Ella Scott
McDonald’s is unlikely to ever sell a beloved fast-food side in America for one key reason - it just isn’t ‘efficient’, according to a US chef.
There have been some wild and wacky McDonald’s creations over the years, most recently black and purple sauces inspired by KPop Demon Hunters; the outrageous Chilli Double Cheeseburger, and the Irish-approved, green-glowing Shamrock Shake.
As far as sides go, the chain has its classic fries, alongside limited-time cheesy garlic bread dippers here in the UK, which are being swapped out for mozzarella dippers come 27 April.
If fruit and vegetables are more your thing, then you can snag bags of apple slices and carrot sticks as well as a freshly-prepared side salad, featuring lettuce, cucumber, sliced tomato and crispy onion.
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But unlike Burger King, Shake Shack, and Pizza Hut, one thing McDonald’s has never sold is the United States deep-fried onion rings.
Love them or hate them, onion rings are many people’s go-to side dish or brilliant appetiser, with the best being crispy and golden.
While McDonald’s has never capitalised on the hype, the side has been sold in Australia, the UK and Hong Kong.
And, according to McDonald’s Fandom, the item is currently available for purchase at restaurants in Turkey, Israel, Azerbaijan, and Greece.
US McDonald’s has actually never capitalised on the hype - but apparently, they did think about creating something similar once upon a time.
According to the titans, McDonald’s former executive chef, René Arend, was recipe-testing onion nuggets in the 1970s.
However, in a passing conversation in 1979, Chairman Fred Turner suggested Arend ditch onions and start working with chicken instead.
Unfortunately, due to Turner’s directive, Arend never got around to developing onion nuggets, which may have eventually led to the creation of the McOnion Ring.
Instead, the late food expert - known for creating the McRib sandwich - channelled his efforts into creating the Chicken McNugget that we all know and love today.
FOODbible has contacted McDonald’s to shed further light on why onion rings have never graced its menu in America.
We also asked if UK dwellers could expect to see them again anytime soon.
However, Mike Haracz, a former employee, has his own hypothesis.
In a TikTok video, the Illinois-based creator, who worked at the franchise until 2019, claimed that efficiency was key, as per the Daily Mail.
“McDonald's is most profitable when it's the most efficient and that efficiency is in scale. If [the chain] can sell all of the same thing, if McDonald's could sell one thing and that's it, it would be great for them,” he mused.
Because of this so-called desire for ‘efficiency’, the company may perhaps try to keep its menu streamlined in the US.
This could be why we never really see Chilli Cheese Bites, Halloumi Fries, and Cheesy Garlic Bites on the menu in the UK at the same time.
To further explain his point, Haracz presented a scenario where onion rings were miraculously put on the menu.
“So let's say McDonald's decides to introduce onion rings, it would probably be for a limited time offer just because of efficiencies, it would be a special thing,” he alleged.
“Think about how many less people would order fries and would order onion rings instead.”
He claimed that if the chain were ever to start selling onion rings, it would probably only be for an extremely limited time.
“Would you be willing to pay a lot more for your side of onion rings?,” he questioned.