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  • Joe: From calorie count to portion sizes,

  • we wanted to find out all the differences between McDonald's in India and the US.

  • Joe: This is "Food Wars."

  • Drinks in McDonald's India come in three sizes:

  • regular, medium, and large.

  • Drinks in the McDonald's in the US, four sizes:

  • extra small, small, medium, and large.

  • Time to keep 'em honest.

  • Lost a couple drops. 26, 27 fluid ounces.

  • Whoo!

  • Hm.

  • Fries in India come in three sizes:

  • regular, medium, and large.

  • In America, our fries come in four sizes, I think.

  • We have a small, kids,

  • or kids, small

  • I can't tell the difference either

  • medium, and large.

  • The medium and large come in these really cool

  • new packaging where you can just open it up like that

  • and it's nice and easy to share.

  • It's a little plate.

  • Good job, McDonald's. Very innovative.

  • But now it's time to measure

  • and see how much we're really getting.

  • Joe: First things first, the large.

  • 175 grams.

  • Obviously it's different per scoops or whatever.

  • Yeah, let's go here.

  • This one, almost exactly 100 grams.

  • This one,

  • 80 grams.

  • Fry math, hang on.

  • This is, like...

  • yep, there you go.

  • That's a 20-gram difference right there.

  • So, you tell me, internet.

  • Is the kids and the small different sizes?

  • I don't think they are.

  • "Food Wars" is on it! We're on it, baby!

  • What about McNuggets?

  • Here in India, you can order them in three sizes:

  • six pieces, nine pieces, and 20 pieces.

  • They gave it to us in two boxes of 10 each.

  • Oh, is that it, India? Cute.

  • Our McNuggets start at four,

  • then you got six,

  • 10,

  • 20,

  • and not to be outdone,

  • booyah, 40 McNuggets.

  • All the mathheads watching will be quick to point out

  • that that is double India's largest nugget option.

  • The only burger that India shares with the US

  • is the McChicken, the humble McChicken.

  • Not even gonna bother with the analog scale now.

  • Boop!

  • 149 grams.

  • Ah, just so frustrating.

  • Just one more gram and it would be perfect.

  • With the paper? I mean, we'll do this and

  • shave off an eighth of an ounce.

  • Our McChicken weighs 140 grams.

  • Here is everything you'll find on the menu

  • at McDonald's India that you will not find in the USA.

  • And here's all the McDonald's menu items

  • from the US you won't find in India.

  • Here in India, we can't really recreate

  • the iconic McDonald's Big Mac

  • because it's made from a beef patty,

  • and to keep to the religious sentiments

  • of Hindus and even Muslims,

  • we don't serve beef or pork

  • in a lot of fast-food restaurants.

  • We have something called the chicken Maharaja Mac.

  • As you can see, it's got three buns, two patties,

  • a lot of cheese and mayonnaise,

  • some tomatoes, onions, lettuce.

  • Lettuce try it now. [ba-dum tish]

  • Oh, my God.

  • That is truly a Maharaja Mac.

  • If you're wondering, a raja is a king,

  • and a maharaja is like an emperor.

  • So this is clearly our answer to the Big Mac.

  • Now let's taste the veg Maharaja Mac.

  • I think it's actually a very cool challenge

  • that a lot of fast-food restaurants here

  • have had to adapt to the Indian palate,

  • as well as sensibilities of food.

  • We have come up with such cool, iconic fast food

  • that you won't get anywhere else in the world.

  • Like, look at this! This is outrageous!

  • There's no way to eat this without being messy.

  • There's literally no way.

  • Mm!

  • Oh, my God. That's really good.

  • Yes to all that, looks really good.

  • Because of India's lack of beef,

  • all the American beef options are technically exclusives.

  • All right.

  • Big Mac.

  • There it is, just brimming with stuff.

  • My go-to for, like, 20 years.

  • I still get it occasionally.

  • The classic McDonald's hamburger.

  • Beef patty, ketchup, and mustard.

  • Of course, you can get it with cheese. Hi.

  • You can upgrade to a double cheeseburger or a McDouble.

  • What's the difference, you ask?

  • I'm not sure either.

  • So let's start with the double cheeseburger.

  • Look at that. Look how yellow that is.

  • Beef, cheese, beef, cheese, toppos.

  • The McDouble is beef, cheese, beef.

  • So it's just one slice of cheese

  • in the middle, but not on top.

  • What's the price difference? Can we get that on-screen?

  • And how much is a slice of cheese?

  • Joe's hack, get yourself a McDouble

  • and bring your own slice of American cheese.

  • Booyah. Save yourself this amount of money.

  • The problem with millennials today,

  • the reason you guys can't buy houses is

  • you're spending all your money at Starbucks,

  • you're getting your double cheeseburgers

  • instead of a McDouble and bringing your own cheese slice.

  • I mean, you guys are terrible with money!

  • You're eating, what, seven,

  • eight McDoubles a day like me, right?

  • And that adds up to, like, at the end of the year, $18?

  • 10,000 years later, that's a down payment on a house.

  • What are you guys doing?

  • All right, next up is the iconic McAloo tikki burger.

  • You take mashed potato, and you fry it in breadcrumbs,

  • and you get this really delicious cutlet.

  • Here in India, they adapted it into this burger

  • with a very special sauce,

  • some tomato, and chopped onions.

  • Mm. It's just so classic.

  • They nailed this burger.

  • Next up, there is a Mexican McAloo tikki,

  • which I assume has some stereotypical Mexican ingredients

  • and flavors like jalapeño.

  • Yes! Jalapeño.

  • Mm, nice.

  • It's way more spicy. Good twist.

  • Next up, they have a McEgg burger.

  • McEgg. McEgg, McEgg.

  • I don't know why I did that.

  • Let's see what that looks like.

  • Ugh!

  • Sorry.

  • I did not expect... pesto?

  • Next up is a chicken kebab burger.

  • Every time an Indian fast-food chain tries to adapt

  • an Indian special food into a burger,

  • I take it with a pinch of salt

  • because this is not what we're used to seeing

  • when we think of kebabs,

  • but I'm going to try it, and let's see what happens.

  • Mm.

  • It's very, very dry.

  • Patty has almost a cardboard-y taste to it.

  • I wouldn't put those flavors together

  • if I was thinking kebab.

  • McCardboard tikki, maybe? No? OK.

  • That's a bit harsh. I'm sorry.

  • Next up is the McVeggie,

  • which is the vegetarian counterpart to our McChicken.

  • If I had to eat this versus the chicken one,

  • I would not be upset at all.

  • Really good.

  • Next up, we have two "American" burgers:

  • the American Cheese Supreme veg

  • and the American Cheese Supreme chicken.

  • My hunch for what makes them American

  • is that they will have a nice big square of cheese

  • and they will not be spicy at all.

  • Except they have a lot of jalapeños on them.

  • Joe, let me know if this constitutes "American."

  • That's American cheese, my man.

  • That's what makes it American.

  • I don't know about those other toppings, but,

  • yeah, it sounds about right.

  • All right, so this is what the McDonald's website

  • says is in this burger.

  • "Whole-wheat buns sourced from Maharashtra,

  • tangy jalapeños from Karnataka,

  • shredded onions grown in local Indian farms,

  • and cheese from Amaravati, also in India."

  • Quite close to home, this burger.

  • Currently, this would probably be my favorite order,

  • a McSpicy chicken, and there's the vegetarian option,

  • which is a McSpicy paneer, which is just leaking lettuce.

  • For those of you who don't know what paneer is,

  • it's basically cottage cheese.

  • We love our paneer.

  • We put it in curries, we eat it plain, we put it in kebabs.

  • It is so delicious. Let's try this.

  • Mm. It has just the right kick,

  • and it goes really well with the paneer.

  • Fair warning, while this may have a light kick

  • of spice for us, it might be a hard kick for you.

  • So, take everything with a pinch of chili powder.

  • Gonna move up to something called the Quarter Pounder,

  • and that's, like, their big burger.

  • So you can get a Quarter Pounder with cheese.

  • Here it is.

  • I mean, it looks fake, right?

  • Like, "Just kidding, it's cake!"

  • Or the new one is, "It's actually a candle!"

  • And then you can get a Quarter Pounder with cheese deluxe.

  • More veggies on it, all the junk that I brush off.

  • You can upgrade to a double Quarter Pounder with cheese.

  • Let's take a look. Oh, man. Look how thick this is!

  • And then you can get that same double with bacon.

  • Yeah!

  • Oh, man. Skimping on the bacon. Guys!

  • What we lack in beef burgers we make up for

  • in gourmet burgers.

  • That's right. Here at McDonald's India,

  • we have our own collection of

  • chef's special gourmet burgers.

  • Delicious.

  • And I think this is a rolling menu.

  • I think they introduce new things from time to time.

  • The buns themselves look a lot more gourmet.

  • You know, there's a nice rift down the middle.

  • Kind of looks like a butt, but that's OK.

  • We're not gonna concentrate on that.

  • First up, we have triple cheese American veg burger

  • and triple cheese American chicken burger.

  • Same thing. Cheese, jalapeño, some sauce, lettuce,

  • simple chicken patty, gourmet bun.

  • Does this scream "American" to you?

  • Next up, Cheese Lava American veg burger

  • and Cheese Lava American chicken burger,

  • again with American

  • and again with the strange relation

  • of food to volcanoes and lava.

  • OK.

  • This burger is very spicy.

  • This qualifies as a volcano product, for sure.

  • Congratulations, McDonald's.

  • The lava in the title of this burger works.

  • The McSpicy chicken premium, though,

  • has an egg patty inside of it.

  • Mm-mm.

  • Mm, that's pretty good.

  • I just feel so existential right now.

  • Imagine sitting here at this table

  • and just tasting every single burger on a McDonald's menu.

  • Amazing.

  • But also, s---.

  • We also have some exclusive wrap options.

  • We have Big Spicy paneer and Big Spicy chicken.

  • I think this is the same McSpicy chicken patty,

  • and it's wrapped around a tortilla,

  • which is actually way closer to an Indian chapati

  • than most other fast-food restaurants.

  • It doesn't feel as synthetic.

  • Our McDonald's in the US

  • had wraps for a brief period of time.

  • One day they were gone. Nobody noticed.

  • Yeah, you guys got some chicken stuff that we don't have,

  • but we got a few of our own.

  • More recently than you think,

  • they finally introduced their chicken sandwich

  • to an already-crowded chicken-sandwich market,

  • and that is of course their crispy chicken sandwich,

  • and this thing is fantastic.

  • It's one of the best ones.

  • They were late to the game,

  • and they kind of took it over, in my opinion.

  • And what I like about it, it's simple. Look at this.

  • You just got crispy chicken, pickles that suck.

  • It's baller. It tastes great.

  • Like it a little spicy, India?

  • It probably doesn't compare to what you guys

  • are rocking in India but, you know,

  • this one has a little nice heat to it.

  • Pickles, sauce.

  • Want to take it up a notch?

  • Gotta go deluxe.

  • The cool crispness of the vegetables

  • just clash so well with the spicy sauce.

  • It's good. It's good.

  • Nikhil, say the word,

  • and I'm putting one in the post for you tomorrow.

  • So when it arrives in three weeks,

  • you can throw it out.

  • Now we're getting into exclusive side dishes.

  • Here in India, we have these add-ons.

  • No. 1, the veg pizza McPuff.

  • This is one of the most delicious things we have here.

  • It's basically a pizza Hot Pocket.

  • Masala wedges. These are potato wedges

  • with classic Indian masala flavor to them.

  • Ooh, boy.

  • Masalas are basically what we use

  • to spice and flavor dishes,

  • and they consist primarily of ground-up spices

  • like cardamom, cloves,

  • red chilies, Kashmiri chilies.

  • You go to every Indian home, the mums,

  • the grandmums will have their own random, you know,

  • masala mix that they use and that's guarded

  • and treasured in their family, forever.

  • Next up, we have cheesy masala wedges.

  • They're also serving a classic cup of boiled corn,

  • which is so unique, and they give you a side of Amul butter.

  • Guys, Amul butter is part of our culture.

  • Makhan. Makhan!

  • This is probably going to be

  • the most delicious bite of the day.

  • I love corn.

  • Next up, chicken strips.

  • They come in packs of two, three, or five.

  • Cheesy nugget veg bites.

  • Yeah, this is just a vegetarian version

  • of the chicken nuggets,

  • and it's got some corn, some tomato.

  • Mm, it's OK.

  • Next, we have the double cheese McMuffin.

  • And lastly, we have Mexican cheesy fries.

  • On the McDonald's India website,

  • one British customer said

  • that these Mexican cheesy fries are "the real deal."

  • I have no idea how a British person can say

  • that Mexican cheesy fries are the real deal,

  • but anytime a British person says

  • that another culture's food is "the real deal,"

  • it puts a little fear in our small Indian hearts.

  • Yeah those fries look like ass.

  • And the next exclusive side that we have is apple slices.

  • Cut 'em up, put 'em in a plastic bag.

  • 'Bout to get saucy. That's right, ladies and gentlemen.

  • Sauce talk.

  • Thank you.

  • Spicy Buffalo.

  • Not that good.

  • We got a tangy barbecue.

  • Ooh.

  • Much better.

  • Mm. Honey mustard.

  • Tastes like salad dressing.

  • Sweet and sour.

  • I would tie it with the tangy barbecue

  • because it's so different, so we'll keep these guys

  • same tier.

  • Ranch, I don't know. America, we love our ranch.

  • Ranch is just OK.

  • That's right, I said it. Ranch is just OK.

  • Oh, and all ranch tastes the same. Yeah.

  • And finally, honey.

  • How do you like that?

  • Honey's the best one.

  • And all that money, all that energy,

  • all that time creating all these recipes,

  • trying to sway the American mind,

  • and you got beat by a bunch of bees.

  • Power to the bees!

  • We have one exclusive spice mix

  • as well as one exclusive sauce here in India.

  • We have chili sauce, which is pretty straightforward.

  • It's chili sauce.

  • But let me tell you about

  • peri-peri spice mix.

  • So, McDonald's launched this in 2013 here in India,

  • and it was so popular, there were riots

  • when they said they were going to discontinue it.

  • And so now, it's a permanent addition to the menu.

  • First, you get this shake bag,

  • then you grab your fries,

  • and then you just pour that in there.

  • Ah.

  • Boom! Oh, boy.

  • Can we cut to a before of the fries?

  • You saw how they were. Now look at these.

  • You can see the little flecks of spice

  • just adorning each fry.

  • Hello, it's Crystelle.

  • And I know Nikhil has peri-peri McDonald's chips,

  • but in the UK, it is all about Nando's.

  • Cheeky Nando's.

  • Let's talk about peri-peri.

  • Peri means pepper. And it's a blend of spices,

  • so it's got things like paprika, ground bird's eye chili,

  • a bit of oregano, a pinch of ginger and cardamom,

  • but it's a Portuguese spice blend.

  • It's funny because obviously Nikhil mentioned

  • that the peri-peri fries just blew off in India,

  • and it makes sense, because I'm from Goa,

  • which is in the south of India.

  • Goa was colonized by the Portuguese.

  • And so I really think that Indians

  • are accustomed to that Portuguese taste palate,

  • which is why peri-peri fries are doing so well in India.

  • But enough of the talking.

  • I want to dig into these fries, because they look great.

  • Mm. Oh, this is so good.

  • Harry, get involved.

  • You're not eating chips without me, are you?

  • Oh, sorry, I've already had a head start.

  • Harry: Cheers. Crystelle: Cheers.

  • God damn, if that isn't like crack.

  • For the early risers,

  • there's plenty of exclusive breakfast items

  • at the US McDonald's.

  • Sausage biscuit with egg.

  • Next one,

  • sausage biscuit.

  • I mean, they take the egg out, so it's just ...

  • This, of course, is bacon, egg, and cheese.

  • Ladies and gentlemen,

  • we've reached the point of the breakfast

  • where we get into the McGriddles.

  • I love McGriddles.

  • What's a McGriddle, you ask, India? Fantastic question.

  • McDonald's had this genius idea

  • to replace the breakfast sandwiches they already had

  • with pancakes.

  • And they also, like, inject syrup into it somehow?

  • But it is a breakfast sandwich with pancakes for buns,

  • and it's the best idea anyone's ever had, anywhere, ever.

  • [Joe laughing]

  • Look at this! Look at this, look at this.

  • They've even got a little M on there.

  • This mini pancake.

  • I know I'm wearing the gloves, but this one's mine.

  • Mm.

  • We have a veg McMuffin and a sausage McMuffin.

  • Mm.

  • The sausage here in India is not made out of pork,

  • like it is in the US.

  • Instead, it's made out of simple chicken.

  • Speaking of sausage, you can get a breakfast burrito.

  • Bro, I could put five of these away, easy. Easy.

  • If you're, like, a total drag

  • and you want oatmeal in the morning, we have it.

  • It's about as inspiring as you would think.

  • Hotcakes and sausage.

  • Of course, it comes with hot syrup.

  • This here,

  • the big breakfast with hotcakes.

  • And it's big.

  • A lot of eggs, kind of wimpy-looking bacon,

  • got yourself two English muffins here.

  • And, of course, comes with a hash brown.

  • Potatoes. Who doesn't love 'em?

  • McDonald's hash brown, undefeated.

  • These things are so good.

  • India exclusive desserts.

  • We have a Black Forest McFlurry,

  • a vanilla chocolate muffin,

  • and a chocolate chip muffin.

  • It's kind of like a McFlurry soup right now.

  • This would be really good when it was actually a McFlurry.

  • Desserts! USA, we got 'em.

  • So, starting down here, very simple,

  • chocolate chip cookies.

  • This next thing, apple fritter, right?

  • Mm.

  • This right here is called a glazed pull-apart doughnut.

  • Blueberry muffin.

  • If you've had one, you've had them all.

  • This is a what type of pie?

  • Anders: A guava and cream pie.

  • Let's see what's inside.

  • OK. I'm suddenly more interested. Yeah!

  • Guava and cream.

  • How about we'll call it the cream and guava pie?

  • Nah, this sucks.

  • [Anders laughing]

  • I don't f--- with it.

  • Standard menu item, the McDonald's apple pie.

  • Everyone knows about this.

  • I don't want a pizza version of this.

  • Eh! And last but not least, cinnamon roll.

  • Too sticky. I don't feel like eating it.

  • Update: It's not sticky.

  • It's actually [knocks on cinnamon roll].

  • Exclusive drinks, starting with,

  • we have something called

  • B Natural's mixed fruit juice.

  • Next up, we have something

  • that they call raw mango fruit splash.

  • Oh!

  • It's a bit too sweet.

  • Berry lemonade splash.

  • All of these come in these very unique

  • reusable bottles, apparently.

  • Next up, strawberry chiller, green apple chiller,

  • and lemon chiller.

  • It's just flavored water. That's exactly what it is.

  • It's flavored water, and I kind of like it.

  • This is a mixed berry smoothie.

  • It's still quite sweet, but quite good.

  • Next up, American mud pie shake.

  • Mm. That's pretty yum.

  • Drink roulette.

  • Ooh, and the ice melted. Fantastic.

  • Dr. Pepper. Let's go!

  • Coke, nonexclusive. Let's go.

  • Sweet tea, too sweet.

  • Ugh, yeah. Unsweetened tea, not sweet enough.

  • You guys combine.

  • For the kids watching, why are you watching?

  • Where are your parents or supervisors?

  • You can get yourself apple juice, milk.

  • Come on, you're drinking milk?

  • The thought of drinking straight milk,

  • like, hurts my stomach.

  • There's also chocolate milk on the menu.

  • Once upon a time,

  • this was an iced French vanilla latte.

  • Now it's more of a room-temperature French vanilla latte.

  • That's just OK. It's, like, really sweet.

  • Strawberry banana smoothie.

  • Yeah, I always loved getting these.

  • These are good.

  • So I'm going to assume they're not good for me.

  • Exclusive hot drinks.

  • First off, we have strawberry green tea.

  • Next up, English breakfast tea

  • and Moroccan tea.

  • Next up, a flat white coffee.

  • India, a land where we run on chai,

  • and McDonald's does not have a chai option.

  • Caramel macchiato,

  • cappuccino,

  • caramel latte,

  • a vanilla cappuccino.

  • The V does look like a U.

  • McDonald's premium roast coffee.

  • I'm going to hang on to this one.

  • In India, a chicken Maharaja Mac will cost you 231 rupees

  • for just the sandwich.

  • That's around $3.03.

  • We do not have the chicken Maharaja Mac,

  • but we do have the Big Mac,

  • and a Big Mac in the US costs $4.89.

  • That is a 61% price increase.

  • Now, what if you turn this into a meal?

  • A McSaver Maharaja Mac combo comes with regular fries

  • and a regular drink and will cost you 356 rupees.

  • That is $4.67, still less than the price

  • of the American sandwich on its own.

  • But does the combo meal make a difference in the US?

  • A medium Big Mac combo,

  • so Big Mac, medium fries, medium drink,

  • is $8.99.

  • That's a 92% cost increase,

  • even worse than if you just bought the sandwich on its own.

  • On the Indian McDonald's menu,

  • you'll find a two-person meal,

  • which contains a chicken Maharaja Mac, a veg Maharaja Mac,

  • large fries, two pizza McPuffs, and a drink.

  • All of this will cost you 681 rupees, or $8.93.

  • So, basically, you're getting food for two people

  • for the price of one person's meal in the US.

  • However, while it seems a lot cheaper

  • than the food in the US,

  • it's still very expensive

  • and aspirational to people over here.

  • Your minimum wage per hour

  • is equal to our daily minimum wage.

  • And so, yeah,

  • a lot of people can't really afford this kind of food.

  • The English-speaking Indians that you see

  • in a lot of YouTube videos on the internet

  • aren't really a proper reflection

  • of the majority of people that live in this country,

  • who still can't afford food like this.

  • So, I'm checking my privilege,

  • and we should all make sure we check ours.

  • But let's play devil's advocate.

  • McDonald's India has definitely included

  • a lot more affordable options on their menu.

  • And so they are more approachable

  • to the average urban Indian than other fast-food chains.

  • Let's compare some items

  • to see who has the least healthy McDonald's food.

  • In the US, a McChicken contains 400 calories,

  • 21 grams of fat, 39 grams of carbs.

  • 5 of those are sugar,

  • and 560 milligrams of sodium.

  • How about the Indian McChicken?

  • One of these contains 398 calories,

  • 15 grams of total fat, 48 grams of carbs,

  • 5 grams of which are sugars,

  • 787 milligrams of sodium.

  • So the Indian version has slightly fewer calories,

  • way lesser fats, but much more carbs and sodium.

  • What if we made that a combo meal?

  • Well, a medium fry in the US contains the following:

  • 320 calories, 15 grams of total fat,

  • 43 grams of carbs, no sugar,

  • and 260 milligrams of sodium.

  • While a medium fries in India contains 340 calories,

  • 17 grams of total fat, 41 grams of carbs,

  • 0 grams of sugars,

  • and 256 milligrams of sodium.

  • And if we add the medium Coke,

  • that is adding 210 calories, no fat,

  • 56 grams of carbs, 56 of those are sugar,

  • and 55 milligrams of sodium.

  • Ooh, a nice salty Coke.

  • We'll do the same. Here in India,

  • one medium Coke will cost you 151 calories,

  • 0 grams of fat, 38 grams of carbs,

  • 38 grams of which are sugars,

  • and there are 0 grams of sodium, but my God,

  • that is a lot of sugar packed in this cup.

  • That leaves the Indian meal at a grand total

  • of 889 calories, 32 grams of fat,

  • 127 grams of carbs,

  • out of which 43 grams are sugars,

  • and 1,043 milligrams of sodium.

  • Sheesh.

  • Which means this whole bad boy altogether

  • is 930 calories,

  • 36 grams of total fat,

  • 138 grams of carbs,

  • 61 of those grams are sugar,

  • 875 milligrams of sodium.

  • Little bit lower sodium than India,

  • but we got you guys beat in calorie, fats, carbs, and sugar.

  • Mm, mm, mm, mm! We win. We win.

  • Ah!

  • Unfortunately for India,

  • the combo stats are a little misleading,

  • and the difference maker is the Coke,

  • because the American meal has a larger portion.

  • If you order the Coke Zero in both countries,

  • the Indian meal will actually have a higher calorie count.

  • McDonald's India does not share a full list

  • of their ingredients,

  • but there are some things we do know about their food.

  • Like, did you know that McDonald's India

  • actually changed Indian farming practices

  • just so they could grow the kind of potato that they wanted?

  • When they first launched in India in 1996,

  • McDonald's promised the government

  • that they would use products grown

  • and sourced right here in India.

  • But people who had eaten McDonald's abroad

  • realized that the fries didn't taste quite the same.

  • The reason for this is that Indian potatoes

  • were too small, round,

  • had way too much moisture and sugar content.

  • And so the fries made out of them were not long enough,

  • they didn't get crispy enough, and they didn't have

  • that distinctive McDonald's oomph to them.

  • So, McDonald's partnered with McCain Foods,

  • and they spent nine years trying to perfect their potato.

  • They imported saplings which had the perfect shape

  • and starch content that they needed.

  • They also chose Gujarat as their farming location

  • for its climate, and they switched

  • from a flood irrigation to a sprinkler system

  • to reduce moisture content and save water.

  • The result: bigger and more starchy potatoes

  • that can be used to make the McDonald's fries

  • that you know and love.

  • McDonald's in the US mostly uses russet Burbank

  • or Shepody, "shep-a-tee," potatoes.

  • Potato me.

  • So, these are big enough that the distinctive long fry,

  • yeah, look how long this is. Wow!

  • Known to be low moisture and low sugar content.

  • This means they can remain crispy when fried

  • and don't caramelize too fast,

  • so you can get a nice, even browning.

  • McDonald's in the US actually discloses

  • all of its ingredients,

  • so we can figure out a few other differences.

  • In the US, for instance,

  • our mayonnaise contains egg yolk,

  • as does most American mayo.

  • Thanks to the FAQ page on the McDonald's India website,

  • we found out that the mayonnaise is eggless,

  • along with all of the other sauces

  • except for the tartar sauce.

  • When people describe things as vegetarian here in India,

  • they typically mean it doesn't contain egg.

  • Did we quietly retire Ronald and the crew?

  • If we did, thank God.

  • It was very bizarre, the whole Ronald McDonald thing.

  • It's kind of nightmarish. So, away he goes.

Joe: From calorie count to portion sizes,

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