A 1982 commercial for McDonald's Nuggets
Nothing is accidental at McDonald's!
Behind one of the most popular fast food chains in the world there is order and precise planning, it turns out.
Fans of the humble Chicken McNuggets dish will surely be surprised to learn that the shapes of these crispy fried chicken pieces are well engineered and not accidental at all.
You are absolutely not going to look at this dish the same way you have looked at it until today, or rather: you are probably going to look at it very closely starting today.
The reason for the very distinct shapes of your Mac Nuggets is quality control.
The McDonald's chain chooses to limit the shape options to only four options - and the company even has names for them.
There's the boot, the bone, the bell and the ball.
Did you know that?
The nuggets are a standardized shape and size to ensure consistent cooking times for food safety purposes at all McDonald's locations.
Since all nuggets take the same amount of time to cook, it's easier and faster for staff to fill orders.
There is a less logical reason, but still valid, why there are actually 4 forms.
According to the company, "Three is too little. Five is already crazy."
There's the boot, the bone, the bell and the ball./Giphy
The Nuggets scandal that almost killed the product
Just over a decade ago, McDonald's had to deal with malicious rumors about its McNuggets.
At the time, a rumor spread that the chain made the dish from "pink slime", slang for lean cuts of meat treated with ammonia.
This is an industrial food creation process by which edible meat parts that stick to the bone but cannot be stripped with a knife are recycled by mechanical means and become a material that can inflate the hamburgers and produce chicken products at a lower cost.
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The network claimed that they stopped using lean cuts of meat after 2011 and that the nuggets are made from boneless white meat.
To combat the rumors, McDonald's shared a video from its manufacturing plant showing the entire McNuggets manufacturing process.
"We don't know what it is or where this rumor came from, but it has nothing to do with our chicken nuggets," McDonald's Canada supply chain manager Nicolette Stepo said at the time.
In the video, she takes us on a tour of the entire process of making the Chicken Mac Nuggets, showing in detail how they take a whole chicken breast, mix, season and create the nuggets.
"Here's the pink picture and here's what we actually have, so it's very different," Stepo said, "All we have here is ground chicken breast — as well as seasoning, and a natural skin-to-flavor ratio."
This is how to make McNuggets:
But why is it red and yellow?
The shapes of the nuggets are not the only example of the precise, and surprisingly it must be said, McDonald's planning.
Many have only now realized why the company's logo is in red and yellow colors - and as we mentioned, this is no accident either.
The logo colors have been used by the fast food giants since its grand opening in 1955 and the reason behind choosing them lies in attracting attention.
"Red stimulates appetite and yellow is happiness"/Reuters
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Psychologist Karen Haller explained how the combination of colors has a psychological effect on the brain.
She said the choice was meant to connect us to the brand more quickly than words or shapes as "colors work directly on our emotions".
She explained: "Red evokes irritation, appetite, hunger. It attracts attention. Yellow evokes the feelings of happiness and friendship. When you combine red and yellow it communicates speed, agility. You go in, eat and go out."
More on the same topic:
Nuggets
chicken
McDonald's
Junk food