McDonalds - I'm Lovin' It

[Eventide]

There's something to the McNuggets. It definitely is a unique batter but even the McDonald's ingredient list I have from official sources c. 2003 isn't specific other than having flour, cornstarch, a few other things, and "spices". There just isn't anything you can buy at the grocery store that's similar, it's 100% proprietary. The famous McMenu recipe guide suggests it's just flour, salt, MSG, pepper, onion powder, tempura mix, and garlic powder. (In 2001, Japanese-style dry tempura mix was something you'd have to visit an Asian market or specialty grocery, as your average supermarket/Walmart didn't have it--and your average store brand chicken tendies still don't have it as an ingredient).

I'm pretty sure there's loads of corn syrup (or sweet corn batter?) in modern day Chicken McNuggets. The salt in McNuggets usually covers up the sweetness, but the sweetness becomes more noticeable if the nuggets are cold.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

I'm pretty sure there's loads of corn syrup (or sweet corn batter?) in modern day Chicken McNuggets. The salt in McNuggets usually covers up the sweetness, but the sweetness becomes more noticeable if the nuggets are cold.

So some republished page hosted on Mother Jones lines up with what I got from a brochure all those years ago.

Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, dextrose, corn starch.

Water - no surprises there
Enriched flour - not too surprising
yellow corn flour - does have that cornstarch stuff like pizza crust
bleached wheat flour - peroxide or gas added to accelerate aging process to change properties of flour
modified food starch - corn/wheat/tapioca starch that has been treated to enhance properties, likely used as a thickener
leavening - baking soda and its friends
spices - this is where MSG, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder come into play
wheat starch - used in baked goods
dextrose - close relative of glucose, appears naturally in some foods, likely used as a sweetener
corn starch - used in baked goods

When it comes to actual ingredients of McDonald's food, most of these revolve around the "well, what exactly constitutes 'beef' or 'chicken'" questions, nothing else will stand up to a judge. Subway had the claim of "no tuna in sandwiches" (and no, the "lab tests revealed no tuna" wasn't true--the lab tests only tested for a third of the fifteen species legally sold and recognized as tuna) and that was shot down in a judge in Oakland, California with prejudice; the one place where they might've entertained the idea and they didn't.

 

[WonderWino]

So, this just popped up on yahoo news. It looks like some international menu items have been brought to canadian mcdonalds locations for some reason. Most of that stuff looks like shit, especially that german abomination, though i'm curious about those pizza bite things from italy. Mcdonalds pizza was pretty back in 1992, all things considered and it brought a ton of people in back then. At least while it lasted

 

[Xarpho's Return]

So, this just popped up on yahoo news. It looks like some international menu items have been brought to canadian mcdonalds locations for some reason. Most of that stuff looks like shit, especially that german abomination, though i'm curious about those pizza bite things from italy. Mcdonalds pizza was pretty back in 1992, all things considered and it brought a ton of people in back then. At least while it lasted

It looks like Totino's Pizza Rolls, McChicken drenched in teriyaki sauce, and a hash brown in a bacon cheeseburger. Yawn.

 

[AnOminous]

Mcdonalds pizza was pretty back in 1992, all things considered and it brought a ton of people in back then. At least while it lasted

Reviewbrah actually managed to get one a few years back and said it was pretty good. It was just impractical like a lot of the other Mickey D flops.

One international item that was actually pretty good was their Stroopwafel McFlurry. Technically Dutch and not German, but delicious. And if you just happen to have normal Stroopwafel you can warm them over that McD's coffee in a styrofoam cup.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

Reviewbrah actually managed to get one a few years back and said it was pretty good. It was just impractical like a lot of the other Mickey D flops.

One international item that was actually pretty good was their Stroopwafel McFlurry. Technically Dutch and not German, but delicious. And if you just happen to have normal Stroopwafel you can warm them over that McD's coffee in a styrofoam cup.

Was that it the REAL pizza which some Ohio stores still carried until...2017 I think...or was it the Bistro Gourmet one? The Bistro Gourmet one isn't the same. (Articles from the early 1990s mentioned it was a parbaked crust, which is usually going to turn out low quality).

Mcdonalds pizza was pretty back in 1992, all things considered and it brought a ton of people in back then. At least while it lasted

New items tend to bring in crowds, especially if it's a novelty that gets advertised like the McDonald's pizza. It was all part of the "what do we do to get people in here for dinner" forgetting that people didn't go to McDonald's for dinner because they were looking for something fancy--and it wasn't just them, Burger King tried literally dozens of failed products from dinner baskets (with free popcorn) to Weight Watchers meals in that time.

 

[AnOminous]

Was that it the REAL pizza which some Ohio stores still carried until...2017 I think...or was it the Bistro Gourmet one?

Here's the actual video:

It actually looks pizzeria style so it's probably not the original "McPizza." At least at the time it was available in at least one restaurant in Florida.

 

[Mordecai "3 Finger" Brown]

Reviewbrah actually managed to get one a few years back and said it was pretty good. It was just impractical like a lot of the other Mickey D flops

It actually looks pizzeria style so it's probably not the original "McPizza." At least at the time it was available in at least one restaurant in Florida.

Yeah, the Reviewbrah one definitely doesn't doesn't look like the tiny round personal pan McPizza one from the 90s.

A big problem with the OG 90s McPizza rollout was that the personal pies were cooked to order from frozen in ovens similar to the OG apple turnovers.

I can't recall exactly how long it took, but it was something like 4-6 minutes per pizza pie.

That just kills workflow and throughput times, especially for drive thru. When most of your other sandwiches are precooked (particularly the burgers) and assembled in seconds. With some of your non-beef Filet-o-fish and Breaded Chicken products cooked to order in the deep fryer in less than 2 minutes IIRC.

The pizzas were simply out of sync and a completely different workflow area in a business obsessed with drive thru output times.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

." At least at the time it was available in at least one restaurant in Florida.

That's the Bistro Gourmet version. It was (is?) a restaurant-within-a-restaurant from the early 2000s as one of the prototypes McD's had going on, but it's not the 1990s original.

 

[Chongqing]

That's the Bistro Gourmet version. It was (is?) a restaurant-within-a-restaurant from the early 2000s as one of the prototypes McD's had going on, but it's not the 1990s original.

I've heard about this. It's in the largest McDonald's. I think it's in Orlando.

 

[Xarpho's Return]

I've heard about this. It's in the largest McDonald's. I think it's in Orlando.

Correct, there were a few others that used it at one time (particularly in Orlando) and there's an article about introducing it to PA, but it's only one store in Orlando. I went there once! It was fun.

 

[Dozernaut]

It looks like Totino's Pizza Rolls, McChicken drenched in teriyaki sauce, and a hash brown in a bacon cheeseburger. Yawn.

Tried the chicken one, it's literally as you describe it, a mcchicken covered in teriyaki sauce.

 

[Balr0g]

So I have come across several YT videos discussing McDonalds slow (or fast) decline in terms of unsatisfied customers because the food has become sloppy and customer service is becoming really bad. I haven't been to a McDonalds in years so can any Kiwi confirm or deny if the food has become bad (bad in relative terms, fast food is fast food after all)

 

[MAAAD]

Common KFC W, ameriLARDS stay losing.
25 chicken wings busket >>>>>> mystery meat McShitburger with cellulose toppings for $19.99

 

[quaawaa]

So, this just popped up on yahoo news. It looks like some international menu items have been brought to canadian mcdonalds locations for some reason. Most of that stuff looks like shit, especially that german abomination, though i'm curious about those pizza bite things from italy. Mcdonalds pizza was pretty back in 1992, all things considered and it brought a ton of people in back then. At least while it lasted

The restaurant on the ground floor of the McDonald's HQ in Chicago serves a rotating menu of international items all the time.

 

[AnOminous]

The restaurant on the ground floor of the McDonald's HQ in Chicago serves a rotating menu of international items all the time.

Is that the one that used to be the Rock n Roll McDonald's?

 

[quaawaa]

Is that the one that used to be the Rock n Roll McDonald's?

No, that’s their flagship in River North. This is the one that is at the base of their office tower in Fulton Market.

 

[Maker's Mark]

Tried the German Rosti burger and it was fine. The mcpizza bites just tasted like a mini cheese pizza pop. Very underwhelming. Apparently my mom used to get us the Mcpizza and we loved it as kids but I have zero memory of this.

 

[Eventide]

It actually looks pizzeria style so it's probably not the original "McPizza." At least at the time it was available in at least one restaurant in Florida.

My dad said the early 90's McPizza tasted like Army mess hall (DFAC) pizza, and was "alright".

But my dad also likes Domino's thin crust pizza without extra cheese, so IDK if his pizza opinions should be trusted...

 

[Xarpho's Return]

My dad said the early 90's McPizza tasted like Army mess hall (DFAC) pizza, and was "alright".

There are a few articles from the day that had the McDonald's being just a step up from frozen pizza. Given what frozen pizza tasted like c. 1991, well...