Burger and Bread Experiment

OKay, folks, in response to the "12 year old burger" thread, I've decided to do a little independent study.

On 12/14 at 5:30pm, I purchases two McDonald's plain hamburgers. I placed one in the refrigerator in a sealed container, and placed the other on my counter. I will report back to you in a regular basis what's been happening to them. As a control group, I also made a homemade hamburger using storebought generic burger buns and generic beef patties. Okay, I made three, ate one, and used the others as a control, but whose counting?

For the record, none of the burgers in this test have any extras: no cheese, ketchup, onions, etc. (this was special order, since the standard burger at McDonald's comes with ketchup, mustard, and onions.)

Also, at 12/15 at 6:00am this morning, I will lay out a slice of generic store bought bread on my counter, and place another one in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Let the games begin.

 

Results, day 1

Okay, after just one day, I had to make some alterations. I realized that the burger I made was about 1/5th of a pound, while the McDonald's hamburger was 1/10th of a pound. So yesterday morning, I bought two plain McDonald's Quarter Pounders. I also had to do some foot work to find a place that sold 10:1 patties. I finally found some at a mom & pop grovery store about 15 minutes outside my area.

Anyhoo, here are the results so far:

The McDonald's plain hamburger left out in the open has begun to dry out. The bun looks the same, but is starting to feel like a crouton along the edges. The fat in the meat patty has started to turn white. Not a big difference lookswise, but I can already start to feel a difference texturewise.

My homemade plain hamburger left out is faring similarly. The bun is starting todry out and the fat in the meat patty has started to turn white. No difference visually, but minor texture changes.

The McDonald's plain hamburger sealed in the fridge still feelsfresh, but the fat has turned white.

Both McDonald's quarter pounders look unchanged. Likewise, both of my homemade quarter pounders look the same.

I'm starting to suspect that the size of the burger and the moisture content is going to make a difference. We shall see over time.

 

Okay, so here are my results after 4 days:

The McDonald's plain hamburger sitting out is smelling funny. Visually, there's a slight discoloration, but physically, the outer portion of the meat patty has started drying out, and is becoming hard. The bun is likewise drying out and getting crusty on the outer edge.

The homemade plain hamburger left out is likewise starting to smell. It doesn't look much differnt visually either, but it's drying similar to the McDonald's burger.

The homemade plain burger in the fridge looks and feels the same as the McDonald's plain burger in the fridge.

The McDOnald's Quarter Pounder left out isn't doing as well. It has a small white fuzzy patches growing on the bun, and a speck of green mold growing on the meat patty.

The homemade Quarter Pounder left out has the same white and green patches.

The McDonald's Quarter Pounder in the fridge is doing okay. The bun is gettign soggy, but no real change.

The homemade quarter pounder in the fridge is likewise doing okay. Soggy bun, but no visual difference so far.

 

Honestly? She told me on Friday to move it to the garage. Being the man of the house, I stood up boldly to her and said "yes, dear". By samples are now in the garage, where my toold are now starting to smell like me after I use them.


We are now at the 1 WEEK mark, and here's my results:

The McDonald's plain hamburger sitting out smelling worse. A slight discoloration visually. Physically, the outer portion of the meat patty continues to dry out. The bun has is forming a dried crust on the outer edge.

The homemade plain hamburger left out is faring similarly, visually and physically.

The two burgers in the fridge (homemade and McD's) still look and feel the same, except that the fat has solidified, and is visually white.

The McDOnald's Quarter Pounder left out has small white fuzzy patches on the bun, and green mold growing on the meat patty. It's not smelling good at all.

The homemade Quarter Pounder left out has the same white and green patches.

The McDonald's Quarter Pounder and homemade quarter pounder in the fridge are still doing okay, albeit with soggy bun. Same white solidified fat as the little burgers.

 

Good question. I'm questioning the validiity of the oft-repeated "McDonald's burgers don't decay" claim. So far, my nose can tell you with assuredness that they do. The question at this point is how they decay compared to similar foods.

 

A nonissue here, since all the burgers I've got are decaying. They're just decaying at different rates, and in different manners, depending on the conditions they're being subjected to.

 

Okay, it's time to discontinue the experiment. My nostrils just can't take it.

We are now at the 2 1/2 WEEK mark, and here's my results:

The McDonald's plain hamburger sitting out smells aweful, and is discolored visually. Physically, the meat patty has dried out and is rock-hard. The bun is likewise dry and crusty.

The homemadr plain hamburger sitting out also smells bad, and is likewise discolored. The meat patty is hard as a rock, and the bun is crusty.

The two burgers in the fridge (homemade and McD's) still look and feel the same, but are starting to get dry on the edges.

The McDonald's Quarter Pounder left smelling disgusting. It's got plenty of mold and fuzz on it.

The homemade Quarter Pounder left out is the same.

The McDonald's Quarter Pounder and homemade quarter pounder in the fridge are soggy, and starting to get moldy spots on them.

Here are my conclusions.

A small burger, such as a McDonald's hamburger, will indeed resist molding, but does do because it dries out (mold needs moisture). The amount of meat in these burgers is so small, that drying out happens quickly. There is no moisture in either the bun or meat. The identical thing happens with a homemade burger of the same size and proportions.

A large burger consisting of 1/4 or more has enough moisture to accommodate the growth of mold. This is true of both the McDonald's Quarter Pounter and a homemade burger weighing 1/4lb or more.

As a result, it can be concluded that there is notnign unusual about the makeup of McDonald's burgers. They decompose in roughly the same manner than homemade burgers do, and at about the same rate. The myth of the 12 year old burger is successfully busted.