# The Smoking Fry **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887 "2004-10-06T18:00:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/1 "2004-10-06T18:00:33Z")
Just watched Super Size me on DVD last night. In one of the extras the filmmaker had several items (A Big Mac, A filet o fish, Some Fries and A regular Burger and Fries from a mom and pop shop) in seperate glass jars to watch them decompose. Everything grew mushy and mouldy over a period of 10 weeks… except the McDonald’s Fries. The looked exactly the same. No changes at all. In fact had I walked by them and not known how old they were I’d swear they were bought that day. They did not decompose. I was initailly stunned by that. Now as a friend pointed out that isn’t necessarily a bad for you thing but really, how come these guys didn’t rot? What is it that made these fries stay the same while the fresh counterparts were black and fuzzy? Are they little salt mummies? Also is this an indication that they are bad for you? Should I be alarmed? Does digestion work on these things?? Anyone have any ideas on this. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/2 "2004-10-06T18:22:38Z")
I suspect the high sugar content. Yes, they use sugar. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/3 "2004-10-06T18:52:00Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > I suspect the high sugar content. No, it’s the combination of fat content and low moisture. Deep frying drives off the water which normally supports decay. The may use sugar in the fries, but not enough to preserve them. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/4 "2004-10-06T19:03:06Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > No, it’s the combination of fat content and low moisture. Deep frying drives off the water which normally supports decay. The may use sugar in the fries, but not enough to preserve them. Fair enough, but the Fresh cut fries were also deep fried and decayed within days. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/5 "2004-10-06T19:10:47Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#): > > Fair enough, but the Fresh cut fries were also deep fried and decayed within days. Might be partially due to salt content, too, which I neglected to mention. McDonald’s fries _are_ rather heavily salted. Maybe I’ll stop by my local McD’s and ask for some unsalted fries and a couple uncooked ones in addition to regular ones to experiment with. I never saw the movie, so I don’t know how accurately I can replicate the conditions, but I’ll try. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/6 "2004-10-07T02:20:14Z")
Ok, I’ve got the three fries–and the funny looks I got when asking for uncooked ones. Will report results in a few days (how many days was this experiment run for?) ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/7 "2004-10-07T02:28:19Z")
Great. The “experiment” wasn’t anything special. He had several glass jars with lids and dumped the entire fry box in. No double blind so it could have been a fluke. Can’t wait to hear your results. Have a digital camera? It would be interesting to see the results too. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/8 "2004-10-07T02:29:32Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Ok, I’ve got the three fries–and the funny looks I got when asking for uncooked ones. Will report results in a few days (how many days was this experiment run for?) Oh yes it was over a period of 10 weeks. Hence my utter disbelief that nothing changed. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/9 "2004-10-07T03:20:56Z")
McDonald’s fries: Strictly controlled starch levels, precooked before arriving at the McDonald’s. Lots of salt (enough?), and different (perhaps) oil. Most likely more preservatives. Different cook time/temp. Mom and Pop fries: Hey, let’s cut these potatoes up, everything done at site. Not any hard evidence here, just trying to get tpossible causes out in the arena to discuss. (My personal theory: McDonald’s fries come with as little moisture as possible. In fact, they try to cook them before they thaw in order to make them crisipier. In fact, any fries with ice crystals aren’t supposed to be used. I think moisture has something to do with this.) ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/10 "2004-10-07T03:42:41Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > I suspect the high sugar content. > > Yes, they use sugar. I’m no microbiologist or organic chemist, or anything, but wouldn’t more sugar make them more likely to have mold/fuzzy stuff? From what I understand about life, it needs food. Almost every organism on earth seems to be able to use sugar as food, ergo, more sugar = more bacteria, mold, and other un-fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/11 "2004-10-07T04:00:33Z")
**Q.E.D.:** quit messing around with these small-fry experiments. We never did find out if [goats](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=41020) could fly, or if [Flammendschwein](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=279280) truly repel charging elephants. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/12 "2004-10-07T05:20:54Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > I’m no microbiologist or organic chemist, or anything, but wouldn’t more sugar make them more likely to have mold/fuzzy stuff? From what I understand about life, it needs food. Almost every organism on earth seems to be able to use sugar as food, ergo, more sugar = more bacteria, mold, and other un-fun stuff. Sugar tends to bind up water in a way that prevents it from being used by microbes. If there’s plenty of water around, sugar is indeed a great food source. But in a situation where water is a limiting factor - and the bugs need quite a bit of water - sugar tends to make things harder for them. Notice how jams and honey never seem to go bad. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/13 "2004-10-07T05:41:09Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#): > > Fair enough, but the Fresh cut fries were also deep fried and decayed within days. Most fries are quick frozen and tend to freeze dry out a bit. The potatoes are also chosen because they process better. They are not the same kind of potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/14 "2004-10-07T17:50:25Z")
Aha! And to support my McFries are dry theory, did the Mom and Pop store use heat lamps? Like surface-of-the-sun heat lamps? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/15 "2004-10-07T17:52:39Z")
Oh, QED… meant to add… if you happen to have an extra potato and jar, would you think it would matter if you just cut up some raw potato to put next to the raw McFry? ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/16 "2004-10-07T18:31:42Z")
Recently, McDonald’s began giving kids the options of having a package of apple slices and caramel sauce instead of french fries with their Happy Meals. The apples are pretty good, and my older daughter gets them all the time now instead of fries. But what’s weird is, the apple slices _never turn brown_. Normal apple slices start to turn brown within minutes of exposure to air around here, but the McDonald’s slices look perfectly fresh and new for at least 24 hours (that’s the longest I’ve let them sit out before throwing them away). So between the french fries and the apples, I think it’s quite clear that McDonald’s has made a pact with Satan. BEWARE… ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/17 "2004-10-07T18:38:30Z")
> [@chaoticdonkey](#): > > Oh, QED… meant to add… if you happen to have an extra potato and jar, would you think it would matter if you just cut up some raw potato to put next to the raw McFry? Dunno, but I’ve seen raw potato go bad pretty quickly. But, as pointed out, french fry potatoes are a different breed or strain or whatever than the whole potatoes you buy in the supermarket, so I’m not sure what that would show. It’s been, what, about 12 hours or so now? All three fries still looking pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/18 "2004-10-07T18:44:06Z")
[QUOTE=chorpler] The apples are pretty good, and my older daughter gets them all the time now instead of fries. But what’s weird is, the apple slices _never turn brown_. Normal apple slices start to turn brown within minutes of exposure to air around here, but the McDonald’s slices look perfectly fresh and new for at least 24 hours (that’s the longest I’ve let them sit out before throwing them away)./QUOTE] Maybe they’re coated with Vitamin C or some other acidic substance. Do they have a tangy flavour? ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/19 "2004-10-07T19:44:42Z")
Yes, they are treated with Vitamin C. I’ll find a cite. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887/20 "2004-10-07T19:45:57Z")
From [www.mcdonalds.com](http://www.mcdonalds.com) : Apple Dippers: Apples, calcium ascorbate (a blend of calcium and vitamin C added to maintain natural color). or Apples, ascorbic acid (vitamin C added to maintain natural color), calcium chloride. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-smoking-fry/267887.md?page=2)