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As comedian Jim Gaffigan once said in a stand-up special, “Those McDonald’s fries are truly amazing. Has your mother ever made anything as good as a McDonald’s fry?”
Of course, the answer is, as he put it, “Not even close.”
So what is it that makes McDonald’s french fries taste so absolutely, irresistibly wonderful (even though we all know they can’t possibly be good for us)?
Well, thankfully, you are now connected to this thing we like to call the internet.
And on this internet thing, there is a repository of useless trivia, ill-advised stunts and bad medical advice called TikTok.
And on this thing called TikTok, there is a man who goes by the handle @jordan_the_stallion8 (real name: Jordan Howlett) who recently shared a video where he explained why McDonald’s french fries taste so freaking good.
In his video, which has now been watched millions of times, Howlett explained, “I know why McDonald’s fries taste different from everybody else’s fries… it’s because McDonald’s cooks their fries with beef flavoring mixed within their vegetable oil.
“So that’s why the fries taste so good, but also so different from everybody else’s.
“So, you know, probably bad news for vegetarians.”
He did add, however, that McDonald’s does not do this to its french fries in the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia. Sucks for them.
Also, just because McDonald’s uses “natural beef flavoring” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s actual beef (much like their burgers, many would say).
The fast food chain did use to cook their fries in a vat of cottonseed oil and beef tallow, but people complained about them being too fattening. (Remember when McDonald’s briefly switched to cooking its fries in vegetable oil because of the uproar? Yecchh. That didn’t last long.)
Then, McDonald’s got sued by vegetarians and Hindu people over the whole beef thing. Thus the “natural beef flavoring.”
Speaking to the New York Post about his McDonald’s french fries revelation, Jordan Howlett said, “I figured it’s information that people with dietary issues might want to know. Whether it contains meat or not doesn’t really change my view on the McDonald’s fries. I still enjoy them.”
@jordan_the_stallion8 #stitch with @youraveragetechbro #fypシ ♬ original sound – Jordan_The_Stallion8
“You ever eat too many McDonald’s fries?” Gaffigan asked in his special. “OF COURSE NOT! There’s never enough of them!”