The Three Types of Eggs on the McDonald's Menu
McDonald's serves several different types of egg products for its various breakfast offerings. The key to understanding what's in them lies in knowing which item you are ordering. The main types include the round egg, folded egg, and scrambled eggs, each with its own ingredients and preparation method.
The Real Deal: The Round Egg for the Egg McMuffin
For the signature Egg McMuffin, McDonald's uses a USDA Grade A egg that is freshly cracked in the restaurant kitchen. To achieve its perfect circular shape, the egg is cooked on the grill inside a special ring. This is the most natural egg option on the menu, with ingredients being simply the egg itself, cooked with butter on the griddle. A key distinction for customers is knowing that this specific egg preparation is reserved exclusively for the Egg McMuffin. If you want a freshly cooked egg on any other sandwich, like a biscuit or McGriddle, you need to explicitly request a "round egg".
The Processed Choice: The Folded Egg
The folded egg is used for breakfast sandwiches on biscuits and McGriddles. Unlike the freshly cracked round egg, these eggs are a liquid egg mixture delivered to the restaurants pre-cooked and flash-frozen. They are then reheated on the grill in the restaurant. This allows for rapid and consistent preparation, a hallmark of fast-food service. The ingredient list for the folded egg includes more than just egg, such as:
- Pasteurized whole eggs
- Nonfat milk
- Modified food starch
- Salt
- Citric acid
This blend of ingredients helps ensure the egg patty has a consistent texture, color, and flavor, and also provides preservation. While McDonald's states that all its eggs are "real," the form in which they arrive at the restaurant differs greatly.
The Textured Mix: Scrambled Eggs and Sausage Burrito Eggs
For scrambled eggs and the eggs in the Sausage Burrito, McDonald's uses a liquid egg product. These eggs are cooked fresh on the grill with butter. The scrambled eggs feature a minimal ingredient list, mainly eggs and citric acid. The Sausage Burrito eggs, however, are a pre-made liquid egg mixture that includes other ingredients for flavor and stability before being flash-frozen. These additional components include seasonings, tomatoes, green chilies, and onions.
Comparison of McDonald's Egg Preparations
| Feature | Round Egg (Egg McMuffin) | Folded Egg (Biscuit/McGriddle) | Scrambled Eggs | Sausage Burrito Eggs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preparation | Cracked fresh in-store | Pre-cooked, flash-frozen, reheated | Liquid eggs cooked fresh in-store | Pre-cooked, flash-frozen, reheated |
| Ingredients | USDA Grade A egg, butter | Liquid egg mix, nonfat milk, starch, preservatives | Liquid egg mix, citric acid, butter | Liquid egg mix with sausage, veggies, seasonings |
| Shape | Round | Folded rectangle | Scrambled | Rectangular/folded |
| Texture | Soft, with a liquid yolk option | Firm, slightly rubbery | Softer, fluffy | Firm, savory |
| Customization | Can be ordered for other sandwiches | Not easily customized | Limited customization | Pre-mixed, not customizable |
Why McDonald's Uses Different Eggs
The use of different egg types is a business strategy focused on efficiency and consistency. The fast-food industry thrives on speed and predictable product quality. The liquid and pre-cooked egg products ensure that no matter which McDonald's you visit, the folded egg on your biscuit will taste and feel the same. This standardization is difficult to achieve with freshly cracked eggs. The Egg McMuffin remains an outlier, a tribute to the original recipe, but its preparation is a more time-intensive process that can only be done for specific items and quantities.
The Role of Additives
Ingredients like citric acid and sodium acid pyrophosphate are added to the liquid egg products to serve as preservatives, ensuring a longer shelf life and preventing discoloration. Modified food starch is used to help maintain the texture and mouthfeel of the eggs after freezing and reheating. While these additives might sound concerning, they are approved food additives designed for safety and function. They are the reason you can have a consistent, low-cost breakfast item delivered quickly every time.
Consumer Perception vs. Reality
For many consumers, the idea of ordering eggs from a fast-food chain implies a freshly prepared item. The reality of liquid egg mixes and flash-freezing can come as a surprise, often fueling urban legends about the eggs being 'fake' or highly processed. However, as McDonald's and independent food experts have confirmed, all of the eggs do start with real eggs, they are just handled differently for logistics. The perception of quality often depends on the customer's expectation versus the reality of high-volume food service production.
Conclusion: The Truth is on the Menu
The truth about what do McDonald's eggs have in them is that it's not a single answer. While the beloved Egg McMuffin features a genuine, freshly cracked Grade A egg, other breakfast favorites like the folded egg and scrambled eggs rely on a liquid egg mixture that includes stabilizers and preservatives. This approach allows McDonald's to balance product consistency and speed with the immense volume of its breakfast business. For customers seeking the most "natural" egg, the round egg on the Egg McMuffin is the clear choice. For others, the convenience and consistent taste of the modified egg products may be a worthwhile trade-off.
Further Reading
What do McDonald's eggs have in them?
The contents vary based on the item. The Egg McMuffin uses a freshly cracked, USDA Grade A egg cooked in a ring, while other items like folded eggs and scrambled eggs are made from a liquid egg mixture with additional ingredients.
The Egg McMuffin egg is real and freshly cracked. For the Egg McMuffin, McDonald's uses a real, Grade A egg cracked and cooked fresh on the grill in an egg ring.
Folded eggs contain a liquid egg mix. The folded egg patty used on biscuit and McGriddle sandwiches is made from a liquid egg mixture that includes nonfat milk, modified food starch, and citric acid, which is pre-cooked and flash-frozen.
Scrambled eggs are made from a liquid product. The scrambled eggs are prepared in the restaurant from a liquid egg mixture that contains eggs and citric acid.
Additives are used for consistency and preservation. Ingredients like citric acid are used as preservatives to extend shelf life and maintain color, while modified food starch is used for texture.
Sausage Burrito eggs have other added ingredients. The eggs for the Sausage Burrito are a pre-made liquid egg mix that also contains sausage, tomatoes, green chilies, onions, and other seasonings.
You can request a round egg on other sandwiches. Customers can ask for a "round egg" on any breakfast sandwich, which replaces the pre-made egg patty with a freshly cracked egg.
The choice of egg is for speed and uniformity. Using different egg preparations allows McDonald's to provide consistent products quickly to a large number of customers.
The eggs are not 'fake'. While some are processed and contain additives, all of McDonald's eggs start with a real egg.
The preparation methods differ by product. The method used (freshly cracked, pre-cooked and frozen, or liquid mix) depends on the specific item you order off the breakfast menu.
