Little-Known Facts About The World's Most Famous Fries

Whether they're called frites, papas fritas, patat, chips, or fritten, french fries are loved all over the world. Come on, they're deep-fried potatoes, what's not to love? And McDonald's, as America's top french fry supplier, has had almost 70 years of practice to perfect its recipe. Yet while many people are familiar with their favorite fries, few know the truth lurking within the deep fryer...

Why mess with perfection?

When McDonald's first opened in 1955, the menu was rather limited. Still, while the hamburger and cheeseburger have been reimagined and rebranded, the fries have always looked the same. But back in the earliest days of the franchise, employees had to cut the potatoes to size by hand! We've come a long way since then.

Making the cut

Contrary to popular belief, McDonald's "World Famous Fries" aren't placed in molds to achieve their uniform shape. These babies are cut automatically in factories with something called high-pressure water knives. Think of these fry-making machines as massive wood chippers that slice up potatoes at 60-70 miles per hour. It's a far cry from hand-cut!

They are made from real potatoes

Sorry, skeptics — although these fries aren't exactly organic, they really are made from regular ol' taters. In fact, the company has said that its fries start life as premium potatoes that must meet set standards around size, shape, color, and storability. These are all grown on U.S. farms, too. The chemicals don't get added until much later!

A variety of potatoes are used

It's hard to tell from the perfectly even off-white tone of the french fries, but McDonald's does use a bunch of different potatoes to make its deep-fried delights. The company says it uses potatoes such as Pentland Dell, Russet Burbank, Ivory Russet, Innovator, and Shepody. How Mickey D's came upon this perfect mix, no one knows... but it sure is working!