Big Mac
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| McDonald's Big Mac | |
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|---|---|
| McDonald's Big Mac, purchased in Australia; at 480 calories, 14% lower than the U.S. version of 540 calories | |
| Serving size | 1 sandwich |
| Energy | 540 (28% USRDA) cal |
| Energy from fat | 270 cal |
| Total fat | 30 g (47%) |
| Saturated fat | 10 g (52%) |
| Cholesterol | 80 mg (26%) |
| Sodium | 1.01 g (42%) |
| Total carbohydrate | 47 g (16%) |
| Dietary fiber | 3 g (14%) |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Protein | 25 g (45%) |
| Vitamin A | 120 IU (8%) |
| Vitamin C | 2 mg (2%) |
| Calcium | 250 mg (25%) |
| Iron | 2 mg (25%) |
| Ingredients | "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." |
| Source | McDonald's |
| Notes | Values may be different outside US market. USRDA based on a 2,000 calorie (8.37 MJ) diet. |
The Big Mac is a type of hamburger, a signature sandwich sold by the McDonald's chain of fast-food restaurants since 1968, made with "two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun."
Contents |
[edit] About the burger
The Big Mac was inspired by the Big Boy, a similar double-decker hamburger sold by the restaurant chain of that name since 1936. The burger was invented by McDonald's franchisee Jim Delligatti at a location in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, before being picked up nation-wide. Frank Berardi, a biology teacher at Uniontown Area High School claims to have served the first Big Mac to a customer when he worked at the old McDonald's at the shopping center on Morgantown Street as a teenager. The McDonald's owned by Jim Delligatti was demolished around 2001, and a new restaurant built in the same plaza about 300 feet (100 m) away.[citation needed]
According to a famous advertising jingle, it consists of "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun," though the most distinctive feature is a middle layer of bread used to stabilize contents and prevent spillage.
In some restaurants, McDonald's also offers a "Mega Mac" with four patties and an extra slice of cheese. In Canada, this is commonly available in most McDonald's restaurants under the name "Double Big Mac". In the United Kingdom, the "Mega Mac" was once available but has since been discontinued along with the Super-size option as a part of the healthier McDonald's menu. The "Mega Mac", however, has been for sale in Ireland since at least some time in 2004 and remains on sale. The Mega Mac began sale in Japan on January 12, 2007. In Europe, larger burgers and buns were used to make a "Bigger Big Mac" as part of a limited promotion to celebrate the World Cup 2006, held in Germany. The burger was 40% bigger (compared to the weight of a normal Big Mac), and contained almost the same amount of saturated fat as the recommended daily allowance for an active adult male.
The Big Mac is known worldwide and is often used as a symbol of American capitalism. The Economist has used it as a reference point to determine the cost of living in different countries — the Big Mac index — since it is so widely available and is comparable across markets.
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. [1] This offer quickly spawned a satirical reference from Hip Hop artist Mad Skillz, who references the marketing ploy in his track "2005 Wrap Up" by stating "And I'm beefin' wit' Mickey D's man, y'all dead wrong, Talkin' 'bout payin' rappers to mention Big Macs in their song, We do rap from the heart, y'all better have some respect, Alright, Big Mac! Big Mac! Big Mac! Now where's my check?"
When he was in the White House, U.S. President William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton said that Big Macs were his favorite snack.[citation needed]
In India, where Hindu and Islamic Sharia dietary laws prohibit Hindus from eating beef and Muslim from eating pork, the Big Mac was renamed the Maharaja Mac and was originally made with lamb instead of beef; however, along with the company's other meat items it is now made from chicken.[2] [3] In Saudi Arabia, the two meat patties are "100% grilled; inspected Halal; no additives, fillers, binders, preservatives, extenders, or flavor enhancers. Only pure forequarter and flank".[4] There are also variations in other countries, especially to the condiments.
Burger King made a competing product called the Big King (or "Big K") burger which had similar ingredients and taste to a Big Mac. Hardee's made a similar product called the Boss Burger complete with Boss Sauce in the mid 1990s.
On 19 November 2006 it was reported in The Herald-Sun[1] that some McDonald's stores in Melbourne, Australia had introduced Halal meat for their Big Mac's and some non-Muslim customers were furious they were not told their hamburger meat was Halal. McDonald's Australia were reviewing if they were going to implement this nationwide.
[edit] Nutritional values
In the United States, the Big Mac has 47 calories (2,340 kJ), 45 grams of carbohydrates and 25 grams of protein. In Australia, however, the burger is smaller with 480 calories (2,010 kJ), 36.2 grams carbohydrate, but similar amounts of protein with 25.3 grams.[5]
| Country | Calories | Carbohydrate | Protein | Total fat | Dietary fiber | Sodium | Serving size (weight) |
Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia |
480 | 36.2g | 25.3g | 24.9g | 800mg | 201g | .au | |
 Brazil |
504 | 41g (14%) | 25g (33%) | 27g (49%) | 3.5g (14%) | 1023mg (43%) | .br | |
 Canada |
530 | 44g (15%) | 24g | 29g (45%) | 3g (12%) | 1020mg (43%) | 208g | .ca |
 Denmark |
497 | 43g | 27.1g | 24.1g | 219g | .dk | ||
 United Kingdom |
493 | 44g | 26.7g | 22.9g | 5.9g | 2250mg | .uk | |
 Germany |
503 | 44g | 26g | 25g | .de | |||
 France |
492 | 38.9g | 26.2g | 25.8g | 4.2g | 900mg | .fr | |
 Italy |
505 | 43g | 27g | 25g | 4g | .it | ||
 Japan |
508 | 42.7g | 26.1g | 25.8g | 2g | 864mg | 216g | .jp |
 Republic of Korea |
535 | 46g (14%) | 27g (45%) | 29g (57%) | 750mg (22%) | 219g | .kr | |
 Malaysia |
484 | 46g | 26g | 23g | 730mg | 209g | .my | |
 Mexico |
600 | 50g | 25g | 33g | 4g | 1050mg | 219g | .mx |
 Turkey |
496 | 49.8g | 27.9g | 21.1g | 810.9mg | .tr | ||
 United States |
540 | 47g (16%) | 25g (45%) | 30g (47%) | 3g (14%) | 1010mg (42%) | 219g | .com |
[edit] McDonaldland character
In addition to the McDonald's signature hamburger, Big Mac was the name of a character in McDonaldland, the fictional world created as an advertising campaign for McDonald's. Big Mac was similar to Mayor McCheese, except he was the chief of police, wearing a constable uniform and sporting a large Big Mac for a head.
[edit] Jingles
The Big Mac advertising jingle as sung in other languages:
- Portuguese (Brazil): "Dois hambúrgueres, alface, queijo, molho especial, cebola e picles num pão com gergelim"
- Spanish (Argentina): "Dos partes de carne, salsa especial, pepino, cebolla, lechuga, queso y pan hacen el Big Mac"
- Turkish (Turkey): "Açsan, gidersin meke yersin bir Big Mac, çocuğuna da Small Mac."
- Chinese (Cantonese) (Hong Kong): "雙層牛肉巨無霸，醬汁洋蔥夾青瓜，芝士生菜加芝麻，人人食到笑哈哈。"
[edit] See also
- Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.
- McDonald's TV campaigns and slogans
- Big Mac Index
- Don Gorske
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Official product information for the Big Mac
- Official product information for the Maharaja Mac
- The Big Mac Index
