Fast Food Nation

Chapter 5 Why the Fries Taste Good

Authors IntentTo tell readers why the french fries at their favorite fast food

restaurants taste so good.

Information in the Chapter• The Simplot Plant in Aberdeen, Indiana, grows

more potatoes than any other city in Idaho.• It processess about a million pounds of potatoes a

day.• It is open 24 hours a day, 310 days a year.• In 1942, the plant had 100 workers. In 1944, the

plant had about 1,200.• In the 1950’s, frozen foods started to become

extremely popular.

Information in the Chapter• Simplot was the person who made frozen french

fries become a common thing.• They started including them at fast food restaurants

because they were much cheaper and easier to make than home made.

• In 1960, Americans ate about 81 pounds of fresh potatoes, and about 4 pounds of frozen potatoes per year.

• Today we eat about 49 pounds of fresh potatoes, and more than 30 pounds of frozen potatoes per year. ( 90% of these were from fast food restaurants.)

Information in the Chapter• Simplot provides the majority of the french

fries for McDonald’s.• Fast food companies purchase frozen fries for

about 30 cents a pound, reheat them in oil, then sell them for about $6 a pound.

• Out of every $1.50 spent on a large order of fries at a fast food restaurant, only about 2 cents goes to the farmer who grew the potatoes.

Information in the Chapter• It costs about $1,500 an acre to grow potatoes

in Bingham County.• The average potato farmer who plants 400

acres is more than half a million dollars in the hole before selling a single potato.

• Incoming potatoes from Canada have made Idaho grown potatoes and other potatoes from the U.S. lower in sale price.

• There really is no control on how well the potatoes will grow, it is based on the weather.

Information in the Chapter

• The unique taste of McDonald’s french fries comes from their unique oil mixture. –They use about 7% cottonseed oil and

93% beef tallow.• The fries have more saturated beef fat per

ounce than a McDonald’s hamburger.

Information in the Chapter

• The aroma of a food can be responsible for as much as 90% of its flavor.

• Studies have found that the color of a food can greatly affect how its taste is perceived.– Identical foods, with different colors were tested

and people would often say the brighter colored food tasted better.

• The author succesfully portrayed his ideas.

• He used an array of different sources to provide his information.– Such as:• Interviews• Facts• Personal Experiences• Etc.

Successful Or Not?