mcdonalds milkshakes- varible quality

[richw]

I'm not saying that is a bad thing though. Don't McDonalds claim all patties to be just 100% beef and seasoning and without fillers, I wouldn't say they were lying, just economic in size

Correct and proven during recent horsemeat scandals unlike the ones he cooked at home which probably do contain horse.
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MacDonalds are really good for the money, the extremely thick milkshakes, the coffee, the fries and the egg and sausage mcmuffins are beautiful. The burgers aren't bad but the chicken can sometimes be overmicrowaved. However, Ive never had a foreign macDonalds that Ive been able to finish. They must make them different on the continent...

Nothing.in Mcds is microwaved except porridge and pancakes at breakfast. As a result the microwaves are designated vegetarian, deemed misconduct to put any other products in the microwave. Chicken is deep fried, burgers grilled, bacon is steamed in a steamer device connected to the mains water which caused no end of problems for us!

 

[DarloRich]

Mass produced, uniform, much more finer beef content, rolled. Obviously I am not talking about yours.

I'm not saying that is a bad thing though. Don't McDonalds claim all patties to be just 100% beef and seasoning and without fillers, I wouldn't say they were lying, just economic in size

they say the burgers are made form 100% whole cuts of British or Irish beef which i dont doubt for one minute. I think they are exactly what they say. I just dont think they are to keen on telling us exactly which 100% whole cut of British or Irish beef they use. That said I think we can rule out a rump or sirloin!

 

[Darandio]

they say the burgers are made form 100% whole cuts of British or Irish beef which i dont doubt for one minute. I think they are exactly what they say. I just dont think they are to keen on telling us exactly which 100% whole cut of British or Irish beef they use. That said I think we can rule out a rump or sirloin!

Yes, completely fair point.

 

[DarloRich]

Mcds actually publish heavily what goes in their products, if you think they are reluctant I can only suggest opening your eyes. All of their advertising materials go into detail this subject, they publish customer leaflets showing all of their supply chains and what goes into everything.

It's the cooking method, mcds use clam grills which apply heavy pressure to cook the meat fast.

no they dont. Where on the web site will i find a detailed list of ingredients for every product?

If i buy a burger form Tesco, god forbid, i know exactly what goes into it. It says on the packaging. Where can i find the same for McDonald's?
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Correct and proven during recent horsemeat scandals unlike the ones he cooked at home which probably do contain horse.

Mine dont contain any horse. Why? Because i make them myself with meat bought from my butcher.

(anyway horse is nice - give it a try!)

 

[Darandio]

Ah, memories.

[youtube]NeGk1bgBa7s[/youtube]

 

[district]

no they dont. Where on the web site will i find a detailed list of ingredients for every product?

Here:

1. Go to McDonalds website
2. Hover over 'Food' on left
3. Click 'Ingredients & Allegens Information'
4. Select the menu item
5. Click 'Ingredients & Allegens Information'
6. Click 'Click for ingredients'

For example, 1/4 Deluxe ingredients:

Beef:

100% Pure Beef. No additives, fillers, binders, preservatives or flavour enhancers. Just pure forequarter and flank. A little salt and pepper is added to season after cooking.

Quarter Pounder Bun:

Wheat Flour, Water, Sugar, Yeast, Vegetable Oil (Rapeseed), Sesame Seeds, Salt, Soya Flour, Emulsifiers (Mono- and Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Palm Oil, Preservative (Calcium Propionate), Flour Treatment Agent (Ascorbic Acid).

Lettuce:

100% Iceberg Lettuce

Tomato Slice:

100% Tomato

Tomato Ketchup (Heinz):

Tomatoes (132g per 100g Ketchup), Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Spice and Herb Extract (contains Celery), Spice, Garlic Powder

Cheddar Cheese Slice (processed):

Vegetarian Cheddar (51%), Water, Butter, Vegetarian Cheese (9%), Whey Powder, Milk Proteins, Emulsifying Salts (Trisodium Citrate, Citric Acid), Natural Cheese Flavouring, Salt, Preservative (Sorbic Acid), Colour (Natural Carotenes, Paprika Extract), Anti-caking Agent (Sunflower Lecithin).

Cool Mayo:

Water, Vegetable Oil (Soya Bean or Rapeseed Oil) (38%), Free Range Egg Yolk (4%), Modified Maize Starch, Spirit Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, Mustard Flour, Stabiliser (Xanthan Gum), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate), Lemon Juice Concentrate

Fresh Onions:

100% Fresh White Onions

Dill Pickle Slices:

Fermented Gherkins, Water, Spirit Vinegar, Salt, Firming Agent (Calcium Chloride), Natural Flavouring (contains Celery), Preservative (Potassium Sorbate)

Mustard:

Water, Spirit Vinegar, Mustard Seed (13%), Salt, Spices, Natural Clove Flavouring.

Detailed enough?

If i buy a burger form Tesco, god forbid, i know exactly what goes into it. It says on the packaging. Where can i find the same for McDonald's?

You don't know what exactly goes into it, as proved by the recent meat contamination scandal.

 

[richw]

no they dont. Where on the web site will i find a detailed list of ingredients for every product?

If i buy a burger form Tesco, god forbid, i know exactly what goes into it. It says on the packaging. Where can i find the same for McDonald's?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Mine dont contain any horse. Why? Because i make them myself with meat bought from my butcher.

(anyway horse is nice - give it a try!)

On a link I posted on page 1 or 2 of this thread takes you to Mcds ingredients page. All products are listed. Mcds website also states which cuts of beef are used, I'm on my phone now so can't check at same time I'm typing and link for you.
Tesco burgers and ingredients listed on the box I really hope your not using that to back your views, as we all know they didn't state horse yet contained horse!
I've tried horse in France and do recommend, however the case here is labelling accurately,

 

[bnm]

no they dont. Where on the web site will i find a detailed list of ingredients for every product?

Try looking a bit harder.

That said I think we can rule out a rump or sirloin!

As for the beef cuts, in the UK McDonald's use forequarter and flank. Forequarter is the front of the animal behind the neck. Chuck and brisket are the cuts in this area. Beef chuck and brisket are the best parts of the animal for making ground beef for burgers. Flank is also one of the best cuts for ground beef.

Of course we can rule out rump and sirloin. As well as tenderloin and rib. These prime cuts are totally unsuited for fast food burgers. If you want an expensive burger then McDonald's isn't the place to go. That doesn't mean that McDonald's aren't using the best quality beef however.

 

[Harlesden]

You might think McDonald's are a hit in every country of the world - but they failed in Jamaica. Burger King got the customers.
http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20051007/cleisure/cleisure1.html

 

[DarloRich]

fair enough - i missed the little ingredient button on first viewing and could only see the top level information on allergens.

It is still minging and uses cheap beef and has a very high calorific content (allegedly)

 

[richw]

fair enough - i missed the little ingredient button on first viewing and could only see the top level information on allergens.

It is still minging and uses cheap beef and has a very high calorific content (allegedly)

You needn't use the allegdly part, you can get the facts for calorie intake on the ingredient page as mentioned above.
To validate your opinions look at quarter pounder products or big tasty with bacon if that's s current promotion.
The "cheap beef" will almost certainly be the same cuts as your butcher makes his mince from, as is the best cut of beef for mince.

 

[ATW Alex 101]

Back on milkshakes, I often find that the Cheshire Oaks store when they give their milkshakes, you can see the swirl of the syrup in the actual milkshake. A quick mix with the straw easily rectifies it mind and the milkshake has good consistency and is cold. The old Ellesmere Port branch (now closed and boarded up) half the time the machine wasn't working and when it did, it gave lukewarm milkshake with a foamy like consistency. I think it was something to do with the age of the thing, like all of the other appliances in there!

Just generally on fast-food as a whole, I am finding myself eating too much Maccy D's now they have that Monopoly promotion thing on . On Burger King, Cheshire Oaks has it's BK still and it's been there for over 12 years I believe and while a little more expensive, I find the food there a little nicer sometimes. I don't eat burgers (threw one up 7 years ago, never ate one since) so I go for the chicken options and they are really nice. The chips are very nice as well, close competition with McDonald's ones. The breakfast at BK are a bit cack though, McDonald's do the best breakfasts in the whole country, even better than my dad's bacon butties!

 

[Butts]

The biggest problem I have with the Milkshakes is the number of times the machine that produces them seems to breakdown.

I'd say one in five visits (in various parts of the UK) this has been the case from my experience.

Are the machines unreliable ?

Also are the takeaway ones still cheaper than sit in (they used to be)?

 

[Qwerty133]

Back on milkshakes, I often find that the Cheshire Oaks store when they give their milkshakes, you can see the swirl of the syrup in the actual milkshake. A quick mix with the straw easily rectifies it mind and the milkshake has good consistency and is cold. The old Ellesmere Port branch (now closed and boarded up) half the time the machine wasn't working and when it did, it gave lukewarm milkshake with a foamy like consistency. I think it was something to do with the age of the thing, like all of the other appliances in there!

Just generally on fast-food as a whole, I am finding myself eating too much Maccy D's now they have that Monopoly promotion thing on . On Burger King, Cheshire Oaks has it's BK still and it's been there for over 12 years I believe and while a little more expensive, I find the food there a little nicer sometimes. I don't eat burgers (threw one up 7 years ago, never ate one since) so I go for the chicken options and they are really nice. The chips are very nice as well, close competition with McDonald's ones. The breakfast at BK are a bit cack though, McDonald's do the best breakfasts in the whole country, even better than my dad's bacon butties!

The free glass promo is always the one that gets me eating to much (we have at least 10 from the past two years plus a number have broke (thanks dad) ) in fact I got the whole set and more the year they did retro ones!!!!!

 

[Liam]

The breakfast at BK are a bit cack though

Agree with that, except for the wee hash browns, which are brilliant!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I was speaking to one of my sons this evening and he said that a certain product was once available at breakfast time.....but was never shown on the menu.

Do they still sell "Egg McMuffin" which my son says was a free range egg, topped with a cheese slice, served in a bun.

 

[Qwerty133]

I was speaking to one of my sons this evening and he said that a certain product was once available at breakfast time.....but was never shown on the menu.

Do they still sell "Egg McMuffin" which my son says was a free range egg, topped with a cheese slice, served in a bun.

Not on the menu but if its all freshly prepared like they say it is it should be available?

 

[Class172]

Generally my experience of milkshakes at McDonalds has been relatively good, although sometimes I find that the chocolate flavour can taste quite artificial at times. The Droitwich McDonalds (at M5 J5) serves good milkshakes with the appropriate consistency and flavouring.

One thing that annoys me is the irregularity of the availability of my favourite flavour, vanilla. I don't know whether they officially sell vanilla but sone branches I have been to sell it and some don't; I have no idea why.

One good place to get a nice thick milkshake I would say is Muffin Break — there is a wider selection of flavours such as caramel there.

 

[HST Power]

I haven't been to McDonalds in years but I do rather like their milkshakes. On many warm summers they have been happy to sell us strawberry milkshakes whilst 'stopping off' at service stations, even if we're not buying full meals.

 

[Spaceflower]

Oh, and how could I forgot the delightful but dangerous apple pie. Double mmmmm

 

[D841 Roebuck]

I find McDonalds (and Burger King for that matter) to be perfectly acceptable - particularly the sausage & egg McMuffins. I presume the reason that these aren't sold all day is that they are less profitable than burgers?

The truly vile fast food, imho, is KFC!

 

[Spaceflower]

Yeah, I agree. It's as though they prepare it by cooking it, storing it in the bottom of the garbage can for 3 weeks then reheat it.

 

[Ferret]

The truly vile fast food, imho, is KFC!

I totally agree, and I've banned myself from that outlet permanently. Horrible rubbish.

 

[bronzeonion]

The best place for milkshakes are at the AMT Coffee stand/shop things at most Network Rail managed stations! A bit expensive at £2.20 for a regular but god they are nice! The McDonalds milkshakes are quite nice and personally I find it the thicker the better. I would love to try the bright red one I've read about in this thread! However McDonalds have raised their prices quite abit since 2009 ish and now I only go there when the Metro has those £1.99 vouchers making a standard meal just £2.98 rather than £4.79 or whatever they sell them at now.

 

[Tibbs]

I dont really understand the end of your sentence. Anyway, we will have to disagree because i will only offend you greatly if i carry on. My view is quite clear.

I just think you need to actually look at what goes into the products you sell and how they are made, something McDonalds seem very reluctant to discuss in any detail.

The problem I have is that when i make a burger at home it looks nothing like the paper thin patty McDonalds serve me. Now one of us seems to be doing it wrong. Which is it?

I worked for quite a while for a fresh produce manufacturer who supplied McDonalds. They were certainly the toughest people to supply, and we supplied big supermarkets, upmarket sandwich chains, casual dining restaurants among others. This was both in terms of product quality and supply chain tracability. I know that the meat suppliers were always grousing about the amount of work they had to do to qualify to supply McD.

McDonalds used free range eggs for years before they actually started saying so. This was because only 99.5% of their eggs were free range. Their contingency eggs were from caged hens, so they decideed not to advertise that they sold free range at all.

McD are the only people I know who audit tertiary suppliers (suppliers to their suppliers to their main suppliers). For example they'll regularly audit the people who supply raw materials to the people who make the ink which goes on their boxes.

The only negative I can say about them was when we were helping to develope the salads. When it came to the dressing we asked about fat & salt content and they said "we don't care". That came back to bite them on the arse, but the dressing itself was delicious, though it would be with that much fat in it!

Your views about the quality of McD is woefully out of date. They were certainly in a bad place in the 80s, but with the onset of McLibel, they are always the first to be looked at when people are asking about product quality, worker treatment, environmental concerns etc etc. Because of this, they have to be squeaky clean, and as far as I can see, they are. They're definitely working on a low cost per item, but when you consider the cost, the quality is great.

In the Winter we got our lettuce from Spain. One year the harvest was frozen in the fields, so in order to maintain supply we wound up flying lettuce over from California. McD were the only company who reimbursed us for the cost, in appreciation for going above & beyond in keeping them in supply.

/edit

I say this in spite of the fact that I don't eat there (or indeed in any) fast food restaurant any more, if I have a choice at all. By all means say you don't like it, but when you talk negatively about product quality you're wrong, simple as that.

 

[Lrd]

The thing with the vanilla milkshake often not being available is because there are only 4 syrup containers per machine, choc, banana, strawberry and vanilla but if there is a promotional flavour then vanilla will get taken away.

The machines are quite tempermental, there is a lot of stuff going on inside but there are also a times when the staff just say it's broke when it probably isn't. Like when the machines get pasteurized over night and they forget to turn it back on early enough in the morning for it to be ready as it takes a while to chill from 87 degrees or whatever it is for pasteurization. Another time, it could be being cleanedand that is quite a long process.

I'm not sure if this applies to the new machines that have been rolled out since I left but it wouldn't surprise me if the same 'issues' arise.

 

[jon0844]

Why does vanilla get removed first? I'd have expected that to be the most popular flavour, no?

(I guess it isn't, which surprises me - so what IS the most popular? Banana?)

 

[SS4]

Why does vanilla get removed first? I'd have expected that to be the most popular flavour, no?

(I guess it isn't, which surprises me - so what IS the most popular? Banana?)

I don't know but it annoys me no end, vanilla is by far the nicest and I've always liked popping into McDonalds after enduring poor weather and cooling down with a nice milkshake ready for the long sweat home.

 

[Darandio]

(I guess it isn't, which surprises me - so what IS the most popular? Banana?)

I would have said Strawberry, but that is an entirely biased view.

 

[richw]

I find McDonalds (and Burger King for that matter) to be perfectly acceptable - particularly the sausage & egg McMuffins. I presume the reason that these aren't sold all day is that they are less profitable than burgers?

They cant serve breakfast all day due to grill space, they have 2 grills in kitchen in most restaurants. During breakfast 1 is used for eggs and the other for pork, during main menu both grills are needed for beef products. They need a thorough clean down between menus, (why you get a delay on beef products at 1030 breakfast/lunch changeover). I dont think I need to explain why they cant cook beef and eggs/pork at the same time.

I was speaking to one of my sons this evening and he said that a certain product was once available at breakfast time.....but was never shown on the menu.

Do they still sell "Egg McMuffin" which my son says was a free range egg, topped with a cheese slice, served in a bun.

Yes most franchisees sell as an unofficial product, however McDs as a company removed the product around 2009. My old franchisee sold it at about £1 less than the sausage and egg, however head office said that it should be ordered as a S+E muffin, special order no sausage, and paid for as s+e muffin price. Many franchisees disagreed with this hence them still being available, however being an unofficial product cant be shown on menu boards.

The biggest problem I have with the Milkshakes is the number of times the machine that produces them seems to breakdown.

I'd say one in five visits (in various parts of the UK) this has been the case from my experience.

Are the machines unreliable ?

No not particularly, however poor maintanance is the problem. The machines go into lock out if they arent given a full strip and lube of all the moving parts every 14 days, (my franchise specified it must be done every 7 days. In the store I worked at there was only 2 of us trained to do this procedure, myself and 1 other colleague. This majorly screwed my store up when me and the other person handed our notices in to leave within a few days of each other!