Find out the ‘9 Unexpected Ingredients Used by Fast Food Chains’ There are many reasons why fast-food chains grow to as large as they are. Sure, smart business choices and a successful franchising strategy are important, but no one wants to invest in food that tastes lousy.
These companies have been thriving for decades thanks to their patented secret formulae and intriguing, perhaps problematic, components.
We’ll utilize the breadcrumbs we have to figure out what ingredients make your favorite chains so delicious, though it’s impossible to know the precise formula unless it’s been disclosed or leaked. Here are the little extras that make fast food irresistible, from the fabled chicken nuggets at McDonald’s to the distinctive bread at Subway.
Check Out The 9 Unexpected Ingredients Used by Fast Food Chains
1. McNuggets use celery salt in its breading
Celery salt is one of the more widely recognized “hidden ingredients” out there, but it also contributes to the flavor you so immediately connect with the crunch of a chicken McNugget.
No, your nuggets don’t contain any vegetables. Ordinary table salt and crushed celery seeds are combined to create celery salt. White pepper is also present; it is predominantly utilized in East Asian cuisine and gives food a subtle yet tasty kick.
If you want to replicate the deliciousness of a nugget at home, just head to the grocery store and pick up some celery salt and white pepper!
2. Buffalo Wild Wing’s fries in beef shortening
Although chicken wings are Buffalo Wild Wings’ specialty, the restaurant also has a meaty secret. Although legally considered fast food, Buffalo Wild Wings is an intriguing choice. The restaurant company, which is well-known for its chicken, fries a large portion of its menu items with beef shortening, including its trademark wings. For a list of all the foods that receive a hot oil bath in beef fat, consult the chain’s allergy guide.
2018 saw the business win a lawsuit because the vegetarian plaintiff was unable to demonstrate any actual losses resulting from consuming beef-fried foods.
3. McDonald’s fries use beef extract
Many people believe that the fries at McDonald’s are the best in the industry. Most people are now aware that the fast food business was sued for using beef fat in the oil used to cook the fries before switching to veggie oil in the 1990s. The chain shifted away from the meaty oil but continues to flavor the oil with beef extract.
The McDonald’s website states that “our suppliers use an oil combination containing beef flavor when they partially fry our sliced potatoes.” While the fries are safe for vegetarians and vegans, this flavoring is said to be produced from wheat and dairy, not beef, according to the ingredients in the fries.
Although this technique may seem strange, it is really rather typical in the food industry. For instance, high-end restaurants profit much from the gourmet fries that can be made using duck fat, which is a well-known delectable cooking medium.
4. Wendy’s Chocolate Frosty uses vanilla
Because a Wendy’s frosty isn’t a standard chocolate milkshake, it doesn’t taste like one either. Anyone who has experienced one can vouch for it. Because of the vanilla extract, the chocolate flavor is incredibly subdued when compared to a Shake Shack or Five Guys shake. While the majority of the formula for the creamy chocolate delight is kept a secret, it is known that vanilla contributes to the perfect harmony of chocolate in a Frosty.
5. The “flame” at Burger King
This isn’t an ingredient per se, but everyone has seen a Burger King commercial where the Whopper is referred to as “flame grilled” or “flame-broiled.” This is because Burger King was founded on the foundation of a device called a “Insta-Broiler” when it first developed, which would simultaneously cook a burger on both sides using radiant heat. It was reportedly capable of producing over 400 hamburgers each hour.
Burger King still employs a broiler that uses real flame even though it no longer depends on that particular equipment.
The idea of flame-grilled burgers, which produce a char-broiled flavor like it’s fresh off your backyard grill, has long been a trademark of the company.
6. MSG in Popeyes’ chicken
Popeyes follows in the footsteps of KFC, which has earned a fortune and a mythology out of the guarded secret of its 11 herbs and spices. Although it might not have a catchphrase or history to call it by, its unique blend is zealously guarded under lock and key.
Even if it’s just a little bit, certain secrets must be revealed. According to Popeyes’ nutritional menu, MSG is included in their chicken.
Despite the fact that people associate MSG negatively, it is merely a flavoring agent. Although it’s not fantastic for you, it doesn’t make you any worse off than any other spice. In the West, MSG has a long and complicated history of stigma.
But as things stand, there is no evidence to support any assertions that MSG causes headaches, nausea, or other symptoms of the sort. In fact, MSG is a major source of the umami flavor that many foodies refer to.
7. Subway’s bread has sugar in it
Actually, the Supreme Court of Ireland ruled that Subway cannot legally call its product bread within Irish borders because of its high sugar content. Now, that may sound alarming, but sugar is actually a mainstay component of many types of bread that allows it to maintain its moisture. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning that it attracts and holds moisture. So, without sugar, most bread would be dry and pasty.
Subway’s sugar-to-flour ratio is about 10%, much higher than the typical ratio used when making bread, but that’s what gives it its signature fluffy texture. Is that necessarily the healthiest thing in the world? Perhaps not, but that sugar is a key ingredient to making Subway bread what it is.
8. Sugar in french fries
Who requests a list of ingredients from a fast food establishment before ordering its golden, salty fries? Correct, hardly anyone. But if you did, you’d discover that numerous eateries, including McDonald’s and Burger King, use a secret sweetener called dextrose in their fries.
The primary purpose of this ingredient is to ensure that the fries come out of the fryer golden brown and delectable since sugar caramelizes to a wonderful brown color, but sugar also tastes good. In case you’re interested, these are the chains that serve fries made from freshly cut potatoes.
9. The brine at Chick-fil-A
Have you ever wondered how a Chick-fil-A sandwich can have such juicy chicken? The answer is in the brine. People have long debated whether or not it’s pickle juice. This article claims it isn’t pickle juice, but in fact a salt sugar brine with other spices. However, most pickle juice is just water, vinegar, salt, and sugar with other spices, so who knows?
Have you ever questioned how the chicken in a Chick-fil-A sandwich can be so juicy? The brine holds the solution. It’s a topic of much discussion whether or not it’s pickle juice. According to this article, it’s actually a salt-sugar brine with additional spices rather than pickle juice. Who knows, though, since most pickle juice is simply made of water, vinegar, salt, and sugar with various spices.
Fried chicken is frequently brined, and pickle juice has long been a well-kept culinary secret. Before frying your chicken, brining it for at least a few hours will tenderize and moisten the meat as well as infuse flavor deeper into the cut.
While Chick-fil-A does, of course, use a seasoning procedure that is almost as secure as that of its clucking competitors, it appears that the brine is what gives Chick-fil-A chicken its distinctive flavor.
