Why McDonald's Hamburgers Don't Rot

Are McDonald’s* hamburgers immune to natural processes like rotting? There’s some evidence that they are, but a truly scientific inquiry into the matter has been lacking – until now. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats tested nine different hamburgers of varying sizes (both homemade and from McDonald’s) to find out. Contrary to popular belief, the non-rotting phenomenon isn’t due to the mysterious chemical composition of the burgers. “[T]he burger doesn’t rot because its small size and relatively large surface area help it to lose moisture very fast,” writes Lopez-Alt. “Without moisture, there’s no mold or bacterial growth. Of course, that the meat is pretty much sterile to begin with due to the high cooking temperature helps things along as well. It’s not really surprising. Humans have known about this phenomenon for thousands of years. After all, how do you think beef jerky is made?” (HT: Chris Blattman) *Interestingly, the McDonald’s website doesn’t use the word “McDonald’s” at all except in its copyright tag; the golden M does all the work. [%comments]