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Do McDonald's Burgers Ever Actually Go Bad?
Food & Wine ^ | July 8, 2024 | Stacey Leasca

Posted on 07/08/2024 6:11:44 PM PDT by nickcarraway

Sorry, this one is a myth.

A former McDonald's chef isn't just debunking the myth that McDonald's burgers never go bad and that their buns never mold, he's giving us a very specific reason why they appear to stay fresh-looking forever.

"When anyone talks about the McDonald's burgers never going bad, that is false. What is happening is that bun or burger is becoming dehydrated," Mike Haracz, a former corporate chef for McDonald's, shared on his TikTok.

As Haracz explained, McDonald's puts mold-inhibiting ingredients in its burgers and buns, so when they are "stored in an enclosed environment to keep them moist, they will mold after a week or two like every other bun." he noted, you can test this yourself by putting a "McDonald's burger in a Ziploc bag or something similar and let that sit, and you are going to see it go bad very, very quick."

McDonald's Discontinued Its Salad Offerings in America — Due to Lack of Demand As for why so many people are able to pull out weeks-old burgers that appear to look fresh, Haracz explained that this is due to a combination of dehydration and "the fact McDonald’s cooks their burgers and its meats well done so there’s no raw protein."

“There’s a lot less moist and fat in there," he added. "The fact they salt and season after it’s cooked – so that salt is dropping the water activity. Salt absorbs any free moisture and that free moisture is what microbes and things use to grow.”

So really, what you're doing by saving that burger for months on end isn't for science, but rather, you're "basically making jerky and croutons," Haracz added.

How to Make McDonald's Big Mac Sauce at Home, According to an Ex McDonald's Chef This is far from the first time Haracz has spilled a McDonald's secret. In March, he also shared the secret to that famous Big Mac Sauce, revealing it's a combination of mayonnaise, a quarter cup of sweet pickle relish, two tablespoons of Dusseldorf Mustard, and one teaspoon of white wine vinegar, along with one and one-fourth teaspoon of paprika, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of granulated garlic, and one-eighth a teaspoon of white pepper.

And, in 2023, he famously revealed the worst times of day to visit a McDonald's, naming 10:30 a.m. as the worst of all, as it's right between the breakfast and lunch switch. The more you know, right?


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food
KEYWORDS: 2024election; election2024; mcdonalds; pennsylvania
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1 posted on 07/08/2024 6:11:44 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway

They start out bad.


2 posted on 07/08/2024 6:14:04 PM PDT by Fido969
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To: nickcarraway

Re-nuking McChickins works for me.


3 posted on 07/08/2024 6:15:10 PM PDT by Paladin2
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To: nickcarraway

Would not know, will not eat that garbage.


4 posted on 07/08/2024 6:17:23 PM PDT by doorgunner69 (I don't know what he said at the end of that sentence. i don't think he knows what he said either)
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To: nickcarraway

Big Mac Sauce, revealing it’s a combination of mayonnaise, a quarter cup of sweet pickle relish, two tablespoons of Dusseldorf Mustard, and one teaspoon of white wine vinegar, along with one and one-fourth teaspoon of paprika, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of granulated garlic, and one-eighth a teaspoon of white pepper.
.......................................

I’m going to try that.


5 posted on 07/08/2024 6:17:40 PM PDT by ViLaLuz (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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To: nickcarraway

McD is bad from the beginning.


6 posted on 07/08/2024 6:20:39 PM PDT by faithhopecharity (“Politicians are not born. They're excreted.” Marcus Tillius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))
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To: faithhopecharity

Like almost all American post-war products. Including culture.


7 posted on 07/08/2024 6:25:03 PM PDT by nwrep
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To: nickcarraway

“Do McDonald’s Burgers Ever Actually Go Bad?”

Just the idea of eating ANYTHING at McDonald’s absolutely SICKENS ME.


8 posted on 07/08/2024 6:35:19 PM PDT by BobL (I eat at McDonald's and shop at Walmart, I just don't tell anyone)
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To: nickcarraway
I go thru the McDonald's drive-thru 6 days/week and bring home 2 sausage/egg/cheese McMuffins, $8.43 in WA state.

OK, I'm single, retired and lazy.

9 posted on 07/08/2024 6:35:48 PM PDT by PROCON (Sic Semper Tyrannis)
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To: PROCON

Isn’t that tantamount to a vote for Biden?


10 posted on 07/08/2024 6:38:07 PM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: nickcarraway
Yes, around 1976.

I’m old enough to remember when it was the best burger 15 cents could buy.

11 posted on 07/08/2024 6:41:38 PM PDT by daler
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To: PROCON

Your lower intestines must love you....


12 posted on 07/08/2024 6:45:31 PM PDT by God luvs America (6young 3.5 million pay no income tax and vote for DemoKrats...)
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To: nwrep
Delta is ready anytime you are, so fly away to some place better.

Shoo.

13 posted on 07/08/2024 6:53:11 PM PDT by Harmless Teddy Bear ( Roses are red, Violets are blue, I love being on the government watch list, along with all of you.)
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To: ViLaLuz

Pretty time consuming. Just use thousand island dressing.


14 posted on 07/08/2024 7:08:25 PM PDT by gloryblaze
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To: God luvs America
Your lower intestines must love you....

You make a good point but long before my McDonald's addiction I had a complete colostomy operation due to other issues and have very little colon left and now use an ostomy bag attached to my left abdomen and will for life.

Now I can eat all the junk food I wish. 😎

15 posted on 07/08/2024 7:08:32 PM PDT by PROCON (Sic Semper Tyrannis)
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To: nickcarraway

i used to think Little Debbie’s products were the perfect bomb shelter stockpile foods because of the amount of preservatives they contain ... but now it’s starting to sound like maybe mcdonald’s big macs might give Little Debbie’s a run, just so long as the burgers are left out unsealed on a shelf in the bomb shelter ...


16 posted on 07/08/2024 7:11:08 PM PDT by catnipman ((A Vote For The Lesser Of Two Evils Still Counts As A Vote For Evil))
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To: gloryblaze

But I’m a fool for Düsseldorf mustard.


17 posted on 07/08/2024 7:22:47 PM PDT by ViLaLuz (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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To: catnipman

they say twinkies never go bad- but not true- i bought a box, and it stayed in the back of the cupboards for about 3 years- i thought they should still be good- but when i opened the box, they had all turned to near dust- not sure how- but they were pretty gross looking-


18 posted on 07/08/2024 7:31:57 PM PDT by Bob434
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To: BobL

McD salads were good. So they stopped serving them.


19 posted on 07/08/2024 7:34:40 PM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: central_va

Every once in a while I’ll get a hankering for a quarter pounder with cheese…

I pay for it twice… once at the counter, and later again on the hopper.

Whatever they cook their burgers in, and whatever their burgers really are, they do not sit well in me.

Neither does Burger King.

Wendy’s, however, does not seem to not cause lower GI problems.


20 posted on 07/08/2024 7:45:07 PM PDT by NFHale (The Second Amendment - By Any Means Necessary.)
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