RIYADH: You must have craved a Big Mac after a long day at work, or late at night, or when you were cruising around with friends and family. You must have also wondered: What makes it so special and iconic? What does it contain exactly?
When it comes to the Big Mac, there are seven ingredients and one truth. We reached out directly to McDonald’s restaurants along with their regional suppliers to debunk all myths and rumors, and here is what we found:
- It all starts with the beef burger patties. How are these prepared with the thickness that gives them the right hot and juicy flavors? There are no secrets: The burger patties in the GCC region are made with 100 percent halal-inspected high-quality pure beef. The Big Mac’s patties contain no preservatives or fillers, and the only thing that McDonald’s ever adds is a touch of salt and pepper. All the beef from across the GCC is sourced from two suppliers: BRF in Abu Dhabi and Nabil Foods in Jordan. Those suppliers adhere to McDonald’s stringent food quality and safety standards as well as globally recognized halal practices.
- What about the delicious sauce, the cherry on top of the cake? The ingredients are quite simple; the Big Mac’s signature sauce is made of water, vegetable oil, pickles, vinegar, sugar, corn starch, corn syrup, egg yolks, mustard flour, spice extracts, salt, paprika extract, and dehydrated garlic.
- Big Mac’s third ingredient is the buns. The fluffy and flaky buns that soften your bite are freshly baked and delivered by McDonald’s partner bakeries across the GCC. These buns, which do not contain any eggs or milk, are made of premium quality wheat flour. McDonald’s partner bakeries carry the same traditional bun-making process of mixing, kneading, and baking, with the help of modern equipment to give you the bread you love. It is all about marrying craftsmanship with science and top-notch processes.
- As for the cheddar cheese that melts in your mouth as you chew your first bite, it is mainly sourced from trusted suppliers in Saudi Arabia.
- The shredded onions and lettuce that add to the flavors are all fresh, thoroughly cut and cleaned before serving.
- Finally, this mouthwatering perfection is topped off with slices of pickles to add to the full taste.
If you are still wondering about the Big Mac, you can always visit Your Right To Know website, which is a platform that aims to answer all your questions. McDonald’s restaurants before the pandemic even granted the opportunity for consumers to book a tour inside their kitchen and explore how the food is prepared behind the scenes, with full transparency.
