Mcdonald's Broke Our Heart 💔

This story was highlighted in Nina Teicholz’ 2014 book The Big Fat Surprise

When Ray Kroc purchased the franchise rights to McDonald’s in 1961, he was really purchasing the hallowed beef tallow french fry that had diners hooked.

Sold in a single 2.4oz size, the original McDonald’s french fry was a perfect American creation, universally beloved.

On July 23rd, 1990 the formula was changed to trans fat-laden seed oils, and fast food would never be the same, how did we get here?

Top quality 8oz Idaho Russet potatoes, peeled then soaked in cold water, and fried in McDonald’s proprietary tallow formula.

At the original McDonald’s location in San Bernadino, these were the stand out item, the fries were made in a dedicated fryer with military precision.

For years these fries were an American treasure, until fear of high cholesterol reared its ugly head.

A lone zealot with deep pockets named Phil Sokolof had a heart attack and directed his personal fortune towards the complete removal of saturated fat from the American diet.

Sokolof took out National newspaper ads, Superbowl ads and Times Square billboards demonizing saturated fat, with only a crude understanding of the science.

He personally lobbied CEOs of major food corps, the man was relentless and wielded the confusion and fear of the public.

Read the July 24th, 1990 postmortem in the Chicago Tribune

On July 23rd, 1990 the formula was switched to cottonseed/corn oil, then switched to vegetable oils with lower trans fats.

They were cheaper and had the will of the people. These new oils emitted a toxic residue of aldehydes that would adhere to furniture and literally cause piles of unwashed uniforms to spontaneously combust.

Wendy’s, Burger King and others soon followed suit, putting us in the mess we are in today.

In 2017 Malcolm Gladwell conducted a blind taste test between the original formulation and today’s, the results were unanimous among millenials: tallow is king

“Shatteringly crisp, crisp but no hole, perfect french fries with a lot of flavor”

Sadly the tallow fry became a rarity after this, but if one lone madman got us into this mess, surely a nation of scouts can get us out of it 🫡