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Burger King / Reuters
Burger King says the new fries, now a bit wider in diameter than a No. 2 pencil, will be available by December 5.
Burger King, the second largest hamburger chain, has changed its french fry recipe for the first time since 1998 as competition from upstarts and traditional fast-food rivals mounts.
Burger King said it made the new fries thicker, reduced sodium and added a coating that makes them crisper and keeps them hotter longer.
The fries, now a bit wider in diameter than a No. 2 pencil, will be available in its more than 7,000 North American Burger King restaurants by December 5. Prices remain the same.
"We're always trying to have the best menu possible. French fries are a big seller for us and we want to make sure we're always improving," said Leo Leon, vice president of innovation.
Leon said Burger King tested the new fries against other options.
"This, by far, was the winner," he added.
Burger King's move comes a little over a year after rival Wendy's introduced thinner "natural cut" fries that leave some skin and are sprinkled with sea salt.
McDonald's french fries often take the top spot in customer surveys, but independents such as Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Smashburger and In-N-Out Burger have been dialing up the pressure.
"The competition to have good quality french fries is heating up," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president at consulting firm Technomic, who recently tried the new Burger King fries.
"Making them thicker certainly makes them easier to eat, and since many of them are consumed in the car with one hand on the steering wheel, that's probably not a bad idea."
Burger King said the new fries have 20 percent less sodium than their predecessors.
The smallest, $1 portion has 330 mg of sodium and 240 calories. The fries are cooked in trans fat-free vegetable oil and do not contain animal products, Burger King said.
On December 16 Burger King is promoting its new fries by giving away $1 "value" portions for free. The new fries will be available outside the United States in 2012.
The trend in french fries is toward more "natural" offerings. That includes fries that are or appear to be made from fresh-cut potatoes and topped with "artisan" toppings such sea salt.
"The term natural seems to resonate (with diners), even though there isn't a great definition of natural," Tristano said.
In-N-Out cuts its french fries in its restaurants every day and cooks them in cholesterol-free vegetable oil.
Five Guys cooks its fries in peanut oil and gives customers the option of having them "cajun style."
Smashburger seasons its regular fries with sea salt. It also offers fries made from potatoes or sweet potatoes that are "toasted with rosemary, olive oil and garlic."
McDonald's lately has attempted to reinforce its position as the top french fry seller by promoting its fries, Tristano said.
Investment firm 3G Capital bought Burger King last year and took it private in a $3.3 billion deal. Burger King has 12,400 restaurants around the world.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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I consider myself to be a French Fry "afficianado" - I have eaten fries at: Wendy's (not bad); McD's (great); Burger King (old way and still good); Five Guys (Great!) and lastly - In and Out (awful!!!!). I have written several times to In and Out telling them their fries have changed! They are like eating day-old, recooked/reheated fries. I know they are fresh, but up until June 2011, they were GREAT!...but now, they taste Dry, Dry, Dry. My husband (a cook) stated that they are "overcooked" in the oil, which dries them out. I sure hope that BK doesn't do that. And I truly hope they "hold the salt" .....Looking forward to trying the new stuff!
Of the places you list, the only one that I know actually uses fresh potatoes is In-N-Out. I don't know about where you live, but the quality of avaliable potatoes in my local markets was on a consistent decline all summer, presumably due to the drought in some major potato growing areas. Personally, I did not find them to be good for much of anything, and yes, I thought the flavor was off. In fact, my mother just complained over Thanksgiving that it has been difficult to find good Yukon Gold potatoes for mashing for several months. The sad thing is, it is as likely that you are tasting a difference simply because they do not take an industrial approach to cooking. BTW, this is not a defense of In-N-Out food since I do not eat at any of the ones around Phoenix. I do, however, respect their corporate ethic with respect to both food and people.
The fast food joints should take a lesson from Fuddruckers and copy their fries. Best in the business.
I take it you mean the Fuddruckers establishments that survived the closures and the ugly bankruptcy? They are now, of course, owned by Luby's Inc. (of Luby's Cafeteria fame). It is hard to hit lower on a scale of revolting than Luby's Cafeteria. Granted though, one of their other holding is Pappadeaux - the stuff they do to seafood should be against the law.
I very rarely eat fast food, but from what I can tell Burger King has some of the best fries. Everyone else's are ridiculously greasy and almost always improperly salted, and not as tasty.
Is anyone else hungry?!
Me, me, me tooo!
I like the Wendy's fries.....In & Out uses that "healthier" oil, and they've got NO flavor. Burger King's aren't much better. As for MacDonald's..........I'm STILL kind of angry about them "caving-in" to the health nuts....and getting rid of the Supersize fries. They changed their oil too, and lost a lot of their appeal. But I notice MacDonald's is consistantly guilty at one thing that all the other chains aren't. When you order a Large fries.......you'll get a Large box....but it's typical that they intentionally underfill them. Check it out. 75% of the time....they'll give you a Medium sized order of fries in a Large box. It happens a LOT....and at nearly all of their shops.
French fries are crappy everywhere anymore. Too many healthfood freaks trying to force people to eat according to their gospel. Better to buy your burger fresh and get a bag of frozen fries from the grocer to make the meal at home yourself.
I LOVE coffee...the only thing between me and a whopper is the terrible coffee at BK..Do something American...get some good coffee....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I gotta laugh! America's food wars are being waged with french fries? Hahahaha...
What about the rest of the menu? Who the hell says any part of their menu is haute cuisine? None of it is worth 1/10 of what I cook up in my kitchen with natural ingredients! C'mon people, you want to really skunk the competition? Serve really decent food.
Sorry, I lost my mind for a moment. That's against your profit principle, isn't it? Just serve the minimum acceptable for the maximum profit, right?
Arby's curly fries are the best, my daughter who doesn't like fries period loves Arby's curly fries though....they are spicey and yummy. The best
I deep-fry my own fries. Use Morton salt substitute or no salt seasoning. The latter is sold at Big Lot.
Nothing about fries, but I was disgusted at a certain BK while travelling. Absolutely no attemt at fly control and the flies owned the cooking area as well as the dining area. And the Whopper was far different and inferior than at other BK's. Attempts to find a central phone number, call it and talk to someone to inform them failed. There appears to be no standardized policies or recipies at BK. I hesitate going to any of them anymore.
Perhaps you should have considered calling the local health department to alert them to the conditions instead of just posting here to show your offense....
Here in WA, I like the fries at Arctic Circle. They use Yukon Gold potatoes, and they have a much better taste. I also like the Curly Fries at J-Box. I didn't like BK's fries at all, but I haven't had the new ones yet.
Since my waistline is shrinking by the minute, I'm so thrilled to have an option to counter this dilemma.
I have never liked BK's fries. I will give them a try now. I agree with many other posters on here though about Wendy's fries. They used to be my favorite. Now they SUCK!!! Sea Salt??? Really???
They Now Have A Coating On The Fries? And What Does This Coating Consist Of? Maybe They Will Call It All Natural Styrofoam?
the new fries are coated with a product produced by the food division of WD-40, known by its trade name of "WAH DANG -04 , MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! Now that's a fry!
real french fries at fast food restaurants were great back in the 50,60, and part of 70's. great taste, great size, great to eat. thanks to transfat, etc, fries were revamped and made miserable to eat. In the 60's fries at McDonalds had an almost sweet potato taste and eating one little serving was hard to do...two were better. There was A and W, McDonalds, BK, Hardees, Burger Chef, Jerry's, Dairy Queen, etc..and food was great, burgers were real meat, special sauces, etc. I remember eating a burger in Bethesda, Md that was just like McDonalds big Mac,but better. I don't like to eat sodium/salt on food. I get my fries at McDonalds without salt and theyare always piping hot. An insurance to fresh food, ask for your meat and fries to be cooked without salt...I image BK new fries aren't going to me on my menu, at 330 mgs of sodium per serving that 15% of a daily allotment of sodium, combine that with at least 600 mg of sodium in a junior burger, you are up to 42% of your allotment of sodium for healthy diet, and I bet most people will still add one or two of those little packets of salt to that burger and those fries. I tried the 5 Guys in Birmingham, Al and those fries were greasy, soggy. And as for the starch washed out of the fries, real fries in restaurants are soaked in cold water first, fried, drained, cooled and the refried again for the crispy end product. The coatings put on commercial fries that you should be worried about. Another additive to the food product that could give consumers concern for health reasons.
Yeah i had them and didn't like them. They taste like too much potato and they are mushy. I liked how they used to be better. I went to Burger King today and almost forgot about that and i got a side salad instead.
I did my own personal taste test and the #2 pencil won hands down.
I think BK's secret coating is Teflon, good heat retention and fries don't stick in the basket.
The bigger the nastier they seem to get. I wonder why BK doesn't just let us have the BK rounds that they send to japan????
I love that Burger King fries contain no animal products--It's a hamburger joint. If you are against the eating of meat, why are you going to Burger King at all? You aren't saving any animals by doing so.
I quit eating there when they changed their fries to cardboard in 1998. I will try again with their new version. I am not counting on much difference. I can always go next door to Jack in the Box, get my fries and then go over to BK for a Whopper. That will always work!!!!
I think we were a test market for these, we have had them for over a month now, IMO nothing great. They faintly taste like steak fries...I like Wendys fries better.
Now just start frying them in a oil that is heart healthy and they would have a lot more business.
You don't eat he fast food fries to get a heart healthy diet. Sure some oils are better than others but none are good.
Checkers/Rallys has the best fries...its the only thing i ever get at a fast food place...I dont trust the meat in any fast food. FDA meat requirments are so standard..and not to good !