenated vegetable oil aren't much better for you than beef fat
1:23
So in 2007 Mickey D had to change to a different oil with less trans fat in it But what exactly is in them And how are they so damn tasty Obviously it all starts with potatoes
1:35
McDonald's only uses what they call premium potatoes, which includes varieties like Russet Burbank, Russet Ranger, Umatillo Russet, and Chepity
1:43
Those potatoes are first peeled, then blanched, and then cut with a tool called a water knife
1:48
which shoots them along at a mind-boggling 60 to 70 miles per hour
1:52
But potatoes are just one of the ingredients. Depending on how you count them, McDonald's fries actually contain anywhere from 10 to 19 ingredients
2:01
And the next two added are dextrose and sodium acid pyrophosphate. The dextrose is basically just sugar
2:08
It affects the taste and is partly responsible for the famous yellow color of McDonald's fries
2:13
That's also the function of the sodium acid pyrophosphate, which are added during the second phase, ominously dubbed the ingredient bath
2:20
After that, the fries are dried out and then partially fried before being frozen for shipping
2:25
This initial fry is what gives the fries their crisp exterior. The rest of the frying, which takes place at a steamy 325 degrees, is done after the fries arrive at the restaurant
2:35
That's also when the rest of those ingredients are added, which, for the record, includes salt and vegetable oil
2:41
which in turn contains canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, and some chemicals that help preserve freshness and keep the oil from splattering
2:48
There's also that natural beef flavor, which contains wheat and milk derivatives
2:52
And yes, that means McDonald's fries are not vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free
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