Your Food Might Not Be As Fresh As You Think
Timing is everything when it comes to fresh fast food. The freshest meals are served between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. or between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. when more people are in restaurants and food is being cooked and served constantly. During slower periods, food often sits under heat lamps far longer than intended.
When timers go off indicating food should be thrown out, workers often just reheat the food instead. After something is cooked, it’s usually put inside a holding cabinet with heat and a timer, but when the timer goes off, the food is sometimes not tossed and replaced with fresh food – instead the timer is ignored, restarted, and the food is just reheated. This means your burger or fries could have been sitting there much longer than you’d expect.
During peak hours, food tends to be made-to-order as high demand keeps the kitchen moving, so if you want the freshest meal possible, consider visiting during busier times when turnover is highest. Just after 10:30 AM is when all lunch and dinner items are at their freshest point, since employees have switched over from making breakfast to the very first batch of lunch food.
You’ll likely be served food that is not fresh and has been sitting under heat lamps for a long time if you visit around closing time, but the best time of day to visit is when it’s really busy because food is usually ordered up faster than it can go into a cabinet. Smart customers can also request customizations like “no salt on fries” to ensure their order is made fresh on the spot.
Soda Fountains Are Breeding Grounds for Mold
Studies by the National Sanitation Foundation have identified soda fountain machines as among the germiest places in fast-food and quick-service restaurants. Soda fountain machines are not cleaned that often – they’re supposed to be cleaned daily, but it often doesn’t pan out that way, and it’s so common to spot mold growing inside the drink machines because it’s difficult to clean every nook and crevice.
A former Del Taco employee revealed that their store would forget to clean the nozzles for weeks until a customer would say something, and they recommend sticking your finger inside the soda machine nozzle to check for black mold before using it. The juice machines aren’t any better – when a McDonald’s employee worked there, the orange juice machine was only cleaned when an employee would have some and say “This tastes like mold”.
An unclean soda fountain machine is a breeding ground for bacteria, as microorganisms love the sugary environment and can rapidly multiply if not regularly eliminated, and consumption of contaminated soda can lead to foodborne illnesses with bacteria like E. coli and Listeria causing severe gastrointestinal issues. While manufacturers including Coke suggest that nozzles be removed, cleaned, and sanitized daily and syrup connectors should be cleaned and sanitized weekly, many locations fail to follow these guidelines consistently.
Soda fountains are constantly exposed to moisture, sugar, and other organic materials that can lead to the growth of bacteria and mold, making them breeding grounds for contaminants if not properly maintained, and residue, mold, or bacterial buildup can change the flavor of beverages. The reality is that most customers have no idea what lurks inside those seemingly innocent dispensers they use every day.
Secret Menu Hacks Can Save You Money
If you’re craving a Big Mac, you can order a McDouble with no mustard or ketchup and then add shredded lettuce and Mac sauce for a small charge – it’s basically a mini Big Mac, and you can get two for less than the cost of one Big Mac. These menu hacks have become popular ways for customers to get more food for less money.
At Burger King, you can order a mix of fries and onion rings together called “Frings,” which is half fries and half onion rings in one container – this secret menu item was so popular that Burger King even started testing it as a regular menu item in some places in Florida. Some customers have reported creating breakfast-lunch combinations during the transition period between 10:30 and 11:00 in the morning, such as adding hamburger patties to breakfast items.
Asking for customization like no pickles or extra lettuce can encourage the kitchen to prepare your meal fresh, and you shouldn’t be afraid to politely request freshly cooked fries or sandwiches if you suspect your order might not be at its best. The Hashbrown McMuffin hack combines the classic Egg McMuffin with a crispy hash brown – it’s a simple but delicious way to add another layer of flavor and texture to your breakfast sandwich.
Workers know these tricks work because they understand how the kitchen operates. Many employees have advised customers to order their fries with no salt to ensure freshness, since this forces the kitchen to make a fresh batch specifically for that order rather than serving pre-made fries that might have been sitting around.
