McDonald's Fries In This Country Have Way Fewer Ingredients Than In The US

The famous french fries from McDonald's require little, if any, introduction. These renowned and eminently snackable little guys are cherished wherever you can find a McDonald's, and often rack at or near the top of best fast food french fries lists. But, even though they're a famous dish at this point, there's a lot more variation when you look at McDonald's fries around the world. That variation even comes down to what ingredients — and how many — are used in making them in the first place.

There's a pretty stark difference when you compare McDonald's fries from the United States to those from across the Atlantic, in the United Kingdom. McDonald's fries from the U.S. have more ingredients than you might expect, topping out at nine individual ingredients once you break down the catch-all "vegetable oil" to its respective parts. Considering the fact that french fries, on their surface, might only require a few scant ingredients — potatoes and the oil to cook them in — nine is quite a lot. In the United Kingdom, meanwhile, the ingredient list is closer to expectations with only three ingredients used in their composition (though a fourth, salt, is added during the cooking process). How did it come to pass that the U.K.'s version of McDonald's fries use only a third of the ingredients found in the American version? There are a couple of factors at play.

With such a discrepancy in the amount of ingredients used in what, on the surface, seems like a low-effort side dish, there's no doubt that there would be some questions raised. The official answer given from McDonald's itself lists "customer preferences" and "local regulations and guidelines" as two factors that cause this regional difference. 

Part of the "local regulations" bit might explain the exclusion of color-maintaining agents compared to its American counterpart. Another facet to keep in mind is that McDonald's fries in the United States are traditionally fried in a flavored oil. Once upon a time, McDonald's fries were cooked in beef tallow, but now the company uses a blend of oils and ingredients to harken back to that flavor. This makes up a large portion of the nine ingredients in the American version of these fries, but it seems that this traditional flavor wasn't as craved in the United Kingdom, where these flavoring agents don't feature at all. So, while the ingredient comparison might catch your attention at first, it doesn't necessarily indicate that one is better or worse than the other –- it just goes to show the differences between two culinary cultures.