McDonalds Fries - Are they real potatoes?

Does McDonald’s use real potatoes? Why do the fries always taste so good? Are they mashed and formed in a mold? There are a lot of questions about the fries so Grant Imahara investigates the fry making process in his own way.

TORONTO – Sometimes you don’t want to know how the sausage is made. But does that apply to McDonald’s French fries?

In its latest crusade to answer consumers’ questions about its fare, McDonald’s revealed how its iconic golden fries are made and the 19 ingredients that go into the side dish.

This time, the fast food giant teamed up with Mythbusters co-host Grant Imahara who “reverse engineers” the cooking process from freezing the final product to the farm where the potatoes are dug up.

The potatoes are lined up and shot through a water knife for precision cutting – that’s how they get their uniformity. They’re shooting into the knife at 60 to 70 miles per hour.

They’re also fried twice – once in production and again at the restaurant. The first partial frying is to help get the crisp outer shell. The fries are also dipped in dextrose to help them stay consistently golden regardless of the season.

Here’s the full list of ingredients. Items two to nine are a blend of oils and ingredients used in the initial partial frying while 13 to 19 are used for frying once you’ve placed your order.

1. Potatoes
2. Canola oil
3. Soybean oil
4. Hydrogenated soybean oil
5. Natural beef flavour
6. Hydrolyzed wheat
7. Hydrolyzed milk
8. Citric acid (an anti-oxidant to keep the oil fresh)
9. Dimethylpolysiloxane (an anti-foaming agent that keeps oil from splattering)
10. Dextrose
11. Sodium acid pyrophosphate (keeps the potatoes from going gray)
12. Salt
13. Canola oil
14. Corn oil
15. Soybean oil
16. Hydrogenated soybean oil
17. TBHQ (an anti-oxidant to preserve the freshness of the oil as it travels to the restaurant)
18. Citric acid
19. Dimethylpolysiloxane

The Canadian variation doesn’t stray too far, but there are some differences. It uses safflower oil, but does not include natural beef flavour, hydrolyzed wheat or hydrolyzed milk in its Canuck formulation.

The fast food chain told Global News it’s taking on the “Our Food. Your Questions” campaign to “reclaim the truth.”