Chapter 5. "Why the Fries Taste Good"

Who is J.R. Simplot? What connection does J.R. Simplot have to the fast food industry?
-J.R. Simplot grew up in Idaho working hard on the farm his father bought. At fifteen years old, Simplot dropped out of high school and left home. At the age of sixteen, he become a potato farmer. He learned how to grow potatoes from his landlord named Lindsay Maggart. After selling things and leasing land for about a decade, Simplot became the largest potato shipper in the West and operated thirty-three warehouses in Oregon and Idaho. After World War Two, Simplot began investing in frozen food technology. He began selling the frozen french fries in 1953 and over time, he began selling them to McDonald's. The author says, "Indeed, french fries have become the most widely sold foodservice item in the United States." (page 115)

How have the potato farms in Idaho changed in the last 25 years or so?
-The potato farms in Idaho changed in the last 25 years by the farmers facing enormous pressure to get bigger. Idaho has lost about half of its potato farmers. Family farms are now being made into corporate farms and the farmers who were driven off the land are now hired to manage the farms.

What makes McDonald's french fries taste different from the french fries of other fast food restaurants?
-McDonald's french fries taste different then other fast food restaurants because McDonald's cooks their french fries in a mixture. The mixture contains 7% cottonseed oil and 93% of beef tallow. This mixture is what gives McDonald's' fries their unique flavor. The mixture also has more saturated beef fat per ounce than a McDonald's hamburger alone.









(After reading this chapter I'm not so sure I will ever be able to eat another McDonald's french fry again!)