Myth Busted: How McDonald's French Fries are Really Made

By Kasandra Brabaw (Patch Staff)

The first bite of that golden brown potato - with its crispy shell, sprinkling of salt and soft, white center - sends you into bliss.

And you know you’ll get the same sensation every time. McDonald’s french fries taste the same across Rhode Island. Really, they taste the same across the United States. (Note: Apparently McDonald’s makes their fries differently in the UK.)

But how does this delectable treat, and some might say guilty pleasure, really start out?

MythBusters star Grant Imahara says many believe McDonald’s french fries are nothing more than potato-like mush shaped into fries.

Those skeptical of McDonald’s question: Are the fries even made of potatoes?

The unspoken assumption that McDonald’s fries are filled with chemicals and made of processed goo, kept Imahara from eating the spuds even though he loved them.

So when McDonald’s asked him to discover the truth about their french fries, he was hesitant.

“I was a little skeptical at first, but then I thought maybe this is a chance to get to the truth,” Imahara said.

Imahara reverse engineered McDonald’s french fry process, starting at the finished fry and ending, he hoped, at a potato freshly dug from the earth.

Watch his journey below:

Luckily for Imahara, who we can see chowing down on a large order of McDonald’s fries at the end of the video, his search did lead to a fresh potato.

So next time you bite into a french fry from McDonald’s, you can leave the guilt at home. While they’re still far from a healthy snack, at least you’re not eating processed mush.

Image via screenshot