Big Mac Explained

The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. It was introduced in the Greater Pittsburgh area in 1967 and across the United States in 1968. It is one of the company's flagship products and signature dishes. The Big Mac contains two beef patties, cheese, shredded lettuce, pickles, minced onions, and a Thousand Island-type dressing advertised as "special sauce", on a three-slice sesame-seed bun.

History

The Big Mac was created by Jim Delligatti,^[1] who stated later he did not invent the Big Mac but merely copied the double deck hamburger marketed by the Big Boy hamburger chain since the 1940s.^[2] Mr. Delligatti operated several McDonald's restaurants in the Pittsburgh area. It was created in the kitchen of Delligatti's first McDonald's franchise, located on McKnight Road in suburban Ross Township.^[3]

The Big Mac debuted at the McDonald's owned by Delligatti in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, on April 22, 1967,^[4] selling for .^[5]

It was designed to compete with Big Boy Restaurants' Big Boy hamburger. Eat'n Park was the Pittsburgh area's Big Boy franchisee at the time.^[6] The Big Mac proved popular and it was added to the menu of all U.S. McDonald's restaurants in 1968.

The Big Mac had two previous names, both of which failed in the marketplace: the Aristocrat and the Blue Ribbon Burger. The third name, Big Mac, was created by Esther Glickstein Rose, a 21-year-old advertising secretary who worked at McDonald's corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois.^[7]

Product

The Big Mac is made with two 1.6oz beef patties, a "special sauce" (similar to Thousand Island dressing),^[8] shredded iceberg lettuce, one processed American cheese slice, two slices of dill pickle, and minced onions, served on a three slice sesame seed bun.^[9] On October 1, 2018, McDonald's announced that it would remove all artificial preservatives, flavors, and coloring from the Big Mac.^{[10] [11]}

The Big Mac is known worldwide and is often used as a symbol of American capitalism and decadence. The Economist has used it as a reference point for comparing the cost of living in different countries – the Big Mac Index – as it is so widely available and is comparable across markets. This index is sometimes referred to as Burgernomics.^[12]

Sauce

Big Mac Sauce is delivered to McDonald's restaurants in sealed canisters designed by Sealright, from which it is meant to be directly dispensed using a calibrated "sauce gun" that dispenses a specified amount of the sauce for each pull of the trigger.^[13]

In 2012, McDonald's executive chef Dan Coudreaut released a YouTube video revealing the recipe of the sauce. It consists of store-bought mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish and yellow mustard whisked together with vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika.^{[14] [15]}

In 2018, McDonald's revamped the sauce by removing potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and calcium disodium EDTA.^[11]

The sauce is occasionally available for purchase on its own for a limited time. The first time was in 2015. A 25ml tube was available for purchase but only in restaurants in Australia.^[16] It was available again in 2020. A 50ml pot was available for purchase but only in restaurants in the UK and Ireland.^[17] In 2023 and early 2024 it was available in Hungary.^[18]

Packaging

The Big Mac, along with many other McDonald's products, was first served in a collapsible cardboard container that was changed to a "clamshell" style, polystyrene foam container in the late 1970s. Polystyrene foam containers were phased out beginning in 1990, due to environmental concerns.^[19]

Advertising

"Two all-beef patties" jingle

In 1974 McDonald's commissioned an advertising jingle which popularized the list of ingredients of the Big Mac: "Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun."^[20]

In 2008, McDonald's restaurants in Malaysia revived the slogan. The revival included the original prize of a free Big Mac if the customer was able to recite the slogan in under four seconds. It was released in May, along with the promotional Mega Mac, which had four beef patties instead of two.

McDonaldland character

See main article: McDonaldland. McDonald's began a television advertising campaign appealing to children in 1971 featuring a fantasy world populated by Ronald McDonald and various mascots promoting McDonald's products. Some characters were also modeled in McDonald's store playground equipment. The Big Mac was represented by Officer Big Mac, a Keystone Cops-style policeman with a giant Big Mac sandwich for a head. The characters were revised after a 1973 plagiarism lawsuit brought by television puppeteers Sid and Marty Krofft because of similarities to their H.R. Pufnstuf characters. A modified Officer Big Mac continued in the commercials until 1985.

Hip-hop product placement

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.^[21]

EU trademark revocation

McDonald's sued the Irish fast-food chain Supermac's for trademark infringement and claimed the name would confuse consumers in European markets. On 11 January 2019, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) ruled in Supermac's favor in what has been called a "David vs. Goliath" victory. McDonald's submitted a copy of the Wikipedia article about the Big Mac as part of its evidence, but the court found the Wikipedia page was not acceptable as "independent evidence".^{[22] [23]}

In 2023, the EUIPO Board of Appeal annulled the decision after McDonald's filed 700 pages of additional evidence, despite objections.^[24]

Supermac's responded by bringing the case to the European Court of Justice, which finally ruled in 2024 that McDonald's had not proven use of the Big Mac trademark when it came to poultry products or operating restaurants.^[25] The ruling does not affect the trademark with respect to the BigMac burger product.

US sales

In 2007, Danya Proud, a McDonald's spokeswoman, said that in the United States alone, 560 million Big Macs are sold each year. This would mean that approximately 17 Big Macs are sold every second.^{[26] [27]}

Variants

• The Mega Mac or Double Big Mac: four 1.6oz beef patties and an extra slice of cheese. Available in Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan (during promotional periods only), Turkey, Singapore, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, and United Kingdom.^[28] It was introduced to the United States in early 2020, but was discontinued shortly after McDonald's streamlined menus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sandwich returned to the US market in January 2024.^[29] The Double Big Mac is the biggest regular hamburger the chain produces and it has 680 calories.^[30]
• Big Big Mac: a Quarter Pounder–like product sold in Europe (Finland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy). Has been sold periodically in Sweden, there called "Grand Big Mac".^[31]
• The Denali Mac: made with two quarter pound patties. Named after Denali in Alaska, and sold only in that state.^{[32] [33]}
• In India, where consuming beef is illegal in most states, the Big Mac is known as the Maharaja Mac and was originally made with lamb instead of beef; however, along with the company's other items, it is now made from chicken.^{[34] [35]}
• The Chicken Big Mac is a Big Mac with two breaded chicken patties sold in US,^[36] UK,^{[37] [38]} Canada,^[39] Pakistan, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and other countries as a limited-availability or promotional burger.^{[40] [41] [42]}
• The Giga Big Mac, is sold in Japan. It is a larger version of the Big Mac with three times the meat of a regular one.^[43]
• Little Mac or Mac Jr. is a reduction of the standard Big Mac which uses a two-piece bun and contains only one beef patty. It has been available as a limited-time promotion in the U.S. since 2017.^[44]
• Grand Mac uses larger patties, at combined. It became available in the U.S. beginning in 2017 and was first made available overseas in the UK, Ireland, and Australia as the "Grand Big Mac" in 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original Big Mac. This and the Mac Jr. were collectively known as the "Big Mac range" in the UK.
• Big Mac BLT is a standard Big Mac burger with the addition of bacon and tomato. Released in Australia and New Zealand as a promotional item in late 2017.^[45]
• Big Mac Bacon was introduced in selected markets in 2018, as a limited-time option. It is essentially a Big Mac with added bacon.^[46] In 2019, this was extended in the UK to the Grand Big Mac and the Mac Jr.

Museum

On August 22, 2007, McDonald's opened the Big Mac Museum in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania to celebrate the Big Mac's 40th anniversary. The museum features the world's largest Big Mac statue (measuring 14 feet high and 12 feet wide) and has hundreds of historical artifacts and exhibits that celebrate the Big Mac.^{[47] [48]}

Some Uniontown residents were unhappy with the selected location.^[49]

Nutritional values per geographical location

The Big Mac is a geographically localized product. In the United States, the Big Mac has 550 kcal (2,300 kJ), 29 grams of fat and 25 grams of protein. In Australia, the burger is slightly smaller with 493 kcal (2,060 kJ) and 26.9 grams of fat, but similar amounts of protein with 25.2 grams,^[50] while the Japanese burger tops out the scales at 557 kcal and 30.5 grams of fat. Several McDonald's subsidiaries adapt the standard features of the Big Mac (from the US) to regional requirements.^[51]

Comparisons of the Big Mac standard nutritional values in different countries – Sodium values converted to their salt equivalents, rounded and in bold

Country	Energy kcal	Carbohydrates g	Protein g	Fat (total) g	Dietary fiber g	Salt equivalent mg	Serving size (weight) g	Reference
	485	40	24	26	3.3	2005		.ar
	564	41.8	26.9	31.3		2550	233	.au
	495	40	27	25	3	2300	219	.at
	495	40	27	25		2300		.be
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.ba (Halted operations.)
	491	40	26	26	3.8	2033		.br
	520	45	23	28	3	2413	209	.ca
	562	49	27	30	4	1009	213	https://www.mcdonalds.cl/productos/hamburguesas/big-mac.cl
	520	46	26	26				.cn
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.hr
	510	41	27	26		2200		.cz
	510	41	27	26.1	3	2200		.info
	522	52	28.235	25.911	30	2		234	.eg
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.fi
	508	42	27	26	3.1	2300	221	.info
	510	41	27	26	3	2200	221	.de
	495	40	27	25	3	2300	221	.gr
	497	43.1	26.4	24.2		2003		.hk
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.info
	490	41	28	24	4	2100		.ie
	510	42	27	26	3	2200		.it
	557	45.2	25.5	30.5		2800		.jp
	509	42	27	26	3.1	2300	219	.lt
	484	46	26	23		1825	209	.my
	486	45	22	26	3	2228		.mx
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.info
	494	36.8	26.4	25.9		2415	202	.nz
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.no
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.info
	509	42	27	26	3.2	2300	219	.pt
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.info
	495	40	27	25	3	2300		.info
	493	40	27	25	3	2300		.rs
	522	43	28	26	3	970		.sg
	496	39	24.3	26.4	3.2	2433		.za
	510		26			2533	213	.kr
	505	42	26	26	3	2300	219	.se
	510	41	27	26	3	2200		.info
	530	45	27	26				.tw
	480	43	28	22		2100		.tr
	509	42	27	26		2300		.ua
	508	43	26	25	3.6	2300		.uk
	540	47	25	28	3	2426	215	.us

See also

• Don Gorske, a Big Mac enthusiast
• The Big Mac Index, a price index published by The Economist
• List of sandwiches

Similar products by other restaurant chains:

• Big Boy (Big Boy Restaurants and Frisch's Big Boy)
• Big Hardee (Hardee's)
• Big King (Burger King)
• Big Jack (Hungry Jack's), subject of a trademark infringement lawsuit filed by McDonald's.
• Big Shef (Burger Chef)
• Big Wink (Winky's)
• Bonus Jack (Jack in the Box)
• Double-double Animal Style (In-N-Out Burger)
• Superburger (Eat'n Park)
• Teen Burger (A&W) is not a double decker like the Big Mac, but its "teen sauce" is similar to Big Mac sauce.
• Whopper, Burger King's signature sandwich

Further reading

• News: Peter B. . Gallagher . March 10, 1975 . Beefed-up old jingle pays off for Big Mac . 1D . . April 12, 2010 .

External links

• Official US product information
• Official UK product information
• Official product information for the Chicken Maharaja-Mac
• The Big Mac Index
• The Big Mac Museum in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania
  • Photo Tour of Big Mac Museum

Notes and References

1. Book: Eldridge, D. . Moon Pittsburgh . Avalon Publishing . Moon Handbooks . 2014 . 978-1-61238-846-5 . November 7, 2017 . pt389.
2. News: Grimes . William . 2016-12-01 . Michael James Delligatti, Creator of the Big Mac, Dies at 98 . 2024-02-21 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
3. News: Golden Arch Angel . . Barbara . Vancheri . May 4, 1993 . C1 . October 7, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160502024800/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=19930504&id=z6kkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0G4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5788,2805664 . May 2, 2016 . live . mdy-all.
4. News: New! Big Mac [Advertisement]]. The Uniontown Evening Standard. April 21, 1967. 11. April 22, 2022.
5. Jim Delligatti Biography. McDonald's. 2007. May 18, 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110726163742/http://www.mcdepk.com/bigmac/mediadocs/bio_Jim_MJ_Delligatti.pdf. July 26, 2011. mdy-all.
6. News: Obituary: William D. Peters / President of Eat'n Park restaurants . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . August 20, 2000 . September 28, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131213042837/http://old.post-gazette.com/obituaries/20000820peters4.asp . December 13, 2013 . live .
7. News: Woman Who Named Big Mac Finally Recognized . . May 31, 1985 . February 22, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130613212414/http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1985/Woman-Who-Named-Big-Mac-Finally-Recognized/id-4338738fbc4ed82ddfcd5700c17d6ebd . June 13, 2013 . live . mdy-all .
8. Web site: The Burger Lab: Building A Better Big Mac . . August 9, 2018 . J. Kenji . López-Alt . J. Kenji López-Alt . October 3, 2022 .
9. Web site: McDonald's Nutrition Calculator: Calories and More | McDonald's . July 10, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160708040813/http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/ingredientslist.pdf . July 8, 2016 . live .
10. Web site: Valinsky . Jordan . September 27, 2018 . McDonald's removing artificial additives from its burgers . September 10, 2022 . money.cnn.com.
11. Web site: Artificial Ingredients Have Been Removed From McDonald's Classic Burgers . Mentalfloss.com . October 25, 2018 . en . October 1, 2018.
12. Web site: Pakko. Michael R.. Burgernomics: A "Big Mac" Guide to Purchasing Power Parity. Review. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. May 18, 2011. Pollard, Patricia S.. November–December 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20110524015220/http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/03/11/pakko.pdf. May 24, 2011 . live.
13. Web site: Sealright designs sauce system for McDonald's in South Africa, China . Kansas City Business Journal . May 18, 2011. April 26, 1996. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604182839/http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/kansas_26apr96.html. June 4, 2011 . live.
14. News: McDonald's Big Mac sauce revealed . 4 August 2020 . UPI . 12 July 2012.
15. Web site: July 12, 2012 . Big Mac Sauce Secret Ingredients REVEALED! (2012) . September 10, 2022 . YouTube.
16. News: Hunter . Molly . McDonald's Selling Limited Edition Special Sauce for First Time . 4 August 2020 . . 2 February 2015.
17. Web site: Young . Sarah . January 22, 2020 . McDonald's to launch Big Mac dipping sauce next month . September 10, 2022 . The Independent.
18. Web site: 2024-01-01 . Saláták, köretek, szószok . 2024-03-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240101212546/https://www.mcdonalds.com/hu/hu-hu/kiemelt-ajanlatok/salatak--koretek--szoszok.html . January 1, 2024 .
19. News: McDonald's to Do Away With Foam Packages. https://web.archive.org/web/20170404131638/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-02/news/mn-3711_1_foam-packages . April 4, 2017. Los Angeles Times. November 2, 1990. live. 2017-04-03.
20. Book: Beaudoin, N. . A School for Each Student: High Expectations in a Climate of Personalization . Taylor & Francis . 2013 . 978-1-317-92474-6 . November 7, 2017 . 3.
21. News: Return of the Mac – coming soon . BBC News . March 29, 2005 . March 26, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20051224150429/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4389751.stm . December 24, 2005 . live.
22. Web site: Tasty result for Supermac's with 'David and Goliath' Big Mac win . . Ireland . Gordon Deegan . January 16, 2019 . January 16, 2019 . As part of its submission claiming 'proof of use' of the Big Mac, McDonald's submitted a printout from en.wikipedia.org, providing information on the Big Mac hamburger, its history, content and nutritional values in different countries. The EUIPO stated it couldn't accept the Wikipedia evidence as "independent evidence"..
23. Web site: Big Mac TM revocation.PDF.
24. Web site: McDonald's finally proves BIG MAC use, but what can brands learn from this long-running saga? .
25. News: EU court rules in favour of Supermac's in 'Big Mac' trademark row with McDonald's . 5 June 2024 . . 6 June 2024.
26. News: Happy Birthday Big Mac. August 24, 2007.
27. News: How Many Big Macs Are Sold Each Day?.
28. Web site: Mega Mac and Big Mac Chant . https://web.archive.org/web/20090430212202/http://www.sixthseal.com/2008/05/mega-mac-and-big-mac-chant.html . SixthSeal.com . Bin . Huai . May 5, 2008 . April 30, 2009 . dead.
29. Web site: Here's Why the Double Big Mac and Little Mac Might Be the Smartest New Things on the Menu at McDonald's. Murphy. Bill Jr.. 2020-03-15. Inc.com. 2020-04-03.
30. Web site: Double Big Mac® . McDonald's Canada . October 20, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151020033516/http://www.mcdonalds.ca/ca/en/menu/full_menu/sandwiches/double_big_mac.html . October 20, 2015 . live.
31. Web site: The advertising . February 2, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110921033745/http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/mcdonalds_new_big_big_mac?size=_original . September 21, 2011 . live.
32. Web site: Alaska Towns: Palmer, Alaska . 2011. Hometown Invasion Tour . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110712215309/http://www.hometowninvasion.com/towns/alaska. July 12, 2011 .
33. Web site: Royale with Cheese . Cynical-C Blog . May 23, 2007 . May 18, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110722020714/http://www.cynical-c.com/2007/05/23/royale-with-cheese/ . July 22, 2011 . live .
34. News: G2: McDonald's and the World . May 18, 2011 . The Guardian . April 6, 2001 . London . https://web.archive.org/web/20160422141915/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/apr/06/globalisation.features11?INTCMP=SRCH . April 22, 2016 . live .
35. News: Arndt. Rachel Z.. The World's Most Original Burgers: Chicken Maharaja Mac. May 18, 2011. February 2, 2009. Bloomberg Businessweek. 8. https://web.archive.org/web/20090727095414/http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/07/0722_innovative_burgers/8.htm. July 27, 2009. dead.
36. Web site: McDonald's is finally testing the Chicken Big Mac in the US . . 10 April 2023 . en . August 19, 2022.
37. Web site: Rawley . Jacob . McDonald's Chicken Big Mac is returning amid launch of brand new steak burger . . 10 April 2023 . en . 21 March 2023.
38. Web site: Chicken Big Mac . McDonald's UK . mcdonalds.com . 10 April 2023.
39. Web site: Chicken Big Mac . McDonald's Canada . mcdonalds.com . 10 April 2023 . en-CA.
40. http://www.mcdonalds.com.pk/eshop/eshop_items/view/extra-value-meals/72/31 McDonald's Pakistan
41. Web site: A La Carte McDonald's Kuwait . August 30, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141112020108/https://www.mcdonaldsarabia.com/kuwait/en/our_food/Menu/a_la_carte.html . November 12, 2014 . live .
42. Web site: Archived copy . November 12, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141112010111/http://www.mcdonaldsegypt.com/en/products-product/plain/page/274/cat/16/product/172/subcat/18 . November 12, 2014 . live.
43. News: McDonald's Japan Launches Big Mac With 3 Times the Meat. Fortune. https://web.archive.org/web/20161022172206/http://fortune.com/2016/04/05/mcdonalds-giga-big-mac/ . October 22, 2016. April 5, 2016. October 16, 2016.
44. News: McDonald's just tweaked the Big Mac . Aaron . Smith . January 18, 2017 . CNN Money . Cable News Network . January 31, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170120180645/https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/18/news/companies/mcdonalds-big-mac . January 20, 2017 . live . mdy-all.
45. Web site: McDonald's brings back their Sweet Mustard Dipping Sauce and people are overjoyed . November 28, 2017 . December 15, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171215222646/http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/restaurants-bars/mcdonalds-launches-new-big-mac-blt-burger-for-summer/news-story/df060e772a46a1a50402793e1c34d582 . December 15, 2017 . live.
46. Web site: McDonald's . McMenu . McDonald's . August 20, 2018 . September 17, 2018.
47. McDonald's Celebrates 40 Years Serving 'Twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbun'. https://web.archive.org/web/20140517151330/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mcdonaldsr-celebrates-40-years-serving-twoallbeefpattiesspecialsaucelettucecheesepicklesonionsonasesameseedbunr-58510247.html . May 17, 2014. PR Newswire. August 22, 2007.
48. Web site: Big Mac turns 40. https://web.archive.org/web/20130115120038/http://projects.ajc.com/gallery/view/living/food/bigmac0824/ . January 15, 2013. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 12, 2012.
49. Al Owens, The Herald-Standard (September 2007). "The Mystery of the Curry Burger!" republished from Herald-Standard (Uniontown). September 15, 2007
50. Web site: Nutrition Information . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221021073811/https://mcdonalds.com.au/our-impact/food-quality-sourcing/nutrition . October 21, 2022 . June 19, 2023 . McDonald's . Australia.
51. Web site: calories big mac . July 24, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130115120045/http://www.balancek.com/food/30874 . January 15, 2013 . dead .