New McDonalds Fries: Nature's Perfect Food Destroyed!

[Jupiter Jones]

I think the new McDonalds Fries (1/2 the oil or something) have made it here to Los Angeles.

Verdict: AWFUL!!
Nature's perfect food (if you live by logical fallacy that humans are part of nature so therefore they create must be natural) destroyed!

At first they taste ok. The look close t othe old ones, but are not quite as dark. They are mostly softer as well. However, get 1/2 way through a large and they start to take effect. I've been to the toilet twice already, and its only been 45 minutes since I ate them. The french fries were the last thing left at McDonalds that I liked. Now there is just no reason for me to return...

[Michael Fortson]

Is it some sort of Olean type thing?

[Brad Grenz]

I figured they just switched to Canola or Sunflower oil from Peanut or something.

[Michael Fortson]

ah, here it is:
http://www.mcdonalds.com/countries/usa/whatsnew/pressrelease/2002/09032002/index.html


Although it says it's happening in early 2003... maybe they just forgot to change the oil at your place? :D


The new oil will reduce French fry TFA levels by 48%, reduce saturated fat by 16% and dramatically increase polyunsaturated fat by 167%. While the total fat content in the fries remains unchanged, health experts agree that reducing TFAs and saturates while increasing polyunsaturates is beneficial to heart health. Notably, McDonald’s French fries already had the lowest TFA and saturated fat levels in the national quick service restaurant (QSR) industry.

Interesting... still same fat content, but reduced trans fatty acids. But this announcement is US only... they've been using vegetable oil in the US for a while, but still use animal-sourced fats in Canada (according to Fast Food Nation). The press release says European McD's already had these lowered TFA levels.

[Aszurom]

1. Have you ever read the warning on a bag of Olean WOW chips? "Warning: may cause EXPLOSIVE diharreha" Ok, they could have used a variety of adjectives - and yet they say EXPLOSIVE. Remember, they're not trying to be funny.

2. It astounds me that McDonalds fries have a halflife of approximately 6 minutes. By 6 minutes they're officially "decidedly less tasty", and by 10 minutes they've become greasy cold noodles. Give them an hour and they're now petrified cardboard. Man, I can't eat that. That's like saying "Yeah, this tastes like ice cream for 10 minutes but then reverts back to a cone of dog poop - so you better eat it fast."

3. McDonalds sorta confused me with the whole "hotdog" thing. However, I'm actually horrified that BK is now carrying TACOS. WTF?! Oh yeah, and they have a 99c value-menu that looks almost exactly like Wendy's. I mean, you can get a baked potato and chili at BK now. Is Wendy's really whipping their asses so badly that they have to rip them off like a Wolpaw review?

[Bernie_Dy]

2. It astounds me that McDonalds fries have a halflife of approximately 6 minutes. By 6 minutes they're officially "decidedly less tasty", and by 10 minutes they've become greasy cold noodles. Give them an hour and they're now petrified cardboard.

Excellent observation. Still, in Houston, we would prefer that McDonald's stick with the fat-saturated fries.


That's like saying "Yeah, this tastes like ice cream for 10 minutes but then reverts back to a cone of dog poop - so you better eat it fast."

Heh, tried the soft serve on a navy ship, have ya? I hear they call it 'autodog' for a reason :twisted:

[Jupiter Jones]

ah, here it is:
http://www.mcdonalds.com/countries/usa/whatsnew/pressrelease/2002/09032002/index.html
Although it says it's happening in early 2003... maybe they just forgot to change the oil at your place? :D



Hey maybe it was just a bad batch of fries. either way. Mcdonalds loses my business from now on! I only got 2 hours sleep last night, the rest was spent "indisposed". thanks Ronald, thanks Early Bird, thanks Grimace, thanks Mayor McCheese, thanks Hamburgler, and special sloppy toilet thanks goes out to you, french fry guys.

[Supertanker]

2. It astounds me that McDonalds fries have a halflife of approximately 6 minutes. By 6 minutes they're officially "decidedly less tasty", and by 10 minutes they've become greasy cold noodles. Give them an hour and they're now petrified cardboard.

They still last longer than an In-n-Out fry, though. Those turn from "great" to "nasty" when they have cooled about 30%.

Unfortunately, the solution so far has been to switch to nasty, nasty, nasty coated fries like BK and Arby's have done. I quit going to both places because the fries are so horrid now. Since I don't eat fries very often, I'm sure not wasting my indulgences on them.

[Michael Fortson]

No no no, the solution is to keep going to In-N-Out, but eat your fries first :) in the car if necessary.

that's the only place I will buy a fast food burger and fries

[Supertanker]

Right, the consumer's solution is to go to In-n-Out and scarf down the fries ASAP. I should have prefaced my previous comment with, "The idiotic burger companies' bad solution so far..."

[Xaroc]

Unfortunately, the solution so far has been to switch to nasty, nasty, nasty coated fries like BK and Arby's have done. I quit going to both places because the fries are so horrid now. Since I don't eat fries very often, I'm sure not wasting my indulgences on them.

I would agree about the BK fries (awful) but I like Arby's curly fries if that is what you are talking about. I don't remember what their regular fries are like, if they even have them. Haven't been to Arby's in a while though.

-- Xaroc

[Jason McCullough]

Your server probably had soapy hands.

[Jason Levine]

I don't see what all the to-do is about. McDonald's fries were destroyed years ago when they switched from animal fat to vegetable oil. Haven't tasted nearly the same since. Hell, if I'm going to eat junk food, worrying about its fat content is pretty silly. If you eat that stuff so often that its fat content is a real issue, then you've got more serious problems than what oil it's cooked in.

[Supertanker]

I would agree about the BK fries (awful) but I like Arby's curly fries if that is what you are talking about. I don't remember what their regular fries are like, if they even have them. Haven't been to Arby's in a while though.

The curly fries are a different thing & I do like them. Arby's used to have McDonald's-style shoestring fries, but switched a while back to the same kind as BK. Bleah.

[Dave Long]

Arby's isn't the same as BK here... they've got a thicker cut fry that doesn't have any coating on it that I'm aware of. They're called "Homestyle Fries" When was the last time you went to an Arby's?

--Dave

[Anonymous]

I was in Japan a couple of years ago, and of course I swung by a McD's (they're everywhere over there it seems), and ate a fry and was in heaven. They still use animal fat to cook their fries! I could tell from the very taste and texture of it all. It was like some pleasure center in my brain that had been unused for 10 years finally woke up (or maybe like an alcoholic who's been dry for 10 years getting a sip of whisky).

McD's says you couldn't tell the different between animal fat and vegetable oil, but I sure could. If only I could get those Japanese fries imported.

The Japanese don't mind the animal fat. Hell, it's probably the only unhealthy thing they eat, and it all balances out due to their healthier diets. You don't get the longest average lifespan in the world for nothin.

[voltaic]

The only good thing McDonalds serves is breakfast and soda (their syrup/bicarbonate mix is, in modern parlance, "the bomb"). Everything else is god-awful.

Now Wendy's fries... on the other hand... [cue heavenly choral music]

[Supertanker]

Arby's isn't the same as BK here... they've got a thicker cut fry that doesn't have any coating on it that I'm aware of. They're called "Homestyle Fries" When was the last time you went to an Arby's?

They have a transparent coating of starch batter, intended to increase crunch and (most importantly) keep the fry hot longer. Click here, and scroll down to the allergy alert: http://outreach.missouri.edu/hesnutrnews/fnr88-97/fnr97-1.htm

One of our kids had a mild wheat allergy (thankfully faded now - do you know how hard it is to eliminate wheat from your diet?) so we had to figure out all of the places where wheat was sneaking into their diet. Fry coatings were one of the easiest things to give up.

That reminds me: a pox on restaurants that double-dip their fries to heat them when they are old. My wife has taught me to send back substandard fries - why eat 'em if they are gross?

[Dave Long]

Ok...I read that, but that's from 1996. Do the Arby's fries still have the coating? How would we find that out? I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary on their fries at least to my taste buds. In fact, I prefer their fries to some of the others.

I just had McDonald's for lunch. They screwed up my order so bad and then gave me the same damn Hot Wheels I've gotten the last two times I was there. This is one of the few times I go there because the kids like the cars. They don't go by week anymore apparently...they just give you an arbitrary car/ramp. Grrrr...

--Dave

[Xaroc]

Ok here is a question: Is there anyone who actually likes the new BK fries better than the old ones?

The old ones weren't as good as McDonalds but they were good enough considering BK burgers are so much better. Now I have to get onion rings (which I like but play havoc with my stomach) or skip the combo and get chicken strips because their fries are god awful. My son thinks the newer fries are ok but that is about as enthusiatic response I can find from anyone. Almost unanimously people have told me they don't like them.

Follow ups:

So who were they surveying when they did that poll that showed they had the best tasting fries? I know you can skew numbers but I am thinking this is more along the lines of outright lie rather than playing with numbers.

Also, if no one likes them then why did they switch to them? Just because they stay hot longer?

-- Xaroc

[Supertanker]

Also, if no one likes them then why did they switch to them? Just because they stay hot longer?

There was a Wall Street Journal article about the new type of fries when BK switched, and as I recall, they pretty much did it to keep the fries hotter longer. They want to be able to float the food as long as possible for cost reduction.

[Anonymous]

I don't mind BK fires. I kinda like the coating; it gives the fry more texture.

Hate to say it, but I actually like Skipper fries. Big chunky strips of potato.

[Jupiter Jones]

Ok here is a question: Is there anyone who actually likes the new BK fries better than the old ones?
-- Xaroc

No, I hate them. Stopped being a loyal customer years ago when they changed fries. It was all Carl's Jr. until I read "Fat Food Nation" last year and decided to cut-down to just In-N-Out.

I also agree that Mcdonalds Coke is just about the best anywhere. Too bad I have nothing to wash diwn with it any more...

[Aszurom]

Ronald = clown
Birdie = bird
Hamburglar = crook
Mayor = hamburger
Grimace = ???

Seriously, what the fuck is Grimace? He's a big purple wad of goop.

Perhaps he's symbolic of what the food is made from?

[Bub, Andrew]

He's supposed to represent the shake. Why purple? Asthetics. A big white goop or brown goop just frightens the children.

[Jason McCullough]

http://www.theonion.com/onion3808/hammurderer.html