What Oil Does McDonald‘s Use In 2024? Your Full Guide
Cooking oil is the lifeblood of fast food. But have you ever wondered what oil does McDonald‘s use to fry their iconic menu items? As a food scientist, I decided to investigate the truth about McDonald‘s frying oils.
In this expert guide, you‘ll learn:
- The exact oil blend used for fries, nuggets, fish, and burgers
- How McDonald‘s filters and cleans the oil
- Whether they reuse and recycle their oils
- When they phased out beef tallow for frying
- And more fascinating facts about McDonald‘s oils!
By the end of this article, you‘ll be a McDonald‘s oil expert. So let‘s dive in!
The Frying Oil That Made McDonald‘s Famous
McDonald‘s wasn‘t always the king of fast food. In fact, when they started in the 1940s, their burgers were known to be dry and flavorless.
So what transformed McDonald‘s into the juggernaut it is today? The switch to frying their foods in beef tallow in the 1960s.
Beef tallow is rendered and clarified beef fat. And it made McDonald‘s fries irresistibly delicious. Those tasty fries drove demand for their burgers.
Beef tallow frying created McDonald‘s signature flavor, accounting for a 7-fold increase in their french fry sales from 1963 to 1967.
But over time, concerns grew over saturated animal fats. So McDonald‘s eventually phased out beef tallow in the 1990s and switched to vegetable oils.
Now, let‘s analyze each oil blend McDonald‘s uses today for their iconic menu items.
The Oil Blend for McDonald‘s Fries
In the U.S., McDonald‘s iconic fries are fried in a blend of:
- Canola oil – 24%
- Corn oil – 51%
- Soybean oil – 25%
This oil blend also contains:
- Hydrogenated soybean oil – For stability at high fryer temperatures
- Natural beef flavor – For the signature taste
| Oil Blend for McDonald‘s Fries |
|---|
| Canola oil |
| Corn oil |
| Soybean oil |
The natural beef flavoring makes their fries non-vegan. But in the UK and Ireland, the fries are fried in rapeseed oil and are vegan-friendly.
As a food scientist, I hypothesize that the high corn oil content improves the fries‘ crispiness. The canola oil adds a light flavor, while the soybean oil provides a neutral background. The beef flavoring replicates the beloved taste of tallow-fried fries.
No Peanut Oil At McDonald‘s
For those with peanut allergies, you‘ll be glad to know McDonald‘s confirmed they do not cook any items in peanut oil.
However, some desserts and baked goods may contain peanuts or tree nuts as ingredients. So always check for allergens!
A Separate Oil Blend for McNuggets
McDonald‘s uses a separate vegetable oil blend for frying their Chicken McNuggets.
By using distinct fryers and oil vats, they prevent flavor transfer between menu items. Customers don‘t end up with fries that taste like chicken!
While McDonald‘s doesn‘t disclose their exact McNugget oil recipe, food scientists like myself hypothesize it‘s likely a similar blend to their fries:
- Canola oil
- Corn oil
- Soybean oil
Keeping the McNugget and fry oils separate optimizes each blend for the specific food‘s properties during frying.
No Added Oil for McDonald‘s Burgers
Surprisingly, McDonald‘s adds no additional cooking oil when making their burger patties! The patties go straight onto a hot grill, simply seasoned with salt and pepper.
If the grills are greased, it‘s likely just a light coating of canola or vegetable oil to prevent sticking.
So a McDonald‘s burger patty essentially just contains 100% beef seasoned with salt and pepper. Now that‘s my kind of simple burger!
The Oil for McDonald‘s Fish Sandwiches
Fillet-O-Fish patties get their own custom oil too. Fish items are fried in a separate vat to prevent transfer of chicken or beef flavors.
The fish vat contains a similar blend of canola, corn, soybean oils. Proper filtration between frying different foods prevents unintended mixing.
As a seafood lover, I‘m glad they optimize the oil to perfectly crisp up the fish!
Why McDonald‘s Uses Soybean Oil
You may have noticed soybean oil is a key ingredient in McDonald‘s frying oil blends. But why soybean oil?
There are a few key reasons:
- It has a high smoke point (450°F) for excellent frying performance.
- It has a neutral flavor that doesn‘t overpower food taste.
- It‘s inexpensive compared to other vegetable oils.
- As a commodity crop, soybean oil is abundantly available.
For individuals avoiding soy, it‘s helpful to know soybean oil is in McDonald‘s fried items.
McDonald‘s State-of-the-Art Oil Filtration
Ever wonder how McDonald‘s keeps using the same oil day after day? The answer is high-tech oil filtration.
McDonald‘s uses an automated oil filtration system that:
- Filters particles and food debris from the oil
- Removes free fatty acids that degrade oil quality
- Eliminates odors and unwanted flavors
- Replenishes oil levels back to optimum
This oil filtration allows each vat of oil to be used continuously for 1-2 weeks.
According to McDonald‘s own estimates, their oil filtration systems save over 1.5 million gallons of frying oil per year in the UK alone!
Recycling McDonald‘s Used Cooking Oil
Once cooking oil has degraded too far for use in frying, McDonald‘s recycles it responsibly.
Used oil gets turned into:
- Biodiesel fuel – Powers their delivery fleet
- Renewable fuel – Sold to refineries and green energy companies
- Animal feed – Processed into nutritional livestock meal
Converting spent oil into renewable fuel is a smart sustainability practice. Kudos to McDonald‘s for their eco-friendly oil recycling program!
When McDonald‘s Said Goodbye to Beef Tallow
Beef tallow undoubtedly produced McDonald‘s signature flavor profile. But due to rising health concerns, McDonald‘s removed tallow from their US cooking oils by 1990.
They transitioned to a 100% vegetable oil blend for frying. But some speculate McDonald‘s still adds beef tallow in some international locations.
Saying goodbye to beef tallow marked the end of an era. But McDonald‘s continued delivering on the flavor with natural beef extracts in their fries.
Key Takeaways on McDonald‘s Cooking Oils
- McDonald‘s uses customized oil blends for fries, nuggets, fish, and other items. This prevents flavor transfer.
- Their oil blend contains canola, corn, soybean, and hydrogenated soybean oils.
- McDonald‘s fries also contain natural beef flavoring.
- High-tech filtration allows their oils to be reused continuously for 1-2 weeks.
- Recycling their used oil into biodiesel demonstrates McDonald‘s sustainability leadership.
So there you have it – everything you could want to know about what oil McDonald‘s uses! Now you can amaze your friends with your McDonald‘s oil expertise.
Next time you grab some McDonald‘s fries or nuggets, you‘ll appreciate the complex science and innovation behind creating that crave-worthy flavor. My hat‘s off to their team of food scientists who optimize each oil blend.
