McDonald's Fries Are Really Made of Potatoes

As part of a new marketing campaign with MythBusters co-host Grant Imahara, McDonald's released the latest video revealing how its French fries are made. What's the verdict? Yes, you are eating real potatoes. No, those fries aren't made from molded potato goo.

To find out what McDonald's fries are made of, Grant "reverse engineers" the French fry, starting from the fully finished fry at the restaurant and ending at the potato farm where he digs out a spud from the soil, to reveal the assembly process.

In receiving at Simplot, McDonald USA's potato supplier, the assembly belt reveals a range of healthy-looking spuds, including varieties like Russet Burbank and Umatilla Russet, and none of which are GMO potatoes. Whole potatoes are lined up using high pressure water to go through a tube at speeds between 60 to 70 miles per hour through a potato cutter for precision cutting. To ensure a consistent golden color, the fries go through an ingredient dip in dextrose, a natural sugar, and in sodium acid pyrophosphate to prevent them from graying after freezing. The fries are partially fried for a crispy outer shell before they go through a freezer tunnel to be frozen.

And all of this starts with a real potato, which is grown just as you'd expect on a farm.

Watch the video above to learn more about how McDonald's makes its French fries.

Image Credit: Getty Images News