McDonald’s Broke My Heart | Revisionist History | Malcolm Gladwell

They made the world’s greatest French Fry. Then they threw it away.

McDonald’s used to make the best fast food french fries in the world — until they changed their recipe in 1990. Revisionist History travels to the top food R&D lab in the country to discover what was lost, and why for the past generation we’ve been eating french fries that taste like cardboard.

Season 2 (2017)
#podcast #revisionisthistory #malcolmgladwell

ABOUT REVISIONIST HISTORY
Revisionist History is Malcolm Gladwell’s journey through the overlooked and the misunderstood. Every podcast episode re-examines something from the past — an event, a person, an idea, even a song — and asks whether we got it right the first time. Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance.

ABOUT MALCOLM GLADWELL
Malcolm Gladwell is president and co-founder of Pushkin Industries. He is a journalist, a speaker, and the author of six New York Times bestsellers including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, David and Goliath, and Talking to Strangers. He has been a staff writer for the New Yorker since 1996. He is a trustee of the Surgo Foundation and currently serves on the board of the RAND Corporation.

ABOUT PUSHKIN INDUSTRIES
Pushkin Industries is an audio production company dedicated to creating premium content in a collaborative environment. Co-founded by Malcolm Gladwell and Jacob Weisberg in 2018, Pushkin has launched seven new shows into the top 10 on Apple Podcasts (Against the Rules, The Happiness Lab, Solvable, Cautionary Tales, Deep Cover, The Last Archive, and Lost Hills), in addition to producing the hugely successful Revisionist History. Pushkin’s growing audiobook catalogue includes includes the bestselling biography “Fauci,” by Michael Specter, “Hasta La Vista, America,” Kurt Andersen’s parody Trump farewell speech performed by Alec Baldwin, "Takeover" by Noah Feldman, and “Talking to Strangers,” from Pushkin co-founder Malcolm Gladwell. Pushkin is dedicated to producing audio in any format that challenges listeners and inspires curiosity and joy.

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[jimmyolsenblues]

This is an unforgettable podcast. So happy I found it.

[bubbercakes]

I worked at McD’s in the early 80’s. It was a fast food restaurant you went to once a week maybe. Now people eat there everyday. 😢

[viscountav]

Thanks for the information, and especially the entertainment.

[mjalals]

On a simple, lifeless product of French fries, Malcolm could weave a fantastic podcast. Malcolm has his own characteristic way of putting his points. Love your style, Malcolm.

[cakep]

I want to hear more about the health aspect. Cuz sounds like heated unstable vegetable oil is like a billion times worse for you than the stable animal fats.

[theonly]

Had no idea what these were, they’ve been flooding my feed. Glad I clicked.

[wyatt]

This man deserves millions of subs. Keep going!

[MissyGaileva]

As a Generation X kid, I remember this fiasco growing up, and the resentment I harbored for a while after, for it was a bitter pill to swallow, indeed. Gone were the wonderful memories of after school happy meals once a week, the social mingling of friends at the corner McDonald's after a busy Saturday afternoon at the bowling alley, skating rink, or YMCA.. that's what's so funny about it all. We were all active kids, the type who played outside until the street lights turned on, then you'd meander back to each friend's respective homes. Sometimes life would surprise you, and from the corner you'd first smell the fries. Pace quickening as the group of pals rounds the bend, a smile would beam over your face upon realizing that *you* were the lucky duck who now was the envy of all your peers; *you* had done a great job at (insert cleaning your room, raking the leaves, acing a quiz) and your mom and dad had not forgotten. You felt appreciated and loved, but not simply for the fries themselves, but for what they represented. McDonald's usually served as a treat, _not_ a staple. It was veritable reward for an A+ on a difficult exam, or after a 9th inning win for the teeball team, all shuffled into booths, alternating between bites of fries and quick reprieves in the ball pit. As aforementioned, the portions were reasonable, but oh-so delicious, and satisfying. And unlike today, in which quantity has long given leave to quality, the singular greatness of a well-turned McDonald's fry was a thing of legend amongst harangued parents and babysitters, desperate to regain a modicum of civility as the charge first showed signs of an ensuing tirade.. there was always that one lone trump card that could bring it all back to homeostatic normalcy...the promise (if your good, now) of a McDonald's Happy Meal and it's unmistakable pull of a collectible toy and a small, child-sized sheathe of gloriously golden fries all your own..

[MrTeff]

Malcom, you should do a piece about the history of seed oils, and the continuing increase of heart disease.

[davidperry]

Im old enough to remember that day too.if you want to get close to that flavor try Wienerschnitzel the hot dog place they cook thier fries in the same fryer as thier corn dogs providing the beef flavor

[Pops]

Malcom, everything was better in the good old days. 😊

[willmpet]

When I was a teenager, I worked at a restaurant that served burgers and fries. We used to go to White Castle after work where we would get floppy, greasy fries and gut bombs.

[Redmenace]

Not going to bore you with the details, they are in the book, "Grinding It Out" by Ray Kroc. The original recipe for FF from the McDonald's Bros was very complex. From the beginning, fresh whole potatoes were delivered to restaurant locations and they had specs on how they were stored, prepped, and cooked. Kroc had to change all that in the name of efficiency.
Wish I could have tasted some of those original 1950's fries.

[sticksteve]

Phil Sokoloff was a rich guy with an opinion. He was not a doctor, nor nutritionist. He used his wealth to destroy American fast food french-fries. So the fries are less healthy now than when he ate them. Why wasn't he called out as the idiot he was? Great Job Phil, now more people are having heart attacks after his completely misguided attempt at fixing an imaginary problem. He was only effective because he was rich. He was not a true "David" in the goliath scenario, he may have been facing a goliath, but he had millions of dollars to throw at the problem. Rich people think their opinion matters more because they can throw more money behind it. The rest of us just want tasty french-fries.

[cherylcarlson]

Fascinating. My son was born in 1990 and I thought was the birth that changed the way french fries tasted.Hardees had good fries a bit longer but they also tasted bad... thought was just me.

[johnnywapstra]

Irony being today nutritionists are saying we need to eat like our grandparents, i.e. tallow...

[steveeuphrates-river]

How in the hell do you ONLY have 14K subscribers??!

[EricaFanuele-jeeu]

I just recently figured this out, wonder if the industry would ever go back to the original recipe.

[ecamp]

There's actually a BIG difference between eggs fried on the multi-use griddle with veg. oil, and those cooked in butter in a cast-iron skillet only used for eggs.
Also, nothing here about the beef tallow flavoring sprayed on after people complained that veg. oil fries tasted lousy.

[mry]

Ah, yes. That was tragic. Those who remember the original fries continue to be disappointed....😢