Why McDonald's Salts Its Fries But Not Its Hash Browns

Mashed potatoes, potato chips, tater tots ... no matter how you prefer to enjoy them, potatoes are so beloved that the root vegetable deserves to be their own food group. Two of the most popular forms of potato that can be found on practically every fast food menu are french fries and hash browns. While both of these deep-fried, salty snacks derive from potatoes, that is about where their similarities end. In addition to the obvious differences in form, french fries and hash browns are often prepared and seasoned differently — those distinct differences are what classify them as either a hash brown or fry. In fact, fast food chain McDonald's, which has both starchy potato side dishes on their menu, has very different seasoning protocols for hash browns and french fries.

In a viral TikTok, former McDonald's corporate chef Mike Haracz shared the real reason that the fast food chain doesn't sprinkle salt on their hash browns before serving them to guests. His insider knowledge revealed that hash browns consist of a grated potato mixture that can be seasoned before molding them into the arched shape fans know and love. The initial recipe that McDonald's uses to make the hash browns before it is formed, frozen, and shipped to local restaurants already has the right amount of salt that can be easily tasted once they are reheated. French fries, on the other hand, are not salted until right before serving.

Many curious McDonald's customers on TikTok rely on Haracz for all their Mickie D's related questions. He is known to be extremely thorough and candid with his responses and shares insider information with fans who pose questions in his comments. In addition to answering one hash brown lover's question about why McDonald's doesn't add salt to hash browns the same way they do french fries, Haracz pointed out that french fries cannot be pre-salted in the same way, unless they were to be soaked in saltwater brine before being shipped off, which would be difficult for the manufacturers.

The former chef revealed another reason that hash browns are not salted the same way french fries are is due to their rigid form. Salt can easily be sprinkled onto french fries and tossed together before serving, but hash browns would break apart if they were shaken in the same way. If McDonald's customers are craving a little extra salt on their hash browns, they'll have to add a dash themselves.

McDonald's potato products actually have way more ingredients than you might realize, but it's a not-so-secret ingredient that elevates their food. Back in the day, McDonald's cooked their fries in 93% beef fat tallow, which gave the fries its distinct meaty quality. It wasn't until 1990, 50 years after McDonald's had served countless french fries to customers, that they switched to vegetable oil. But in order to keep that recognizable flavor within their fries, the company had to get creative and began adding "natural beef flavoring" to their potato mixtures instead.

Without getting extremely technical, natural beef flavoring is made from a base of hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk, and provides that extra robust flavor without utilizing any actual beef fat. Unsurprisingly, McDonald's also adds the natural beef seasoning to their hash browns to give it that same savory flavor that is unique to the golden arches. To the disappointment of many vegans and vegetarians, McDonald's fries and hash browns still contain traces of beef product and are not vegan-friendly — news of this was quite the scandal for McDonald's back in 2001.