What oil is McDonald's fried in?
Once in our kitchens, we cook them in our canola-blend oil so you can have them crispy and hot—just the way you like them. Want to hear more about our fry ingredients? Get the down low on how we flavor our fries.
Avoiding Nuts
Most people with a peanut allergy are concerned about frying oil. McDonald's says it uses a canola oil blend for deep frying.
Like most fried foods, McDonald's fries are cooked in canola oil. But this didn't used to be the case. Beef tallow was initially used because the supplier for the chain couldn't afford vegetable oil. As health concerns over saturated fat grew in the 1990s, McDonald's finally made the switch to vegetable oil.
In 1990, the company announced that they would replace the beef tallow with 100 percent vegetable oil. After the announcement, McDonald's stock fell 8.3 percent. The new fry didn't stack up. As it turns out, the beef tallow had added more than just cholesterol to the signature french fry.
French Fries
Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [wheat And Milk Derivatives]*), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (maintain Color), Salt.
Once in our kitchens, we cook them in our canola-blend oil so you can have them crispy and hot—just the way you like them. Want to hear more about our fry ingredients? Get the down low on how we flavor our fries.
Beef tallow was initially used because the supplier for McDonald's couldn't afford vegetable oil. In the 1990s, as health concerns over saturated fat reached an all-time high, McDonald's faced a backlash against the use of beef tallow, and worried about losing customers, the chain switched to vegetable oil.
McDonald's changed their ingredients for fries in the early 1990s. Specifically, they changed the oil they used to cook the fries from a mixture of vegetable oil and beef tallow to 100% vegetable oil. The change was made in response to health concerns about the use of saturated fats, such as beef tallow, in fast food.
KFC said that after a two-year trial of various cooking oils, it settled on low linolenic soybean oil, a zero trans-fat cooking oil, to replace partially hydrogenated soybean oil in its U.S. restaurants.
Five Guys only uses peanut oil.
If you have a nut allergy, you're out of luck. The chain only uses peanut oil for cooking.
Why do my McDonald's fries taste weird?
The main reason is the fat they use to fry them. While many fast food restaurants use a lighter vegetable oil, McDonald's has stuck with the tried and true beef based oil. They used to use beef tallow, which is a many-times cooked beef suet, that's clarified and has a high smoke point.
Once at the restaurant, our fries are simply cooked in dedicated frying vats in a non-hydrogenated blend of sunflower and rapeseed oil which is 100 percent suitable for vegetarians. In fact, McDonald's French Fries are officially accredited by the Vegetarian Society.
“It's because McDonald's cooks their fries with beef flavoring mixed within their vegetable oil,” the San Diego-based content creator explains in a TikTok posted last week that's served up 9.6 million views. It's “why the fries taste so good,” he added, but it's “probably bad news for vegetarians.”
McDonald's New Fries Are Veggies, But Not Healthy
McDonald's no longer fries its french fries in lard, but its recipe does contain a beef flavor that includes both wheat and milk (making them not vegan, vegetarian, or even gluten-free). Here's a look at what the chain's fries are made of in the U.S.
Most of the time Wendy's cooks their fries in vegetable (soybean) oil. They also cook their nuggets, chicken tenders and crispy chicken sandwiches in vegetable oil in a separate fryer. They cook their home style and spicy chicken sandwiches in a pressure fryer that uses canola oil…
So, what's the secret? Well, it turns out that it's "natural beef flavoring". According to Jordan, McDonalds are far from being veggie friendly because the chain adds the animal-based flavoring during the frying process.
The company is committed to sourcing palm oil that is RSPO certified and credits its entire menu globally. Popeyes uses a combination of beef tallow and partially hydrogenated beef tallow in their fryer oil. This produces a lower trans fat content than what you might find at Church's.
Cooked In Vegetable Oil (Soybean Oil, Vegetable Oil [May Contain One Or More Of The Following: Canola, Corn, Or Cottonseed], Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Dimethylpolysiloxane [Anti-Foaming Agent]). Seasoned With Sea Salt. COOKED IN THE SAME OIL AS MENU ITEMS THAT CONTAIN WHEAT, MILK, AND FISH. Salt: Sea Salt.
Superior Syrup Techniques
Just like with McDonald's co*ke, the syrup-to-water ratio in the Sprite is higher than the ratio found in most other soda fountains and even in the can or bottle. McDonald's sends more syrup into your cup to account for the inevitable melting ice.
Carbon, air, salt, heat, chemicals and water - these all shorten the life of oil. Poor oil can also affect fried product quality. Top up fryers when oil falls below fill line.
Why doesn't McDonald's fries taste good anymore?
The main reason is the fat they use to fry them. While many fast food restaurants use a lighter vegetable oil, McDonald's has stuck with the tried and true beef based oil. They used to use beef tallow, which is a many-times cooked beef suet, that's clarified and has a high smoke point.
McDonald's collects used oil from its kitchens and turns this into enough biodiesel to fuel more than half of their delivery fleet. McDonald's is also serious about recycling and have set themselves the target of sending zero waste to landfill by 2020.
Among the changes: The popular fast food chain is adding white onions to the burger patties while they're still on the grill—as a way to enhance flavor. Not everyone was happy about it, with some diners leaving some choice words on social media.
The global restaurant chain uses a new, Cargill-developed oil blend to stay on top of consumer and regulatory trends while boosting its menu's nutritional value.
It is not true, the fish and chicken are each fried in a dedicated fryer. The fryer is cleaned and the oil is filtered on a daily basis, and the fish fryer is cleaned last to keep fish flavors from being introduced to the other fryers during the filtering process. The oil is replaced about once a week.
