We at Mashed have been known to wax poetic over McDonald's Hash Browns. Born in 1977,
these crispy golden pucks have long delighted our taste buds. The time has now come for
us to examine just what it is that makes McDonald's hash browns so delicious.
Sure, it's not too surprising to learn that some of McDonald's menu items are made with
obscure hard-to-pronounce ingredients. Still, we were a tad disappointed that two such ingredients
are in McDonald's hash browns. That said, we're not here to preach about chemicals in
beloved foods — we would even say one of the rules of enjoying fast food is you don't
think too much about how it's made.
As far as McDonald's hash browns go, there's a reason for the inclusion of said obscure
ingredients -- which is why you can't quite replicate their flavor with even the best
copycat recipe. McDonald's has mastered the art of transforming the wholesome ingredients
in their hash browns — potatoes, vegetable oil, salt, and corn flour – into next level
greatness with the help of some chemical magic.
Firstly, McDonald's hash browns contain sodium acid pyrophosphate to prevent the potatoes
from turning gray, as potatoes will do. They also contain dextrose, a corn-based sugar
that McDonald's uses during those times of year when the natural sugars in potatoes aren't
capable of producing that golden color you've come to expect. Worry not, though; ABC interviewed
dietitian George Fear about potential health concerns regarding these supplemental ingredients,
and he waved them off as harmless. So go enjoy your breakfast.
"What comes before anything? What have we always said is the most important thing?"
"Breakfast."
There's another reason why your home-cooked hash browns fall short of capturing the flavor
of McDonald's version, and it comes down to three words you probably wouldn't expect:
natural beef flavor.
McDonald's practice of adding subtle beefy notes to their fried potato products predated
the invention of its hash browns by nearly two decades. Starting in the 1950s, McDonald's
fried their potatoes in vegetable oil and beef tallow. But by the 1990s, concerns over
tallow's saturated fat content led fast-food restaurants to stop frying with beef fat.
According to McDonald's, instead of simply dumping beef tallow for vegetable oil, they
instead worked to develop their own, quote, "natural beef flavor" and have been using
it to flavor their vegetable oil ever since.
You should know "natural" in the beef flavor refers not to beef but to wheat and milk.
In fact, there is no actual beef in the natural beef flavor, which is made of hydrolyzed wheat
and milk flavoring. Hydrolyzation is a process where the chemicals that make up a protein
are separated into their smaller parts -- also known as amino acids. It's these acids that
recreate the beef flavor that was once used in McDonald's hash browns.
Something else that makes McDonald's hash browns so delicious is that they're made from
as many as seven different kinds of potatoes, according to the Idaho Potato Commission.
These include a number of sub-varieties of the common Russet potato and a Canadian-grown
potato known as the Shepody.
Each of the potato varieties McDonald's uses adds its own unique flavor and/or texture
to McDonald's potato products. For example, the Burbank Russet has a distinctive earthy
flavor, whereas the Ranger Russet offers lightness, crispness, and a golden color.
These different potato varieties are also harvested at different times of year, which
probably minimizes the risk of a bad growth season or running out of a certain potato.
It's not your fault that you can't resist the siren song of a nice crispy McDonald's
hash brown; NPR interviewed John S. Allen, a research scientist at the University of
Southern California, who says it's just a function of how humans have come to be, quote,
"wired". In an "All Things Considered" episode, Allen explains that humans evolved from insect-eating
primates. And if you've ever accidentally swallowed a fly, then you might understand
the connection between this and your favorite hash browns. If not, suffice it to say that
insects tend to have a crispy bite.
As humans evolved further, they came to associate crispiness with freshness. And as humans developed
the ability to cook with fire, they discovered a whole new kind of crispiness — one facilitated
by the Maillard reaction, in which high temperatures rearrange chemical bonds in foods to create
that toasty, crispy flavor that continues to make human mouths water to this day.
"How about a Sausage McMuffin with hash browns?"
"You got a deal."
As of 2021, we can't pretend we aren't well-versed in the art of ordering secret menu items from
fast food restaurants, including McDonald's. But it was only in the last two years that
the revelation that one can order their McDonald's hash browns cooked "well-done" finally began
making its way around the internet. And for that, it appears we have Food Beast reporter
Peter Phan to thank.
During his formative years, Phan worked in a McDonald's kitchen, where one of his favorite
things to do during his breaks was make himself a batch of well-done hash browns. Phan wrote
in December of 2018:
"Like all well-done starches, all you would have to do is leave the shredded potato patties
in the hot oil a few minutes past the wail of the fryer."
Although well-done McDonald's hash browns might look similar to the regular version,
they offer a crispier texture and a more, quote, "satisfying crunch," according to Phan.
Nor will they turn soggy during your trip from the drive-through to your home.
Something you may not know about McDonald's hash browns is that they happen to go really
well with a hangover. While we are not claiming that McDonald's hash browns can cure your
hangover, we do offer the hypothesis that McDonald's hash browns can make a hangover
seem much less unpleasant.
"I'm listening"
Here's the logic: Alcohol-related hangovers, which are most commonly characterized by headache,
nausea, fatigue, and clumsiness, have been observed to be made more severe by both a,
quote, "lack of food consumption" and dehydration according to a study published in the journal
Annals of Internal Medicine.
Obviously, McDonald's hash browns can quickly address a "lack of food consumption." According
to McDonald's, each serving of hash browns provides your body with 160 calories, and
you can probably scarf at least a serving -- or two -- in under five minutes. As for
dehydration, a serving of McDonald's hash browns delivers 360 mg of salt -- equal to
15 percent of the recommended daily allowance) -- which is an electrolyte your body may well
be crying out for when you're dehydrated, according to The Atlantic. Further, the eating
of McDonald's hash browns is often associated with the drinking of beverages such as coffee,
water and juice -- all of which have been linked to helping alleviate dehydration.
It used to be that McDonald's breakfast items were available only until 10:30 a.m. However,
in response to persistent prodding by breakfast-loving customers, McDonald's rolled out its all-day
breakfast in 2015. But there are some things to consider before rushing out for your next
fix of McDonald's hash browns.
While all-day breakfast is undoubtedly a customer-pleaser, it can feel burdensome to McDonald's employees.
First, all-day breakfast forces french fries to share fryer real estate with hash browns,
which can cause slowdowns in service, order mix-ups, and quality snafus -- such as egg
sandwiches that end up sitting around all day waiting to be purchased.
Moreover, all-day-breakfast has never really turned a profit. So, when the novel coronavirus
pandemic came along, it seemed as good an opportunity as any for McDonald's to suspend
all-day breakfast until further notice. However, not all McDonald's locations actually suspended
their all-day breakfast service, according to The Takeout, which reported in November
2020 that, quote, "rogue" locations continue to sell breakfast items all throughout the
day. How do you know which ones? All you have to do is ask. And that can make the experience
of ordering nighttime hash browns feel deliciously naughty or even illicit — kind of like whispering
the password at a hidden speakeasy.
You may or may not know this, but McDonald's hash browns are not just a delicious breakfast
food — they're also the perfect topper for just about any McDonald's sandwich.
According to The Takeout, all you have to do — assuming you have a nearby McDonald's
that is willing to sell hash browns after the breakfast shift is over -- is take the
top off your sandwich, place a hash brown on the sandwich ingredients, and enjoy.
Full disclosure, we didn't think of this first. McDonald's actually did. According to Thrillist,
back in 2016, the fast-food giant rolled out the Potato Rosti Burger in Canada. The Potato
Rosti Burger is basically the hack we just described, except it also has bacon. According
to Twitter, Bulgarian McDonald's restaurants also launched an impressive line of Potato
Rosti sandwiches in 2018.
McDonald's hash browns are to Egg McMuffins what French fries are to hamburgers: a perfect
pairing. But that probably didn't happen just by chance. According to CNN, by the time McDonald's
came up with its hash browns concept in 1977, it had already been selling its Egg McMuffin
sandwich for two years. After the success of the Egg McMuffin, it seemed only natural
for the chain to expand its breakfast menu.
Hash browns and Egg McMuffins truly are a perfect pair, and there's a way you can test
that theory. The next time you stop by a McDonald's, try the "Menu Remix #82." Menu Remix 82 means
ordering an Egg McMuffin sandwich and an order of hash browns, taking the top off the McMuffin,
placing the hash brown patty inside, and then placing the English muffin top back on before
digging in.
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