Fries of the Future • Hacker News Board

Re: Fries of the Future

#21

Post by khrbrt » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 6:58 PM UTC

a_c wrote: post #10

Can someone be kind enough to provide a TL;DR

People are downvoting but I appreciate this request because the transcript is very disorienting to read.

Planet Money used to be a great source for learning about the economy but has recently become unlistenable. For example, I tried listening to their Halloween episode about recessions but gave up after ten minutes of bad jokes and audio "fluff".

Re: Fries of the Future

#22

Post by khrbrt » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 7:05 PM UTC

Malcom Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast did an episode[0] awhile back on how much better McDonalds fries tasted when they were cooked in beef tallow. Now that the "fat scare" of the 90s is over, would this be a good time to switch back? I don't know if frying in tallow improves their longevity, but it may be worth trying instead of yet another chemical additive.

[0] http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcdonalds-broke-my...

Re: Fries of the Future

#23

Post by coldpresent » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 7:52 PM UTC

Text-only version: https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=772775254

Re: Fries of the Future

#24

Post by astura » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 7:58 PM UTC

khrbrt wrote: post #22

Malcom Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast did an episode[0] awhile back on how much better McDonalds fries tasted when they were cooked in beef tallow. Now that the "fat scare" of the 90s is over, would this be a good time to switch back? I don't know if frying in tallow improves their longevity, but it may be worth trying instead of yet another chemical additive. [0] http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcd…

If you need fries fried in beer tallow, Popeyes is a national chain that uses beer tallow to fry everything, including the fries.

You'll find they are nothing special.

Re: Fries of the Future

#25

Post by fma » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 8:10 PM UTC

Does China not buy potatoes from the US? I don't understand why the executives wanted to wait...

I'm sure we've all had soggy fries before in the US so its not a new problem isolated to fast food delivery...

Re: Fries of the Future

#26

Post by webkike » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 8:17 PM UTC

astura wrote: post #24

khrbrt wrote: post #22

Malcom Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast did an episode[0] awhile back on how much better McDonalds fries tasted when they were cooked in beef tallow. Now that the "fat scare" of the 90s is over, would this be a good time to switch back? I don't know if frying in tallow improves their longevity, but it may be worth trying instead of yet another chemical additive. [0] http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcd…

If you need fries fried in beer tallow, Popeyes is a national chain that uses beer tallow to fry everything, including the fries. You'll find they are nothing special.

They definitely taste different than other fast food chains. I would consider their taste better.

Back when I was in Illinois I remember Portillo’s fries had a particularly fatty and delicious taste, I wonder if they also fry in beef tallow?

Re: Fries of the Future

#27

Post by wcip » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 8:18 PM UTC

tingletech wrote: post #19

dplgk wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Air fryer?

in the article they said the self driving robot fry making cars would use air fryers

Would seem simpler to just have a air fryer in the home at that point.

Re: Fries of the Future

#28

Post by foob » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 9:06 PM UTC

khrbrt wrote: post #22

Malcom Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast did an episode[0] awhile back on how much better McDonalds fries tasted when they were cooked in beef tallow. Now that the "fat scare" of the 90s is over, would this be a good time to switch back? I don't know if frying in tallow improves their longevity, but it may be worth trying instead of yet another chemical additive. [0] http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcd…

Interesting, I had always assumed that they made the switch to be more vegetarian friendly, but it actually was because of the "fat scare." I googled around to learn more about it, and found an article called Why McDonald's French Fries Used to Taste Better [1] that's worth a read.

[1] - https://blog.cheapism.com/why-mcdonalds-fries-used-to-be-bet...

Re: Fries of the Future

#29

Post by narag » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 9:11 PM UTC

coldpresent wrote: post #23

Text-only version: https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=772775254

I only see three lines of text, more than I saw coming from the nag screen (nothing).

Re: Fries of the Future

#30

Post by twoodfin » Sat, Nov 23, 2019, 10:05 PM UTC

khrbrt wrote: post #22

Malcom Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast did an episode[0] awhile back on how much better McDonalds fries tasted when they were cooked in beef tallow. Now that the "fat scare" of the 90s is over, would this be a good time to switch back? I don't know if frying in tallow improves their longevity, but it may be worth trying instead of yet another chemical additive. [0] http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/19-mcd…

I have the same feeling about Oreos when they were made with lard.

Mass produced, highly engineered consumables occupy an interesting aesthetic & historical space where a particular experience could be shared by tens or hundreds of millions for decades and then disappear forever in a matter of months.

McDonald’s, among others, exploits this phenomenon with the McRib.