Serious Eats

Here is what you need to do if you want regular cheese to melt similar to the ones that are usually put on a burger: https://aht.seriouseats.com/2011/09/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-super-m… It's questionable if it's worth it :)

Plus, your meat will be more freshly ground this way. More freshly ground meat is superior in almost every way: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/04/the-burger-lab-whats-the-b…

If you have any beyond-superficial interest in food, Serious Eats columns by Lopez-Alt are a guaranteed treat. A personal favorite is the article on getting perfect french fries in McDonalds style, including managing to get a bag of still-frozen fries for in-depth analysis. A true food hack. http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make…

http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/08/the-food-lab-complete-guide-to-sous… http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/02/the-best-buffalo-wings-oven… This one made the news when it came out, because it's totally fun and great: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make…

I knew this name looked familiar. He's written tons of great articles! One of my personal favorites is on making the perfect french fries: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make…

I ended up falling in love with this page: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make… His reconstruction of the in-n-out double-double animal style. I miss it so much from my time in California. I anxiously await returning to the area, but until then, I may just have to recreate the experience following his plan.

Meat enthusiast here. There is no one who wants a viable meat alternative for meat eaters than me. The bleeding heart (pun intended) in me cares about the sustainability of meat and the sheer cost of ethical farming. Fact of the matter is though, I won't give up eating meat. I love it, so so much. And I have a leery eye towards meat substitutes. This product for example: - How well does this product replicate the Maillard Reaction [0]? This is key when we're talking about taste and texture. - Why did the author taste the burger with 82 toppings slathered on top by a professional chef? That's like testing out a new 21 speed, strapped to the top of an SUV. - Why are they (presumably) trying to recreate chuck? Ground chuck is a terrible thing to replicate. It's like burger meat designed by committee[1]. - Is the sizzle coming from only extracted water from the plant burger (water vapor, decreasing heating temp)? Or are their lipids present spiking the flame, positively contributing to the cooking process? That said, I'd love to give it a shot. Proper seasoning, a nice medium rare with a slice of American. But I'm not holding my breath. Meat is very hard. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction [1]: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/10/the-burger-lab-best-burger…

You can also "steam and cream" to make any cheese "melty" like processed American cheese. Another Serious Eats reference. https://aht.seriouseats.com/2011/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-any-che…

Possibly this article: https://aht.seriouseats.com/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-perfect…

The article already includes McDonald's response why its burger didn't decompose (it dries out quickly due to its small size). If you're skeptical, Serious Eats confirmed this in an experiment: https://aht.seriouseats.com/2010/11/the-burger-lab-revisiting-the-myth… (A home-made burger of the same size tested under the same condition didn't decompose either. The only thing you need to do to make either the home-made or McD's burger rot is to make sure it doesn't dehydrate quickly.)

I'm sure you've read this, but here's further reading for anyone else interested in the science of french fries: http://aht.seriouseats.com/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make-perfect-…

for people as disappointed as I was that this wasn't a guide to a perfect mini burger, this is my goto guide: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/03/the-burger-lab-how-to-make…

However! you can make your own Big Mac if you are dedicated: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/05/the-burger-lab-building-a-… I tried once and the result was pretty good. But no one can sell me e.g. an iPhone 7 with audio jack. And I can't build one on my own.

Have you tried making your own mcdonald's french fries? This process was tedious, but surprisingly effective: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make… I did not have an accurate way to measure the temp of the oil, which is important. Also I reused peanut oil, fresh oil would make the color nicer and a more pure taste.

The first one. http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/01/unfriend-10-people-on-face…

That's not actually a good thing when it comes to french fries.[1] To get a good crisp exterior and a fluffy interior, you need a multi-stage process -- blanch in hot water, fry, freeze, and then fry again. French fries cooked from frozen differ from fries cooked fresh because the freezing crystallizes the water inside, essentially tearing the inside of the fry apart and making it easier for the fry to release its moisture during cooking. Cooking from actual potatoes right in front of you means they don't have time to actually do any of the stuff necessary to make good french fries. 1) http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make…

There have been plenty of attempts to reverse engineer Coca Cola - and some came pretty close. However the major part of Coca Cola (and its flavour) is in the recipe - the technical process that yields final product, not the chemical composition of the ingredients. I don't have a reference handy, but I am going to present you with an analogy for french fries. I hope you can understand my point from that case (which is even more illustrative of the phenomena I am trying to highlight). http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make… There are plenty of fields where the Car Companies can compete - and software quality should absolutely be one of them. Therefore killing DRM does everybody a favor.

> To think that something that even bacteria and molds won't be able to eat and break down is going to enter my body as sustenance...that's a little unsettling. Do you eat salt? Dried pasta? Rice? Honey? None of these things really go off, either. http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/11/the-burger-lab-revisiting-… > It means that there's nothing that strange about a McDonald's burger not rotting. Any burger of the same shape will act the same way. The real question is, why? TL;DR: moisture content is the issue. If you get a thin, dry piece of supermarket bread it'll sit there forever too.

There are lots of reasons not to eat McDonalds. The hamburger not rotting is not one of them. http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/11/the-burger-lab-revisiting-…

J. Kenji López-Alt from Serious Eats did some experimentation and found that burgers in general don't really rot: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/11/the-burger-lab-revisiting-…

Two years ago, this was a 12 year old hamburger, and the mechanics at play were pretty thoroughly described here: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/11/the-burger-lab-revisiting-… Spoiler: the author makes a completely homemade burger and has it dry out in the same way as the McDonald's burger, thus debunking the theory that the longevity of the burger is evidence of foul play.

Here is a more interesting look at this: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/11/the-burger-lab-revisiting-…

In 'n' Out reverse engineered in painstaking detail: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make…

On a related note, the same author performed exhaustive testing to replicate the flavor and texture of McDonald's fries at home. http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/05/the-burger-lab-how-to-make…

Not to mention his reverse engineering of the animal style In-N-Out burger. The Burger Lab has changed my entire perspective on the perfect burger. http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/07/the-burger-lab-how-to-make…

things that are processed do not easily rot... am i wrong? take for example this pancake i bought from mcdonalds, i left it in my truck for like 7 months, still looked as good as new, kinda like this http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2008/09/12-year-old-mcdonalds-hamb…