Instant/Powdered: Do retail food places make "potatoes" from real potatoes?

Subject: Do retail food places make "potatoes" from real potatoes?
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
From: junk at roscohill.com (Rosco Hill)
Date: 28 Feb 2002 10:03:54 -0800
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I know that you can buy mashed potatoe powder and use it to make fake mashed potatoe.

Im wondering what else can be made from fake powder? Are mcdonalds fries made from real potatoes? Are they ground up to a pulp then reshaped into the shap of a fry?

I had some potatoe wedges at lunch today.. Inside the potatoe looked extremely fake - as though it was made from powder... Im wondering if its possible they were made from potatoes being all mashed up, or potatoe powder, then remade into the shape of a wedge and deep fried..

Regards,
Rosco
From: shedevil at stop.mail-abuse.org (Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.)
Date: 28 Feb 2002 18:22:43 GMT
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Eggs can be made from powder - and in fact when I worked at McDonald's (oh, *many* years ago, while of high-school age) we were always instructed to not mix the eggs fully, to leave a bit of white in the scrambled eggs, so that the customer could tell that we used real eggs (FWIW, I was the first female ever trained on grill at that store - groundbreaking I guess, back then, in the mid-70s). At that time, McDonald's fries were made from reformed potato starch - and Burger King's were, if I recall correctly, the only ones made from real (unprocessed) potatoes.
From: Steve Knight (stevek at knight-toolworks.com)
Date: Sat, 02 Mar 2002 17:28:43 GMT
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Anne P. Mitchell wrote
> At that time, McDonald's fries were made from
>reformed potato starch - and Burger King's were, if I recall correctly, the
>only ones made from real (unprocessed) potatoes.

You sure about this? I worked at lamb weston in the early 80's making Mc'ds fries they were whole potatoes.
From: david wright (dtwright at earthlink.net)
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 18:24:16 GMT
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Rosco Hill wrote:
>I know that you can buy mashed potatoe powder and use it to make fake
>mashed potatoe.

Dan Quayle, is that you?
From: Dennis Ruddell (ruddell at accesscomm.ca)
Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 13:17:01 -0600
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david wright wrote:
> Dan Quayle, is that you?

I was thinking the same thing ;-)
From: Janet Bostwick (nospam at cableone.net)
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 14:50:23 -0700
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Please check here http://www.simplotfoods.com/product_class/35.html [archive.org] J.R. Simplot started the frozen potato business to supply Krock with the French fries for his very first stores in California. Both men made a gazillion bucks from their association.
From: leica at aol.com (LEICA)
Date: 28 Feb 2002 23:34:40 GMT
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I must be really old. I remember when McDonalds had potato peeling machines in every location & cut the potatoes and fried them. Ah ! Those were the good old days.
From: BOB (saillaser at prodigy.net)
Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 00:07:05 GMT
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LEICA wrote:
> I must be really old. I remember when McDonalds had potato peeling machines in
> every location & cut the potatoes and fried them.

and fried them (real potatoes) in beef fat...yuummmmmmm
From: Dennis Ruddell (ruddell at accesscomm.ca)
Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 13:22:53 -0600
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BOB wrote:
> and fried them (real potatoes) in beef fat...yuummmmmmm

Beef fat?

You know, we just returned from England (4th trip in 5 years!) and everytime I'm over it never ceases to amaze me how great the chips are (yeah, they still call them that instead of fries)...could this be the difference?
From: Janet Bostwick (nospam at cableone.net)
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2002 18:14:20 -0700
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LEICA wrote:
> I must be really old. I remember when McDonalds had potato peeling machines in
> every location & cut the potatoes and fried them.

I "think" I remember that, sort of. . .didn't they keep the baskets of fries immersed in water to prevent browning?
From: penmart01 at aol.como (Sheldon)
Date: 01 Mar 2002 10:09:56 GMT
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LEICA writes:
>I must be really old. I remember when McDonalds had potato peeling machines
>in every location & cut the potatoes and fried them.

There was once a time, not all that long ago, when real potatoes were the only way.
Yes, in the beginning the Golden Arches prepared real fries, today they literally sell SHIT fries... their burgers were once made from decent beef as well, today they are SHIT burgers. Last time I bought a McMac must've been 7-8 years ago, took one bite and ptuiii... steenks like shit!
From: Dennis Ruddell (ruddell at accesscomm.ca)
Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 13:20:09 -0600
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Sheldon wrote:
> well, today they are SHIT burgers. Last time I bought a McMac must've been 7-8
> years ago, took one bite and ptuiii... steenks like shit!

I can't agree with you. Although McDonalds is the brunt of many jokes, I still love their food...burgers/fries & apple pie.
From: gregorymorrow at msn.com (Gregory Morrow)
Date: 28 Feb 2002 17:43:45 -0800
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Rosco Hill wrote:
> Im wondering what else can be made from fake powder? Are mcdonalds
> fries made from real potatoes? Are they ground up to a pulp then
> reshaped into the shap of a fry?

Nope. Say what you will about McDo's, but they are *very* picky about their taters. I remember that in the early 90's when they were opening up stores in Russia, one of their big concerns was that they have a steady supply of potatoes that came up to their quality standards. They field tested a variety of types that would do well in the Russian climate and soil...and only then, when they were assured of adequate supplies/quality, did they expand into the Russian market.
From: Dennis Ruddell (ruddell at accesscomm.ca)
Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 13:18:58 -0600
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Gregory Morrow wrote:
> Nope. Say what you will about McDo's, but they are *very* picky about
> their taters. I remember that in the early 90's when they were
> opening up stores in Russia, one of their big concerns was that they
> have a steady supply of potatoes that came up to their quality
> standards.

Yes, they even took over their own Idaho seed potatoes and played with a few crops before getting the desired effect. Wasn't it in the Ukraine?
From: gregorymorrow at msn.com (Gregory Morrow)
Date: 2 Mar 2002 13:47:49 -0800
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Ruddell wrote:
> Yes, they even took over their own Idaho seed potatoes and played with a
> few crops before getting the desired effect. Wasn't it in the Ukraine?

Maybe. In big markets like Russia, McDo's prefers to use local suppliers if at all possible -- I remember them testing different kinds of lettuce, tomatoes, etc. in Russia. They even make their own cups, packaging, etc. in Russia IIRC. But they *do* want everything exactly uniform...portion/quality control and all that.
From: Dennis Ruddell (ruddell at accesscomm.ca)
Date: Mon, 04 Mar 2002 11:18:55 -0600
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Gregory Morrow wrote:
> But they *do* want everything
> exactly uniform...portion/quality control and all that.

I stopped at a McDonald's in Spain a few years back and yes, the food was identical to what we get in North America. Although there was one unusual but welcome difference.

Let's see...I ordered a Big Mac, fries & apple pie (my standard order) and washed it down with...are you ready for this?

Draught beer!

Talk about living :-)
From: Harry A. Demidavicius (harry.d at shaw.ca)
Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 23:40:50 -0700
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Gregory Morrow wrote:
>the Russian climate and soil...and only then, when they were assured
>of adequate supplies/quality, did they expand into the Russian market.

The sad thing is that a year or two ago when the French Farmers were on one of their tears, they trashed a bunch of Mickey Dee places because the Yanks were doing a number on France. However, all the supplies bought by the company had been bought from French suppliers.
From: Kate Connally (connally at pitt.edu)
Date: Fri, 01 Mar 2002 12:10:13 -0500
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Rosco Hill wrote:
> I know that you can buy mashed potatoe powder and use it to make fake
> mashed potatoe.

Well, they're real potatoes, dried and flaked or whatever. So the resulting "mashed potatoes" are real potatoes. The only objection I have is the addition of various preservatives. I eat them when I'm too lazy to make fresh. If you do it right they're not too bad.

> Im wondering what else can be made from fake powder? Are mcdonalds
> fries made from real potatoes? Are they ground up to a pulp then
> reshaped into the shap of a fry?

Actually McDonald's fries are made from cardboard pulp.

> I had some potatoe wedges at lunch today.. Inside the potatoe looked
> extremely fake - as though it was made from powder... Im wondering if
> its possible they were made from potatoes being all mashed up, or
> potatoe powder, then remade into the shape of a wedge and deep fried..

I'm guessing that they were frozen and they fried. When potatoes are frozen, especially russets, their texture changes. I actually like my french fries better when they're the frozen kind. The interior get nice and "fluffy" and the outside tends to get much crispier. Fries made from fresh potatoes, even if they are fried twice as they're supposed to be, never quite get that nice fluffy interior - they tend to be a little gummier. Taste-wise they're fine but texture-wise I like frozen better. so sue me! Kate
From: synecdoche (ddrysdale at hotmail.com)
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 2002 05:35:26 GMT
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Rosco Hill wrote:
>Im wondering what else can be made from fake powder? Are mcdonalds
>fries made from real potatoes? Are they ground up to a pulp then
>reshaped into the shap of a fry?

I heard that McDonald's fries consist of a lot of turnip. It's just a rumour though.

-dave
From: hpbudlong at aol.com (HPBudlong)
Date: 07 Mar 2002 07:27:55 GMT
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When sugar was rationed in England we used to use potato powder to practice cake icing techniques!