Chicken McNuggets
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Chicken McNuggets | |
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|---|---|
| McDonald's Chicken McNuggets | |
| Serving size | 4 pieces (64g) |
| Energy | 170 (9% USRDA) cal |
| Energy from fat | 90 cal |
| Total fat | 10g (15%) |
| Saturated fat | 2g (11%) |
| Cholesterol | 25mg (8%) |
| Sodium | 450mg (19%) |
| Total carbohydrate | 10g (3%) |
| Dietary fiber | 0g (0%) |
| Sugars | 0g |
| Protein | 10g (18%) |
| Vitamin A | 30 IU (2%) |
| Vitamin C | 2mg (2%) |
| Calcium | 0mg (0%) |
| Iron | 0.2mg (2%) |
| Source | McDonald's |
| Notes | May vary outside US market. USRDA based on 2000 calorie diet. |
Chicken McNuggets (introduced 1983) are a fast-food product offered by the restaurant chain McDonald's. They popularized the chicken nugget, which had been invented in the 1950s, and are one of the most popular trademarked items on the McDonald's menu.
McNuggets, as they are commonly known, are small pieces of formed chicken meat that have been battered and deep fried. They are sold in packages of 4, 6, 9, 10, 20, or 40, and come with a choice of various flavors of dipping sauce, such as barbecue, sweet and sour, honey, curry, or hot mustard.
Because of the popularity of the item, the term "Chicken McNuggets" is often used as a generic title for any other form of small, deep-fried chicken pieces. [citation needed]
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[edit] Composition
The McNugget is a small piece of finely minced chicken meat held together with phosphate salts. The pieces are coated with batter, lightly fried to set the batter, individually quick frozen, packaged, and sent to stores. At the McDonald's stores, the McNuggets are deep-fried and sold.
In November 2003, McDonald's switched to using all white meat for McNuggets instead of the traditional combination of white and dark meat. This was heavily promoted as an effort to improve the item's flavor. McDonald's state that they use mechanically separated breast meat in the production of their McNuggets. A small amount of chicken skin is recovered with the breast meat.
At the same time that they stopped using dark meat, McDonald's announced that they were using less salt in the preparation of the McNuggets. This was recognized as an attempt to make their products healthier. However, the sodium levels listed in McDonald's nutrition facts have actually increased: from 530 mg for 6 pieces between 2000–2002, to 670 mg for 2003–2005.
The 2004 documentary Super Size Me alleged that McNuggets were, at one point in time, made from sick and/or old chickens unable to lay eggs, and that they included chemicals such as TBHQ (a preservative), Dimethylpolysiloxane (an anti-foaming agent), and other ingredients not used by a typical home cook. In 2005, these two ingredients were listed as ingredients of other McDonald's foods, not McNuggets. However, McNuggets do contain genetically modified ingredients.
[edit] History
McDonald's Chairman Fred Turner approached one of his suppliers in 1979 and requested “I want a chicken finger-food the size of your thumb. Can you do it?” Chicken McNuggets were developed soon thereafter.
They were introduced in 1983, after the chain's first attempt at a chicken product, the McChicken sandwich, was withdrawn after disappointing sales. (It was later reintroduced after the success of Chicken McNuggets.) McNuggets quickly helped McDonald's become the second largest purchaser of chicken (after KFC).
An alternate story is that McNuggets, and the dipping sauces, were developed by product development chef Rene Arend.
[edit] Trivia
- The McNugget Buddies were anthropomorphic versions of McNuggets used in advertisements and promotions.
- In 1984 James Oliver Huberty killed 21 people and wounded 19 others in what became known as the McDonald's massacre. Three years later in 1987 his widow, Etna, filed a USD $5 million lawsuit against McDonald's, claiming that the massacre was triggered by her husband's consumption of excessive amounts of Chicken McNuggets. She alleged that monosodium glutamate (MSG) from the food interacted with the lead and cadmium that had built up in Huberty's body after 14 years as a welder. The claim was dismissed.
