Big Mac
McD Big Mac.jpg
Nutritional value per 1 sandwich 7.6 oz (220 g)
Energy540 kcal (2,300 kJ)
46 g (15%)
Sugars9 g
Dietary fiber3 g (13%)
28 g (43%)
Saturated10 g (50%)
Trans1 g
25 g
VitaminsQuantity
%DV†
Vitamin A530 IU
Vitamin C
1%
1 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
25%
250 mg
Iron
35%
4.5 mg
Sodium
63%
940 mg
Other constituentsQuantity
Salt equivalent2,425 mg
Energy from fat250 kcal (1,000 kJ)
Cholesterol80 mg
IngredientsSee text
Values may be different outside US market.
†Percentages are roughly approximated using US recommendations for adults.
Source: McDonald's USA Product Nutrition

The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced in the Greater Pittsburgh area in 1967 and nationwide in 1968. It is one of the company's flagship products and signature dishes. The Big Mac contains two beef patties, sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a three-piece sesame seed bun.

History

The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti, an early Ray Kroc franchisee,[1] who was operating several restaurants in the Pittsburgh area. It was invented in the kitchen of Delligatti's first McDonald's franchise, located on McKnight Road in suburban Ross Township.[2]

The Big Mac had two previous names, both of which failed in the marketplace: the Aristocrat, which Americans found difficult to pronounce and understand, and Blue Ribbon Burger. The third name, Big Mac, was created by Esther Glickstein Rose, a 21-year-old advertising secretary who worked at McDonald's corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois.[3]

The Big Mac debuted at the McDonald's owned by Delligatti in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on April 22, 1967,[4] selling for US$0.45 (equivalent to $3.66 in 2021).[4][5]

It was designed to compete with Big Boy Restaurants' Big Boy hamburger; Eat'n Park was the Pittsburgh area's Big Boy franchisee at the time.[6] The Big Mac proved popular and it was added to the menu of all U.S. McDonald's restaurants in 1968.[5]

Product

The Big Mac consists of two 1.6 oz (45 g) beef patties, "special sauce" (a variant of Thousand Island dressing), shredded iceberg lettuce, American cheese slices, sliced dill pickles, and minced onions, served in a three-part sesame seed bun.[7] On October 1, 2018, McDonald's announced that it would remove all artificial preservatives, flavors, and coloring from the Big Mac.[8]

The Big Mac is known worldwide and is often used as a symbol of American capitalism and decadence. The Economist has used it as a reference point for comparing the cost of living in different countries – the Big Mac Index – as it is so widely available and is comparable across markets. This index is sometimes referred to as Burgernomics.[9]

Special sauce

The name "special sauce" was popularized by a 1974 advertising campaign featuring a list of the ingredients in a Big Mac.[10]

Big Mac Sauce is delivered to McDonald's restaurants in sealed canisters designed by Sealright, from which it is meant to be directly dispensed using a special calibrated "sauce gun" that dispenses a specified amount of the sauce for each pull of the trigger.[11]

In 2012, McDonald's executive chef Dan Coudreaut released a YouTube video revealing the recipe of the special sauce. It consists of store-bought mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish and yellow mustard whisked together with vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.[12][13][14]

In 2018, McDonald's revamped the special sauce by removing potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and calcium disodium EDTA.[8]

Packaging

The Big Mac, along with many other McDonald's products, was first served in a collapsible cardboard container that was changed to a "clamshell" style styrofoam container in the late 1970s. Styrofoam containers were phased out beginning in 1990, due to environmental concerns.[15]

Advertising

The "Two all-beef patties..." slogan

Big Mac button worn by Canadian crew members during the 1975 campaign
Big Mac button worn by Canadian crew members during the 1975 campaign

A 1974 advertising campaign featured a list of the ingredients in a Big Mac: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions – on a sesame seed bun."[10]

In 2008 McDonald's Malaysia revived the phrase. The revival includes the original prize of a free Big Mac if the customer is able to recite the phrase in under four seconds. It was released in May, along with the promotional Mega Mac, which has four beef patties instead of two.[16]

2005 advertising

In 2005, McDonald's began offering product placement rewards to hip hop artists who namechecked the Big Mac in their music, giving US$5 to the artist for every time a song mentioning the hamburger was played on the radio.[17]

2019 EUIPO trademark revocation

McDonald's sued the Irish fast-food chain Supermac's for trademark infringement and claimed the name would confuse consumers in European markets.[18] On 11 January 2019, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ruled in Supermac's favor in what has been called a "David vs. Goliath" victory.[18] McDonald's submitted a copy of the Wikipedia article about the Big Mac as part of its evidence, but the court found the Wikipedia page was not acceptable as "independent evidence".[18][19]

Statistics in the United States

In 2007, Danya Proud, a McDonald's spokeswoman, said that in the United States alone, 560 million Big Macs are sold each year. It means that approximately 17 Big Macs are sold every second.[20][21]

Variants

McDonaldland character

Main article: McDonaldland

Museum

The Big Mac Museum in 2014
The Big Mac Museum in 2014

On August 22, 2007, McDonald's opened the Big Mac Museum in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to celebrate the Big Mac's 40th anniversary. The museum features the world's largest Big Mac statue (measuring 14 feet high and 12 feet wide) and has hundreds of historic artifacts and exhibits that celebrate the Big Mac.[36][37]

Some Uniontown residents were unhappy with the selected location.[38]

Nutritional values per geographical location

The Big Mac is a geographically localized product. In the United States, the Big Mac has 550 kcal (2,300 kJ), 29 grams of fat and 25 grams of protein. In Australasia, the burger is slightly smaller with 493 kcal (2,060 kJ) and 26.9 grams of fat, but similar amounts of protein with 25.2 grams,[39] while the Japanese burger tops out the scales at 557 kcal and 30.5 grams of fat. Several McDonald's subsidiaries adapt the standard features of the Big Mac (from the USA) to regional requirements.[40]

Comparisons of the Big Mac standard nutritional values in different countries – Sodium values converted to their salt equivalents, rounded and in bold
Country Energy kcal Carbohydrates g Protein g Fat (total) g Dietary fiber g Salt equivalent mg Serving
size
(weight) g 		Reference
 Argentina 485 40 24 26 3.3 2005 .ar
 Australia 564 41.8 26.9 31.3 2550 233 .au
 Austria 495 40 27 25 3 2300 219 .at
 Belgium 495 40 27 25 2300 .be
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .ba
 Brazil 491 40 26 26 3.8 2033 .br
 Canada 520 45 23 28 3 2413 209 .ca
 Chile 478 40 26 24 4 2133 .cl[permanent dead link]
 China 520 46 26 26 .cn
 Croatia 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .hr
 Czech Republic 510 41 27 26 2200 .cz
 Denmark 510 41 27 26.1 3 2200 .info
 Egypt 522 52 28.235 30 2 234 .eg
 Finland 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .fi
 France 508 42 27 26 3.1 2300 221 .info
 Germany 510 41 27 26 3 2200 221 .de
 Greece 495 40 27 25 3 2300 221 .gr
 Hong Kong 497 43.1 26.4 24.2 2003 .hk
 Hungary 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .info
 Ireland 490 41 28 24 4 2100 .ie
 Italy 510 42 27 26 3 2200 .it
 Japan 557 45.2 25.5 30.5 2800 .jp
 Lithuania 509 42 27 26 3.1 2300 219 .lt
 Malaysia 484 46 26 23 1825 209 .my
 Mexico 486 45 22 26 3 2228 .mx[permanent dead link]
 Netherlands 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .info
 New Zealand 494 36.8 26.4 25.9 2415 202 .nz[dead link]
 Norway 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .no
 Poland 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .info
 Portugal 509 42 27 26 3.2 2300 219 .pt
 Romania 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .info[dead link]
 Russia 495 40 27 25 3 2300 .info[dead link]
 Serbia 493 40 27 25 3 2300 .rs
 Singapore 522 43 28 26 3 970 .sg
 South Africa 496 39 24.3 26.4 3.2 2433 .za
 South Korea 510 26 2533 213 .kr
 Sweden 505 42 26 26 3 2300 219 .se
  Switzerland 510 41 27 26 3 2200 .info
 Taiwan 530 45 27 26 .tw
 Turkey 480 43 28 22 2100 .tr
 Ukraine 509 42 27 26 2300 .ua
 United Kingdom 508 43 26 25 3.6 2300 .uk
 United States 540 47 25 28 3 2426 215 .us

Gallery

See also

Similar products by other restaurant chains:

References

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  2. ^ Vancheri, Barbara (May 4, 1993). "Golden Arch Angel". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. C1. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016. Retrieved October 7, 2016.
  3. ^ "Woman Who Named Big Mac Finally Recognized". Associated Press. May 31, 1985. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "New! Big Mac [Advertisement]". The Uniontown Evening Standard. April 21, 1967. p. 11. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
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  19. ^ "Big Mac TM revocation.PDF" (PDF).
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Further reading

External links

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