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For other uses, see Big Mac (disambiguation).

Big Mac
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
Vitamins and minerals
VitaminsQuantity
%DV†
Vitamin A530 IU
Vitamin C
1%
1 mg
MineralsQuantity
%DV†
Calcium
19%
250 mg
Iron
25%
4.5 mg
Sodium
41%
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 estimated using US recommendations for adults,[1] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies.[2]
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 across the United States in 1968. It is one of the company's flagship products and signature dishes. The Big Mac contains two beef patties, cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, minced onions, and a Thousand Island-type dressing advertized as "special sauce", on a three-slice sesame seed bun.

History

The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti,[3] who operated several Mcdonald's restaurants in the Pittsburgh area. It was created in the kitchen of Delligatti's first McDonald's franchise, located on McKnight Road in suburban Ross Township.[4]

The Big Mac debuted at the McDonald's owned by Delligatti in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on April 22, 1967,[5] selling for US$0.45 (equivalent to $4.11 in 2023).[5][6]

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.[7] The Big Mac proved popular and it was added to the menu of all U.S. McDonald's restaurants in 1968.[6]

The Big Mac had two previous names, both of which failed in the marketplace: the Aristocrat and the 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.[8]

Product

The Big Mac is made with two 1.6 oz (45 g) beef patties, a "special sauce" (similar to Thousand Island dressing),[9] shredded iceberg lettuce, one processed American cheese slice, two slices of dill pickle, and minced onions, served on a three slice sesame seed bun.[10] On October 1, 2018, McDonald's announced that it would remove all artificial preservatives, flavors, and coloring from the Big Mac.[11][12]

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.[13]

Sauce

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 calibrated "sauce gun" that dispenses a specified amount of the sauce for each pull of the trigger.[14]

In 2012, McDonald's executive chef Dan Coudreaut released a YouTube video revealing the recipe of the sauce. It consists of store-bought mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish and yellow mustard whisked together with vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.[15][16]

In 2018, McDonald's revamped the sauce by removing potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and calcium disodium EDTA.[11][12]

The sauce is occasionally available for purchase on its own for a limited time. The first time was in 2015. A 25 ml (0.85 U.S. fl oz) tube was available for purchase but only in restaurants in Australia.[17] The last time it was available was in 2020. A 50 ml (1.7 U.S. fl oz) pot was available for purchase but only in restaurants in the UK and Ireland.[18]

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, polystyrene foam container in the late 1970s. Polystyrene foam containers were phased out beginning in 1990, due to environmental concerns.[19]

Advertising

"Two all-beef patties" jingle

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

In 1974 McDonald's commissioned an advertising jingle which popularized the list of ingredients of the Big Mac: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun."[20]

In 2008, McDonald's restaurants in Malaysia revived the slogan. The revival included the original prize of a free Big Mac if the customer was able to recite the slogan in under four seconds. It was released in May, along with the promotional Mega Mac, which had four beef patties instead of two.[21]

McDonaldland character

Main article: McDonaldland
McDonalds playground Officer Big Mac climb-in jail

McDonalds began a television advertising campaign appealing to children in 1971 featuring a fantasy world populated by Ronald McDonald and various mascots promoting McDonalds products. Some characters were also modeled in McDonalds store playground equipment. The Big Mac was represented by Officer Big Mac, a Keystone Cops-style policeman with a giant Big Mac sandwich for a head. The characters were revised after a 1973 plagiarism lawsuit brought by television puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft because of similarities to their H.R. Pufnstuf characters. A modified Officer Big Mac continued in the commercials until 1985.

Hip-hop product placement

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.[22]

EU 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.[23] 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.[23] 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".[23][24]

US sales

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.[25][26]

Variants

  • The Mega Mac or Double Big Mac: four 1.6 oz (45 g) beef patties and an extra slice of cheese. Available in Canada, China, Egypt, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan (during promotional periods only), Turkey, Singapore, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, and United Kingdom.[21] It was introduced to the United States in early 2020.[27] In Australia it was discontinued and replaced by the Grand Big Mac. The Double Big Mac is the biggest regular hamburger the chain produces and it has 680 calories.[28]
  • Big Big Mac: a Quarter Pounder–like product sold in Europe (Finland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy). Has been sold periodically in Sweden, there called "Grand Big Mac".[29]
  • The Denali Mac: made with two quarter pound patties. Named after Denali in Alaska, and sold only in that state.[30][31]
  • In India, where consuming beef is illegal in most states, the Big Mac is known as the Maharaja Mac and was originally made with lamb instead of beef; however, along with the company's other items, it is now made from chicken.[32][33]
  • The Chicken Big Mac is a Big Mac with two breaded chicken patties sold in Pakistan, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and other countries as a promotional burger.[34][35][36]
  • The Giga Big Mac, is sold in Japan. It is a larger version of the Big Mac with three times the meat of a regular one.[37]
  • Little Mac or Mac Jr. is a reduction of the standard Big Mac which uses a two-piece bun and contains only one beef patty. It has been available as a limited-time promotion in the U.S. since 2017.[38]
  • Grand Mac uses larger patties, at 1⁄3 pound (0.15 kg) combined. Available in the U.S. beginning in 2017 and was first made available overseas in the UK, Ireland, and Australia as the "Grand Big Mac" in 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Big Mac.[38] This and the Mac Jr. were collectively known as the "Big Mac range" in the UK.
  • Big Mac BLT is a standard Big Mac burger with the addition of bacon and tomato. Released in Australia and New Zealand as a promotional item in late 2017.[39]
  • Big Mac Bacon was introduced in selected markets in 2018, as a limited-time option. It is essentially a Big Mac with added bacon.[40] In 2019, this was extended in the UK to the Grand Big Mac and the Mac Jr.
  • A Mega Mac burger with a large Coke and fries in Malaysia
    A Mega Mac burger with a large Coke and fries in Malaysia
  • A Chicken Maharaja Mac in India
    A Chicken Maharaja Mac in India
  • A Grand Big Mac (left) and Mac Jr. (right) alongside a regular Big Mac (center), released for a limited time in the UK as part of the 50th anniversary of the burger.
    A Grand Big Mac (left) and Mac Jr. (right) alongside a regular Big Mac (center), released for a limited time in the UK as part of the 50th anniversary of the burger.

Museum

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.[41][42]

Some Uniontown residents were unhappy with the selected location.[43]

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,[44] 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.[45]

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 Archived September 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
 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
  • Big Mac, purchased in Canberra, Australia
    Big Mac, purchased in Canberra, Australia
  • A Big Mac combo meal
    A Big Mac combo meal
  • A Grand Big Mac
    A Grand Big Mac

See also

Similar products by other restaurant chains:

References

  1. ^ United States Food and Drug Administration (2024). "Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels". FDA. Archived from the original on March 27, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  2. ^ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Food and Nutrition Board; Committee to Review the Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium (2019). "Chapter 4: Potassium: Dietary Reference Intakes for Adequacy". In Oria, Maria; Harrison, Meghan; Stallings, Virginia A. (eds.). Dietary Reference Intakes for Sodium and Potassium. The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. Washington, DC: National Academies Press (US). pp. 120–121. doi:10.17226/25353. ISBN 978-0-309-48834-1. PMID 30844154. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Eldridge, D. (2014). Moon Pittsburgh. Moon Handbooks. Avalon Publishing. p. pt389. ISBN 978-1-61238-846-5. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b "New! Big Mac [Advertisement]". The Uniontown Evening Standard. April 21, 1967. p. 11. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Jim Delligatti Biography" (PDF) (Press release). McDonald's. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  7. ^ "Obituary: William D. Peters / President of Eat'n Park restaurants". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. August 20, 2000. Archived from the original on December 13, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2013.
  8. ^ "Woman Who Named Big Mac Finally Recognized". Associated Press. May 31, 1985. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
  9. ^ López-Alt, J. Kenji (August 9, 2018). "The Burger Lab: Building A Better Big Mac". Serious Eats. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  10. ^ "McDonald's Nutrition Calculator: Calories and More | McDonald's" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  11. ^ a b Valinsky, Jordan (September 27, 2018). "McDonald's removing artificial additives from its burgers". money.cnn.com. Retrieved September 10, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ a b "Artificial Ingredients Have Been Removed From McDonald's Classic Burgers". Mentalfloss.com. October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  13. ^ Pakko, Michael R.; Pollard, Patricia S. (November–December 2003). "Burgernomics: A "Big Mac" Guide to Purchasing Power Parity" (PDF). Review. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  14. ^ "Sealright designs sauce system for McDonald's in South Africa, China". Kansas City Business Journal. April 26, 1996. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  15. ^ "McDonald's Big Mac sauce revealed". UPI. July 12, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  16. ^ "Big Mac Sauce Secret Ingredients REVEALED! (2012)". YouTube. July 12, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ Hunter, Molly (February 2, 2015). "McDonald's Selling Limited Edition Special Sauce for First Time". ABC News. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  18. ^ Young, Sarah (January 22, 2020). "McDonald's to launch Big Mac dipping sauce next month". The Independent. Retrieved September 10, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ McDonald's to Do Away With Foam Packages Archived April 4, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Los Angeles Times. November 2, 1990. Retrieved 2017-04-03.
  20. ^ Beaudoin, N. (2013). A School for Each Student: High Expectations in a Climate of Personalization. Taylor & Francis. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-317-92474-6. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  21. ^ a b Bin, Huai (May 5, 2008). "Mega Mac and Big Mac Chant". SixthSeal.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009.
  22. ^ "Return of the Mac – coming soon". BBC News. March 29, 2005. Archived from the original on December 24, 2005. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  23. ^ a b c Gordon Deegan (January 16, 2019). "Tasty result for Supermac's with 'David and Goliath' Big Mac win". Irish Independent. Ireland. Retrieved January 16, 2019. As part of its submission claiming 'proof of use' of the Big Mac, McDonald's submitted a printout from en.wikipedia.org, providing information on the Big Mac hamburger, its history, content and nutritional values in different countries. The EUIPO stated it couldn't accept the Wikipedia evidence as "independent evidence".
  24. ^ "Big Mac TM revocation.PDF" (PDF).
  25. ^ "Happy Birthday Big Mac". August 24, 2007.
  26. ^ "How Many Big Macs Are Sold Each Day?".
  27. ^ Murphy, Bill Jr. (March 15, 2020). "Here's Why the Double Big Mac and Little Mac Might Be the Smartest New Things on the Menu at McDonald's". Inc.com. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
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  29. ^ "The advertising". Archived from the original on September 21, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
  30. ^ "Alaska Towns: Palmer, Alaska". Hometown Invasion Tour. 2011. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011.
  31. ^ "Royale with Cheese". Cynical-C Blog. May 23, 2007. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  32. ^ "G2: McDonald's and the World". The Guardian. London. April 6, 2001. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  33. ^ Arndt, Rachel Z. (February 2, 2009). "The World's Most Original Burgers: Chicken Maharaja Mac". Bloomberg Businessweek. p. 8. Archived from the original on July 27, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
  34. ^ McDonald's Pakistan Archived June 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 4, 2012
  35. ^ "A La Carte | McDonald's Kuwait". Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  36. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 12, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  37. ^ McDonald's Japan Launches Big Mac With 3 Times the Meat | Fortune Archived October 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, April 5, 2016, Retrieved October 16, 2016
  38. ^ a b Smith, Aaron (January 18, 2017). "McDonald's just tweaked the Big Mac". CNN Money. Cable News Network. Archived from the original on January 20, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  39. ^ "McDonald's brings back their Sweet Mustard Dipping Sauce and people are overjoyed". November 28, 2017. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  40. ^ McDonald's (August 20, 2018). "McMenu". McDonald's. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  41. ^ "McDonald's Celebrates 40 Years Serving 'Twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbun'" Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine PR Newswire. August 22, 2007
  42. ^ “Big Mac turns 40” Archived January 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved November 12, 2012
  43. ^ Al Owens, The Herald-Standard (September 2007). "The Mystery of the Curry Burger!" Archived January 15, 2013, at the Wayback Machine republished from Herald-Standard (Uniontown). September 15, 2007
  44. ^ "Nutrition Information". Australia: McDonald's. December 19, 2012. Archived from the original on April 17, 2013. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  45. ^ "calories big mac". Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2012.

Further reading

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