If I want to get bigger quickly with a complete disregard of any other concerns!
A Shift in the French Fry Market
- Thread starter Shel_B
- Start date
That potential could do it gotta bulk Bro.
Please do not pm me.
We have a hotdog place that sells 2 hotdogs for $12.99, there are no combos, no deals everything is Ala cart and you can order various flavors and toppers.
Without a combo or special at a place that only sells hotdogs and sides I won’t be back.
Pretty sure trans fats are outlawed (https://www.fda.gov/food/food-additives-petitions/trans-fat) and the seed oils used are absolutely not any healthier than animal fat. Certainly more toxic to your liver. I'm not saying animal fat can be eaten in abundance and you are 100% entitled to your tastes and eating habits but animal fats just are not the villain here.
Yes I will eat a few fries, but a whole order? No. Find out - you don't want your foods made with Group II or III oils.
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Mcdonald French Fry USA Ingredients (direct from their website)
When I make fries I cut potatoes, soak them in ice water, and drop them in hot peanut oil. Much better.
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. *natural Beef Flavor Contains Hydrolyzed Wheat And Hydrolyzed Milk As Starting Ingredients.
Contains: Wheat, Milk.
When I make fries I cut potatoes, soak them in ice water, and drop them in hot peanut oil. Much better.
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. *natural Beef Flavor Contains Hydrolyzed Wheat And Hydrolyzed Milk As Starting Ingredients.
Contains: Wheat, Milk.
That's regional. It was like that for for a long time, but I suppose there was a regional decision to discontinue that. I do remember back when it was "any size coffee" for $1 although that didn't include iced coffee which was part of the 99 cent deal. There was a time when I saw $1 coffee was regular price but 99 cents was in the app (but again - iced was an option).
I tend to use the app a lot. McDonald's also tends to have the most generous rewards program with 1500 points (equivalent to $15 spent - discounted or not) before one can score a McChicken or cheeseburger. And I've seen it change from a McCafe only reward for any item/size with a purchase of five. And I would typically get that $1 coffee five times and end up with a reward beverage that cost more than $4. I remember once I was with my dad when he got a senior coffee for 50 cents, I scanned my code, and that was counted as one purchase.
As for the fries, possibly the best deal I see now is the purchase of a soft drink that will then come with any size fries for free. It says I can do it once per day. Gone are the days of $1 "any size" soft drink there, but more recently I've seen some (but not all) of my closer locations charge $1 for a small or extra small soft drink. So the other day I bought a small Coke and with the deal got large fries. Cost me $1.10 including tax. And I can supposedly do that once per day. However, the deal is kind of wonky. It supposedly works for a mobile order or in store, but when I tried to do it inside at a kiosk I just got a blank screen for selecting the fries. The other deals I see for fries are once per week where spending $2 gets me medium fries. But not on Friday where a minimum $1 gets me medium fries.
I did see a lot better deals before. Two "any size" fries with 20 piece Chicken McNuggets (was typically $5 at the time). Two large fries a la carte cost more than $5. Not healthy, but I take ten and some large fries, and my kid would get the other ten and large fries.
Burger King used to have better deals for me. Used to be $1 for fries or onions rings - once per day for each. Eventually became $1.50 before it went away. Or the weekly free fries with any purchase (the terms said a minimum spend of $0.01 where a tiny spend would be possible by purchasing condiments). But now that's a minimum spend of $1. The best one I remember was this code for "new users" that didn't seem to go away for a free Whopper with any purchase. I saw that showing up as an available deal for over a year. All the other deals had a 6 digit number that was encoded locally for the deal (or just to log rewards spending). But for the free Whopper it just said "MGR REQ" where the manager had to approve it. Tried using it at a drive-thru once when the dining room was closed and the manager was able to do it.
There was some controversy over the "natural beef flavor" when it was likely real beef extract. But that ingredient list seems to be more hydrolyzed proteins that try and mimic beef flavor without using real beef, although it's kinda sorta natural.
I do remember when McDonald's fries, hash browns, and pies (more empanadas, but OK) were fried in beef tallow. Those were the days. But then they got complaints and started using "100% vegetable oil". However, they then added real beef extract as a flavor in the sugar soak. And some people went crazy over it thinking they were deceived. A friend of mine was from India and Hindu, and he said he would never eat at McDonald's again when there were reports of the beef extract being use.
https://money.cnn.com/2001/05/03/news/mcdonalds/
Yes, beef fat tallow was eliminated from the cooking oil, but since the change affected the flavor that many other consumers loved, the franchise found itself on shaky ground. Stocks in the company fell, prompting McDonald's to take action once again (via Atlas Obscura). They attempted to mimic the original taste by adding "natural flavors" to the fries — natural beef flavors, which were added during the pre-shipment potato processing, per the Wall Street Journal.
In another misstep, the company demurred from publicly announcing the ingredient change. The discovery left vegans and vegetarians outraged, along with those who came from religious backgrounds like Hinduism which forbade the consumption of beef tallow. Three later sued McDonald's in 2001 for misleading them. As the Wall Street Journal reported at the time, McDonald's countered that they never said their fries were vegetarian. Either way, they eventually settled with a $10 million donation to religious and vegetarian groups and an apology from the fast food giant. Nowadays, if you check their "World Famous Fries" webpage, you'll see "Natural Beef Flavor" clearly listed in their "allergen information" section.
I think a lot of it was kind of silly. I've talked to friends of all backgrounds, and many are realistic that they can try and keep to their cultural/religious dietary practices but can't always guarantee it. Like a Muslim friend when I asked how she dealt with the possibility that baked goods might contain lard. She said she did her best and would ask but it wasn't always possible to avoid lard. Or a Hindu vegetarian who doubly didn't eat meat (for cultural reasons) or beef (for religious reasons). But I remember we'd go out to a burger place where he would order the vegetarian patty option, but I think he realized that it was likely cooked on the same griddle as burgers, although I suppose they tried to scrape it off first.
Sales are expected to remain low for the next 2 years.
A thing of fries is 3-4 bucks and barely puts a dent in your hunger. Because of that I don't bother with any fries that aren't good. The chick fill a fries are really good so i get them or wataburger and bk onion rings. But mcd fries were never good enough to be worth more than $1
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
They are worth the asking price, if you can somehow procure fresh hot ones that are not undercooked. IMO the best restaurant fries I have enjoyed, are at Red Door Grill.
The other day I got lousy, cold, undercooked fries. It is after all, a crapshoot.
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Fast food is truly junk food, nobody should be eating it ever - not even 'once in a while'. Hearing all the back and forth about the fries makes me laugh. They're being made - like everything at these restaurants - as cheaply as possible by (very likely) teenagers who are 'over it', so of course they're gonna be pretty mediocre/bad. Honestly save your money and health and don't buy this stuff. There are so many better options for food.
And I think that's why chick fill a fries are so good. They're constantly making fresh ones as they're packed all day and I can't remember the last time I got anything that wasn't fresh. But mcdonalds has been slowing down in my area since 2 years ago and if those fries aren't fresh off the fryer they're gross and soggy which has been every time. Can't remember the last time I got some freshly made fries at mcdonalds.
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
Wasn't wanting a health lecture. Thank You, NOT
Hermann
Site Donor 2023
At the CF prices they should come out and hand feed you. Never been impressed at CFA. The food is like not at all interesting, and bland unless you get one of the Rainbow sandwiches. The one they are pushing right now looks pre-digested. IMO YMMV
Well we will give you a health lecture and you WILL like it!!
Tomorrow the enema of the people shall be conquered!
I’m not a huge fan of waffle fries. However, I’ve had the CFA ones and there’s nothing all that unique about them.
Target used to sell house branded (Market Pantry I think) frozen fries, and waffle fries were an option. Might have been less than $2 for a bag that was maybe 20 or 24 oz. They were already blanched and had oil, and they cooked pretty well in an air fryer.
Frozen fries can be really good in an air fryer. I’ve made my own garlic fries, as well as using thyme or cumin powder.
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