As I was checking out my twitter feed I noticed that someone had posted that McDonalds now has Poutine. My first thought was – yuck, really?! So I went to their site and checked it out and yes, Poutine came to the rest of Canada this week. The reviews online are mixed, I guess it really depends on what you call food. Okay, okay, I have been known to eat my fair share of McDonalds, those greasy fries call my name after a night on the town. The hungover Heather knows that what she is eating is not ‘Real Food”.
I decided to take it one step further this afternoon and find out just what is in the new McDonalds Poutine? On the McDonalds website they list all the ingredients and nutritional information, they even go as far as to explain what some of the ingredients are…but they don’t explain what they all are. So with a little help from Google I have deconstructed the McPoutine for you. Buyer beware, if you are thinking ahhh fresh cut fries, yummy cheese curds and rich beef gravy – you will be disappointed. If however you are looking for the miracle of science you have come to the right place.
Ingredients in Poutine
French Fries
potatoes
canola oil
hydrogenated soybean oil – TRANS FAT
safflower oil
natural flavour
dextrose – Sugar
sodium acid pyrophosphate – is extensively used as a scald agent in products made from potatoes and sugar syrups. If your not sure what a “scald agent” is, which I wasn’t until I googled it…and now wish I hadn’t. It’s used to remove feathers from birds.
citric acid – Chemical used in everything from ice cream to foundation to binding metals.
dimethylpolysiloxane – important component in Silly Putty, yeah that’s right the same stuff that makes the putty shinny makes those fires shiny!
and cooked in vegetable oil
Salt
Salt for the Fries
silicoaluminate – Recently approved by the FDA April 1, 2012 food additive
dextrose – SUGAR
potassium iodide – MORE SALT
Cheese Curds CONTAINS: MILK
pasteurized milk
modified milk ingredients
bacterial culture
salt
calcium chloride – If you live in a snow-prone area, you most likely see the substance every winter in the form of the salt sprinkled on the streets and sidewalks to prevent snow and ice buildup. That’s right, the same stuff we put on our streets we are putting in our yaps!
microbial enzyme
Poutine Gravy
water – Hurrah
modified corn starch – Basically SUGAR, and helps thicken
glucose solids – SUGAR
corn maltodextrin – Basically SUGAR
hydrolyzed corn protein – Hydrolyzed corn protein is water soluble, and considered to be safe in food amounts. However it is rarely used in human food consumption because of its strong, fermented taste.
salt
modified tapioca starch – Once a whole foodstuff, it is broken down into it’s subparticles and rebuilt to be a thickening agent aka Frankinfood
high oleic sunflower oil – monounsaturated fat, and the cheapest of the bunch
sugar
tomato powder
onion powder
autolyzed yeast extract – is often used as a less expensive substitute for MSG.
chicken broth powder
chicken fat
silicon dioxide – An estimated 95% of silicon dioxide produces is consumed in the construction industry, e.g. for the production of Portland cement.
caramel colour
garlic powder
spices
So after all of this, if you are going to eat Poutine, are you going to eat this:
McDonalds Poutine
Or this LaBanquise Poutine
I know which one I would choose.
Heather's Fowl Mouthed Kitchen 