TIL: How to Get Hot, Fresh Fries Each and Every Time

March 21, 2013 // 2:13 pm // By: Dominique Zamora

fresh-fries

You know how sometimes you’ll go to McDonald’s and the fries are absolutely amazing, warm and crisp and just the best, best fries you’ve ever had? And other times, they taste like a stale, mushy vat of the Mondays?

Well what if I told you an easy way to make sure you always get the good stuff is to just ask them to hold the salt?

At least, that’s what twitter user @anjaleef suggested in her recent post on the daily tip site ClueDB:

cluedb

“Ask for ‘no salt’ on your fries when ordering from a fast food place. They usually salt the heck out of their fries and will have to make you a new batch if you ask for no salt.”

Granted, I’ve never had a chance to test this theory, but hey, fresh fries every time? Could be worth a shot.

Or I could just go to In-N-Out. At least that way, I have a lesser chance of having someone spit in my food.

H/T Laughing Squid + PicThx ClueDB, Foodalphabet

Dominique ZamoraTwitterFacebook

Dominique would be a foodie if she had money to pay for food. For now, she gets by just looking at food photography, which results in at least one more starving journalism student every time Instagram breaks down.

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In this article: fresh fries • hack • In-N-Out • lifehacks • McDonald's • salt

http://twitter.com/EmMaeKay Mae K

It does work – I do this every where I go.

Test Your Theory

Why doesn’t she actually test her theory and then post this?

http://twitter.com/worseisyet2come Jason

Ummm… but then the fries have no salt? What good is that, or am I missing something?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001734236515 Brian Mbuba

Just ask for/get a packet of salt after you receive your chips. I’m sure it’s a no-brainer.
http://www.facebook.com/pesh.aqrawi Pesh Aqrawi

I always order the fries with no salt! It’s very fresh, crisp and hot… You can add the salt yourself after, trust me you won’t be disappointed and you could save yourself from high BP

http://www.facebook.com/people/Ed-Guidry/1193366881 Ed Guidry

I had a friend whose mother would do that. The McDonald’s workers LOVED that. You’re dealing with bottom-of-the-barrel foodservice workers already and pissing them off by making them fry a separate batch just for you. Expect a loogie with your McRib.

http://twitter.com/rarmfield Raoul Armfield

They are not making a special batch just for you. They may make it a few minutes sooner than they would normally but they make an entire batch. Take out the amount you bought and then salt the rest. Plus chances are there is a batch in the fryer anyway.

Anonymous

They often won’t even have to do that…nor will they. It is VERY doubtful that they will actually put a new batch in just for you. If they have a lot of fries already in the bin salted, they will simply tell you there will be a bit of a wait. But more likely, unless you go to a very slow MCDonalds, they will already have a batch frying up. And you will jsut get some of that.

http://www.facebook.com/cory.dorsey1 Cory Dorsey

“Expect a loogie with your McRib.” Expect a nice call to the police over it. Willful contamination of food is a felony. I’m sorry she was SOOOOO inconvenienced in a job that involves this thing called “customer service”.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Kerton/809583367 Chris Kerton

They could put a dead fly in your burger, and if you noticed it (doubtful) the cook could just say they didn’t know the fly was there.

Remington616

With my time at Wendy’s I can attest that we will hate you for it (especially during certain hours of the day). HOWEVER because we require our shitty minimum wage job to continue living our shitty minimum wage lives we will not do anything to your food.

I can also attest that those ‘stale horrible fries’ have been under the heat lamp WAY past when we were supposed to throw them out (same goes for the potatoes at wendy’s).

The best course of action would be to ASK for fresh fries. Most of the time they’ll oblige.. if they don’t and say some BS like “our fries are always fresh”.. be nice and ask for no fries – they are too damn busy to make you a personal batch.

http://www.facebook.com/FuzzyTattooLogic David Essex

No. That’s just you and a handful of ungrateful rats that don’t understand it’s your job and you should be lucky to have one and stop being such a negative person because you are getting paid to do something. Christ. . . “Children these days.”

http://www.facebook.com/people/Todd-McDonald/100002318958748 Todd McDonald

Dude, after that even I’d loogie in your McRib — and I’m just another customer.
my penis

david, i’m pretty sure i spit in your food when i worked fast food before college. if you act like that in front of the employees(and I doubt you have the balls) then I know you’ve eaten other peoples saliva.

Dierdre Popov

Expect a loogie with your McRib

Ed, with most of these fast food places, how on earth could you even tell if they hocked something onto your sandwich?

(I agree with you that it’s best not to disgruntle the people who cook and handle your food.)

http://www.facebook.com/people/Ed-Guidry/1193366881 Ed Guidry

I don’t usually eat at those places. Only fast food place I eat is Raisin’ Cane’s Chicken Fingers. The food is always hot and fresh, and there’s fresh-faced young people working there, not frumpy old ladies trying to raise her family of 8 kids for 5 fathers off of a minimum wage job.

dan

i work at mcdonalds and this is true..they make a brand new batch for no salt..just ask for a salt packet at the window..they cant say no
http://twitter.com/h4zzmatt Matt Hazz

What makes you think In-N-Out peeps won’t spit on your food? Are they somehow able to hire ultra ethical employees where McDonalds can;t?

parolyke

its not that McDonald’s doesn’t have ‘ethical’ employees, its that the in and out fries are usually fresh without having to ask for no salt. since there is no more work required on part of the employee at in-and-out you’re less likely to have a pissed off employee spit in your food
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ed-Guidry/1193366881 Ed Guidry

Never been to In-N-Out, but McDonalds is the worst. Funny, I guess I’m showing my age, but I remember when McDonalds and BK would hire cute girls 18 to 20 or so, when I was in high school and college. Now it’s all middle-aged women with bad attitudes.

http://www.facebook.com/jason.perkins.1614 Jason Perkins

Showing your age? Yes your are. Those are the exact same cute girls only they are neither young nor cute now.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Kerton/809583367 Chris Kerton

lol, they got ugly and fat from eating all that free mcdonalds food.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ed-Guidry/1193366881 Ed Guidry

Back then, it was college students working their way through college. Now it’s women trying to feed their 8 kids for 5 babydaddies…

Crazyjae

No, but unlike a McDonalds you can see the entire kitchen at an In-n-Out from the sitting area as well as the drive through thanks to their open architecture and oversized windows. And, I would bet just for the simple fact that because they pay their line workers $10 an hour as a starting wage ($13 an hour at my local store) they may just have employees that value their job more. Which can be seen by the fact it takes the better part of a decade to become a manager — and their managers make well in excess of $100k a year.

Plus, there’s a really simple fact and that is at In-n-Out, they cut all the fries fresh through out the day and only cook them when ordered.

Anonymous

Where are you going to McDaondsl that you can’t see the fryer in clear site? At everyone I’ve been to, it is right up front, between the kitchen and the registers. Often it is the cashier that empties the bin and salts them. So yo can CLEARLY see.

Crazyjae

If you read my reply you’d understand that it was in reference to a McRib being spit on, however, the fryers are not visable at my local McDonalds since they’ve converted them to their McCafe format. They are now hidden in the back of house along with everything else. And I don’t know about where you are at, but all the old format McD’s are being phased out for the new look- at least on the west coast.

Regardless, the point of my post was to say that In-n-Out is far more open floorplan-wise in that you can see, from inside and drive-thru, what every employee is doing. Again going back to reference the comment that In-n-Out people may also be spitting in food. Really unlikely since the fryers, flattops and refrigerators are all in full view of all the patrons. If you have ever been to an In-n-Out you would know their floorplan is very open. Can you see the entire kitchen of a McD’s? Nope. But I know rolling through an In-n-Out I can, even in my car, thanks to the thirty feet of plate glass window that allows me to see everyone in the restaurant.There’s a huge difference in the transparency of the two stores, which was my original point.

P G

Ask for no ice in the soda and see the reaction you’ll get. It’s like you want gold in your cup. lol

Anonymous

Nice made up story. They don’t care. Because you get the same amount anyway. They push a button for the size of the soda and hte machine dispenses the same amount of soda no matter if there is ice in it or not.

http://www.facebook.com/DVDMAN Damon Oliver

um no. You get soda all the way to the top. Ice takes up quite abit of space. why would they hand you a half empty cup? because they push a button? Do you think that the button is the only option available? I do agree they don’t care if you get ice or not. They might be showing frustration because they actually have to fill the cup manually, without their precious button.

Anonymous

That is what they do, idiot, Damon. They push a button based on the size and it dispenses teh same amount of soda every time. So yes…you WILL get a half empty cup

http://www.twitter.com/piratesswoop Lynsey

No you don’t. There’s a button underneath that you can push that will auto dispense the pop until you release it.
Mesha Kelly

I always ask for drinks without ice and my cup is filled to the brim each and every time.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Kriste-Hobson/100000110120436 Kriste Hobson

we always ask for no ice. we have NEVER got a half cup. we have ALWAYS got a full cup. i’m afraid you’re either wrong or have a really jerky mcdonalds near you…

P G

Been there, done that. They are told to fill the cups with ice, and then add soda. Meanwhile, if they only knew Ice was more expensive than soda, they would give you less of it.

Kevin

If they’d serve hot fries to begin with, it would not be an issue. I go to McD once every year or so, just to remind myself why I don’t go. You’d think serving hot fries at 2pm would not be a challenge, but it is.
http://www.facebook.com/cory.dorsey1 Cory Dorsey

You can just ask for fresh fries. DUH
StopBeingSheep

In and out fries are horrible. Main reason I hardly ever go there.
BC

Awesome tip – one of my favorites . You can also ask for no salt in certain things like the eggs in the breakfast burritos at Sonic. Some people have to watch sodium intake so not a biggie asking.

http://www.activelybored.com/living-life/fries-no-salt

Anonymous

People who have medical issues that require them to watch their sodium don’t eat at McDoanlds OR Sonic.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Ed-Guidry/1193366881 Ed Guidry

FTW.

Anonymous

Raally? This is how far internet blogs have sunk? Repeating something that EVERYONE knows, and has for decades?
snoebay88

McDonalds ? Ugh!!!
Anonymous

Fuck.You.
Anonymous

My mother used to do this when she was pregnant with me, 33 years ago. It worked then too. And she would add her own salt afterward.
Pete

Small tip from someone who worked in a McDs for a couple of years.

If you can, go when its busy. Our store was situated on a highway so Friday and Sunday evenings (up until about 7.30pm) and Saturday (up until about 6pm) were the best, but it may depend on the store. You might have to wait a while for your food, but since they are churning through the stuff quickly it won’t be sitting in the rack for very long and is usually hot and tastey.

Anyone who asked for fries without the salt and then asked for a packet of salt would likely get a punch in the mouth, if they are cold tell us directly rather than trying to be a smart-ass abut it.
IceSmoker

I usually put fries back into the fryer rofl. bye bye salt ;D then take em out again hahaha you honestly think I would cook a fresh batch just for you?!
http://www.facebook.com/FuzzyTattooLogic David Essex

This is … like… uhm. DUH! You might as well just advise people to use more common sense. Who doesn’t know this? And only in drive thru. If you eat in, and your food sucks,.. TAKE IT BACK UP!
Andy

I’ve been doing this for years!
Musical Cromartie

Known this for years thanks to grandma, lol.
http://www.facebook.com/matthewlking Matthew L King

You are at McDonalds. Eat what you are given or don’t go. It’s not exactly expensive food.
http://www.myspace.com/_lovedaddy_ JohnnyMorales

Are you people serious? LOL

You just tell the person when you order that you want hot, freshly made fries, and they’ll do it.

You do not have to ask for no salt or extra salt or ask for anything other than you want them freshly made, and they will do it.

It’s corporate policy.

McDonald’s will cook anything fresh you ask them to cook fresh, provided of course you have paid for it.
Anonymous

I’ve actually been doing this for years, and it’s true. They will make you fresh fries. Thing is, you’ll still have salt because everything is so covered in salt that it’ll still rub off on the fries. You get ‘just enough’ salt instead of a salt lick.
http://twitter.com/FoodieMcBooty Nicole {Ms McBooty}

I used to do this in high school. It works. Just add salt afterwards. Say you are on a low sodium diet. I only stopped doing this because I felt dickish.
http://twitter.com/AndruC Andrew Ryan

Apparently this works with the hamburger patties too! They salt the patties as they go on the grill, apparently, so ask for no salt, and you’ll get a freshly grilled patty each time.
Test Your Theory

This article is dumb. Granted, I haven’t actually read the full article, but hey, it’s dumb.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Rob-Sandera/100000174513937 Rob Sandera

Either way from a fast food place their probably bad for you
http://www.facebook.com/people/Will-Phoenix/1075065204 Will Phoenix

The “no salt” request DOES make them make a fresh batch but all these idiots doing it also has long ago encouraged employees to spit in the fries and so forth since a bunch of smartie-pants who can really eat salt but STILL order NO SALT have started doing this. Good luck!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Will-Phoenix/1075065204 Will Phoenix

OH! Don’t expect folks who are still working at places like this to ADMIT to doing stuff to your fries either. They NEED their jobs!
http://www.facebook.com/faye.tality.3 Faye Tality

I worked there when I was a teenager and yes, this does work. I’ve often told my family and friends this same trick…
dwinkle

They usually have a couple orders set asside before they salt them for this reason. hell, people have been doing this for 20 years.
Anonymous

I’ve done this for years. Try not to ask for salt packets though- they give you dirty looks.
http://www.facebook.com/hlf2001 Heather Fields

DUH! I worked in fast food and ever since then I have always asked for no salt fries. It takes a few minutes longer but man they are hot and fresh and worth the wait.

TIL: How to Get Hot, Fresh Fries Each and Every Time

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