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Thread: McDonalds French Fries....really!

  1. #1
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default McDonalds French Fries....really!

    I came across something in an article that I was really surprised by and completely unawares of. I had thought that McDonalds french fries were made from potatoes only. Apparently not!

    https://www.thoughtco.com/mcdonalds-...tarian-3970283

    The Recipe Contains Beef Flavoring
    Among ingredients listed on the website are potatoes, vegetable oil — containing canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil and natural beef flavor — and salt as well as wheat and milk.

    A representative explains: “With regard to our French fries, any customer in the U.S. who contacts McDonald's USA to ask if they contain beef flavoring is told "yes." For flavor enhancement, in the U.S., McDonald's French fry suppliers use a very small amount of beef flavor as a natural flavoring during the par-frying process at the potato processing plant. In the restaurant, the French fries are cooked in vegetable oil.

    "In addition, we have no plans to change the way we prepare our French fries in the U.S. However, it is important to know that our French fries are prepared differently in other countries.”
    source:
    https://www.thoughtco.com/mcdonalds-...tarian-3970283

    I am not vegetarian by any means nor do I have religious reasons for not eating beef as some do but I do find this troubling. I also find it troubling that McDonalds does not have to list this on the packaging. You have to ask to find out or go to their website, which few do. That should not be.

    I have known people who were vegans or had religious Reasons to not eat beef and they consumed Fries only at McDonalds thinking they were safe. I have also known people with gluten sensitivities to do so as well.
    The McDonald's fries in the USA are not vegan, or beef free, nor are they gluten free or dairy free as would be real potato based fries or what most people think french fries should be. Just sharing that fact for our members that didnt know.

    Al
    Last edited by brewmaster15; 05-27-2018 at 09:23 AM.
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  2. #2
    Silver Member Willie's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    This is old news. McDonald's used to cook their fries in beef tallow, like everyone else. When the cholesterol scare came up, they switched to a vegetable oil blend. But the fries lacked the old beefy flavor, people complained and a flavor company developed a flavoring agent to match the original taste. Then came the blow up with vegetarians, who never ate the original fries because of the tallow. McDonald's has since switched to a flavoring containing no animal components.

    I don't know about wheat. If it's really there, it's likely flour. McDonald's ingredients and nutritional statement for every item on the menu is available at every store. People on special diets can easily check.

    The net is full of trolls who like to drive controversy with half truths and insinuations. Gotta to love the elegant phrasing, "laced with the blood of dead cows"! ��

    Willie
    At my age, everything is irritating.

  3. #3
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Willie, It may be old news to you but I can assure you its not old news to everyone. I know many besides me that didnt know this..and I will bet others here did not. So if they gain that knowledge from my post..It did what it was supposed to do.

    I don't subscribe to that website by any means but the quote from the McDonalds rep is telling.

    Apparently they are not required to list their ingredients of "Natural Flavorings"by law.

    https://www.eater.com/platform/amp/2...ian-what-is-it
    The American flavor industry is expected to earn an estimated $15.1 billion annually by 2020, an unsurprising number given that at this point, almost all processed foods (and many non-processed foods) include flavor additives. But the term "flavor additives" is deliberately vague. Companies are not required to disclose the ingredients of flavor additives if all components are considered generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — and most manufacturers decline to get into specifics. If you think of flavorings as the proverbial secret sauce, it makes sense: You would be handing competitors the keys to the tasty kingdom.
    al


    For those interested in more on the fries a net search will turn up quite a bit.. They actually contain about 19 ingredients in the USA.

    http://www.mashed.com/67746/whats-re...fries/%3famp=1

    One of the many ingredients that are thrust into each batch of McDonald's fries is natural beef flavor. This was introduced once the restaurant put an end to cooking their fries in actual beef fat. Beef flavoring itself — the exact ingredients of which aren't required to be disclosed by the companies who make it — doesn't technically qualify as an ingredient, according to the FDA. You can be sure, however, that they contain a whole host of things, none of which are guaranteed to come from beef at all. Expect yeast, proteins and beef stock, but don't expect any actual beef.

    And no, in case you're wondering, the artificiality of McDonald's beef flavoring doesn't make it suitable for vegetarians. In 2001, the company was sued for trying to insinuate that was the case.
    Last edited by brewmaster15; 05-27-2018 at 10:41 AM.
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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    I don't care either way because I never eat that junk. I'll admit that on the rare occasion I deep fry I like to use lard. Nothing beats pork fat for deep frying. I imagine that beef tallow is the same that way. Heck, I'm little and skinny. Cholesterol be danged. I'm in it for the flavor factor.
    Mama Bear

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    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    I don't care either way because I never eat that junk. I'll admit that on the rare occasion I deep fry I like to use lard. Nothing beats pork fat for deep frying. I imagine that beef tallow is the same that way. Heck, I'm little and skinny. Cholesterol be danged. I'm in it for the flavor factor.
    lol.I hear you there Liz. I.keep jars of bacon fat, chicken fat, and duck fat in my freezer for cooking that needs a boost of flavor. Waste not want not. Im not one that thinks natural fats are a bad thing in of itself for humans.

    al
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    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Where do you find duck fat. From what I have read duck fat is the creme de la creme of fats.
    Mama Bear

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    Silver Member Willie's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Duck fat, mmmmm...
    At my age, everything is irritating.

  8. #8
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Quote Originally Posted by LizStreithorst View Post
    Where do you find duck fat. From what I have read duck fat is the creme de la creme of fats.
    it is!

    Roast Duck is one of my favorites. We have a few stores that sell them here near me so I just save the fat from that.Duck is so fatty its not hard get a supply going.
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  9. #9
    Silver Member Willie's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    There’s a restaurant in Rapid City, SD (not an oxymoron) where every dish is cooked in duck fat. I’ll it’s been 5+ years and I still remember that meal.

    Willie
    At my age, everything is irritating.

  10. #10
    Administrator brewmaster15's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Quote Originally Posted by Willie View Post
    There’s a restaurant in Rapid City, SD (not an oxymoron) where every dish is cooked in duck fat. I’ll it’s been 5+ years and I still remember that meal.

    Willie
    Sounds delicious!
    2018-05-27 12.17.47.jpg

    2018-05-27 12.21.03.jpg

    Duck fat has a really different look to it. Can fat be beautiful? lol.
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    Homesteader Altum Nut's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    You guys are making me think I'm missing something after not having eaten a meal cooked in duck fat.
    As for MacDonald's Fries....I try and stay away from that place all together with an acceptation of there Dark Roast coffee.
    I always had the impression growing up that their fries were not real potatoes as they would taste like cardboard 2 minutes after sitting down to eat.

    ...Ralph
    "Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."
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  12. #12
    Moderator Team LizStreithorst's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Al, you are lucky. Willie my best ever duck meal was in China Town in Mexico city. There were several good restaurants but there was one where pressed duck was on the menu. They roast the duck then they bone the duck, then they form the meat into 1" slabs and press it. Finally it's fried in duck oil until the outside is perfectly crisp and the inside is moist and tender. I think I remember a sweetish sauce on the top.

    My local supermarket has duck frozen hard as a rock like it's been in a deep freeze. I've bought it twice. It's labeled "mature duck" and it is. The flavor is there and I do get some fat so save but the meat is quite tough. I suppose I could make duck fricassee and skim the fat from the top. There is no other acceptable way to cook an old duck but low and slow simmering gently in seasoned water.
    Mama Bear

  13. #13
    Registered Member Jenene's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Al, I popped in to see if I could find any unusual threads for entertainment. You never disappoint. The one that got shut down was a pot stirrer as well.
    This is new news to me but honestly can’t remember the last time I darkened their doorstep.
    It’s right up there with the whole pink slime thing... You make a valid point that many people would would not choose to eat animal products for health, moral or religious reasons have been misled.
    Goes to show you your tastebuds should stay home. You are a much better cook anyway. Glad I popped in. You learn something every time you visit this fun fact family!

  14. #14
    Registered Member + MVP danotaylor's Avatar
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    Default Re: McDonalds French Fries....really!

    Holy cow mate! scuse the pun...both my kiddos are glutarded...I never even thought to check potato fries...luckily we only part-took very infrequently, but now fries are off the easy travel food list altogether...corporate laws are so shady

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