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[theweaselking]

Debunking the "McDonald's Burgers Don't Rot Because They're Not Food" myth.

(Short version: No burger, no matter how "healthy" the ingredients, of the same size will grow mold, because it dries out too fast. Larger McD's burgers will mold at the exact same speed as larger non-McD's burgers. Hold a teenyburger in an environment where it can't dry out and it will grow mold, McD's or not. Which is to say, there's nothing special about McDonald's food.)

Comments

[anivair.livejournal.com]

No argument. I think it's especially funny that people talk about how unhealthy McDonald's is while eating burgers and fries from some other "healthier" place not realizing that it's the food choices themselves which are bad (though I will note that McDonald's uses low quality oil, puts sugar in their food where none needs to be, and serves the largest soda it can get away with tacking on more calories, but none of that is particularly unique to them. Get a burger and fries at a greasy spoon and about the only better choice will be that the bun may have less sugar and the waitress will suck so bad that you will get half as much coke in you).

[the-dense.livejournal.com]

what about McD's fries, though? i've shown Super Size Me to hundreds of students, and i'd hate to be showing them the bonus-feature "experiment" (where a bunch of McD's food is put under glass and left to finally mold, but the fries never do, although a roadside-stand order of fries does) to persuade them if it's really bullshit.

[theweaselking.livejournal.com]

It's likely not "bullshit" so much as "misleading" - I have no doubt that the McD's fries really don't rot. I just doubt that any other similar fries under similar conditions will rot, either, for the same reason that the teeny hamburgers don't go bad while the quarter-pounders do: The thicker material loses water more slowly, which means it is moist longer, which gives mold time to grow.

Roadside stand fries are often thick-cut, compared to the damn-near-shoestring McD's fries. It's also worth noting that McDonald's fries are "coated" - they put a layer of fat on the potatoes before frying them because that makes them stay crisper. Just about all fries that aren't "potatoes that have been sliced right now just before we put them in the oil" will have that, though.

[jerril]

Deep frying something is, essentially, a complicated way of drying it out as much as possible - you remove quite a lot of water from things when you deep fry them. You replace it with oil, which is why deep fried food doesn't turn brittle and crunchy until you drain off the oils and let them cool down from dangerously-hot (so the left over oils become less liquid).

Same idea as how you make crunchy bacon.

Things packed in grease last a lot longer than things that aren't. "Dry" (ie things without water) things packed in grease last longer yet.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

Depends how it's deep-fried, actually -- properly-made fries are fried twice, the first time hot enough that steam escaping keeps the oil out, then again at a higher temp to crisp the outside (and still most of the oil stays out.) In the end, soft inside, crispy outside, and not much oil absorbed at all.

[anivair.livejournal.com]

Ideally you remove the water without replacing it with oil. You just need to get the temperature right. But in most cases (ie: most places where they do it wrong) I concur.

[kafziel.livejournal.com]

It's also worth noting that McDonald's fries are "coated" - they put a layer of fat on the potatoes before frying them because that makes them stay crisper. Just about all fries that aren't "potatoes that have been sliced right now just before we put them in the oil" will have that, though.

This isn't quite true. They're actually double-fried - fried once, briefly, at the factory, before being frozen, and then fried a second time before serving. This is how they get the good crunchy exterior while keeping the inside light and fluffy.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

And I read a great article by a guy who reverse-engineered them, including a brief boil in lightly-vinegared water, as that modified the outer texture in a way that positively affected the following frying. :)

[kafziel.livejournal.com]

I read that same article! And tried his method! And they were goddamn delicious.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that was on seriouseats as well. :D

My first (and only, thus far) attempt came out a little crumbly, but still delicious. :)

[kafziel.livejournal.com]

Probably over-boiled them. I've done that before, the time really is supposed to be from when you turn on the heat, not from when it starts boiling.

[kafziel.livejournal.com]

The most fascinating thing about the method is that freezing them is actually an important step. The ice crystals break the cell walls and that's what makes for the fluffy insides.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

And as a bonus, they then keep relatively indefinitely for quick cooking later!

[lafinjack.livejournal.com]

Yep, par-boiling and chilling/freezing is part of just about every french fry process.

[anivair.livejournal.com]

... which is exactly how you're supposed to make fries.

[kafziel.livejournal.com]

A lot of places slice the potatoes and then put them immediately in the frier for one round of frying, and then serve.