DINNER, DECONSTRUCTED
Founded in 1940 as a humble burger joint in California, today McDonald’s serves approximately 68 million customers in 120 countries every day. Among the meals served, perhaps none is more iconic than the Big Mac Meal, which has become a quintessential sym
‘MY IDEA OF FAST FOOD IS A MALLARD.’ — AMERICAN MUSICIAN, AVID HUNTER AND OUTSPOKEN CONSERVATIVE TED NUGENT
THE BIG MAC MEAL FROM McDONALD’S ( WITH CHICKEN McNUGGETS AND A SUNDAE)
Despite the popular rumour that McDonald’s apple pies are made with potatoes, the company only uses real apples in its pies, although they aren’t exactly straight out of grandma’s kitchen. The apples are seasoned with glucose- fructose, sorbitol, dextrose, sodium alginate, sodium citrate and dicalcium phosphate.
Until the early 90s, McDonald’s fries were cooked in beef tallow. The company eventually switched to vegetable oil when customers demanded less saturated fat be included in their meals. While the switch to vegetable oil was made for health reasons, researchers at Oxford and De Montfort University have found that heating up vegetable oils leads to the release of high concentrations of chemicals called aldehydes, which have been linked to illnesses including cancer, heart disease and dementia.
Chicken breasts are deboned before being sent to the “blending room” where meat is ground, mashed and mixed with seasoning and chicken skin. Machines shape nuggets into four shapes: the ball, bell, boot and bow tie before being battered, fried, frozen and shipped to McDonald’s locations.
After 45 years of keeping their famous Big Mac sauce secret, the company eventually revealed that the sauce is made with mayo, sweet relish, yellow mustard, vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika. The centre bun acts like a sponge, soaking up excess Big Mac sauce and keeping the sandwich from becoming a sopping mess.