CHICAGO — “Softer, pillowy buns” are part of the makeover underway for McDonald’s Big Mac, McDouble, and classic cheeseburger, double cheeseburger and hamburger. According to the culinary innovation team at McDonald’s, the minor improvements to the burgers are expected to add a boost in flavor and eating experience.
Upgrades to the classic burger items include:
- “Softer, pillowy buns that are freshly toasted to a golden brown.”
- “Perfectly melted cheese.”
- “Juicier, caramelized flavor from adding white onions to the patties while they’re still on the grill.”
- More Big Mac sauce.
The burger changes are making their US debut this year in several cities on the West Coast after being introduced in international markets like Australia, Canada and Belgium to positive reviews, according to the company. The upgraded burgers will be in McDonald’s restaurants nationwide by 2024.
“I’ll always remember my first burger from McDonald’s,” said Chef Chad Schafer, senior director of culinary innovation, McDonald’s USA. “And now my culinary team and I have the best job in the world: thinking about ways to bring even more of that iconic McDonald’s taste to fans. We found that small changes, like tweaking our process to get hotter, meltier cheese and adjusting our grill settings for a better sear, added up to a big difference in making our burgers more flavorful than ever.”
The quality of buns playsa key role in US burger popularity, and this is the second significant shift for McDonald’s buns in the past five years. In 2018, the fast-food chainremoved calcium propionate from its buns.
