The Real Difference Between McDonald's Folded And Round Eggs

Forget Hamlet! Forget Oedipus! Everyone knows that the question of whether you want a folded or round egg from McDonald's is of truly great import. But how, pray tell, do these two egg types actually differ?

Three days ago, the TikTok account essentialmcdonalds uploaded a video documenting how each type of McDonald's egg is made. The round egg patties are cooked fresh every day, which is quickly clarified as "cracked fresh." The yolks are popped and some water is added to steam the egg.

Folded eggs, however, come pre-cooked. Though, as the video's creator notes, "They're not this yellow in real life. I don't know why my camera does this." Such ruminations are pushed aside as we learn that all folded eggs go through is a brief trip to the grill before being placed on a tray. As of writing, the video has been watched over 14 million times.

Such virality has only really hurt the folded egg patty. "Of course, I'm the type that's been preferring the not-fresh egg type all these years," was one person's take. Another even gave a backhanded compliment to McDonald's rival: "Not even Burger King gets their eggs pre cooked." Yet others seemed to use the video to confirm what they already thought: "The folded eggs have the weirdest texture to me." 

While the TikTok's mainly resulted in driving people away from the folded egg, it was not without some defenders.

"Folded egg wins every single time," one ardent supporter wrote. "I don't care that it's premade. so is 95% of all food products in fast food restaurants. Your burgers come premade." A second added "Y'all in here acting like you never ate Starbucks eggs which are also premade."

All that is true. As McDonald's learned with the Arch Deluxe, people don't go to McDonald's for artisanal, freshly grilled food.

Furthermore, as Today reported in 2018, Dunkin', Starbucks, and even Burger King have had the quality of their eggs called into question. Though one commenter defended Burger King earlier, it's worth quoting that BK's eggs were described as "a 'liquid egg-pasteurized mixture' that's made with whole eggs, water, xanthan gum, citric acid, medium chain triglycerides and more." In short, if you want an egg sandwich, you would probably be best just making one yourself. As the video shows, it's easy. But if you must swing by a fast food drive-thru on a busy day, the round egg sandwiches at McDonald's contain fewer preservatives, so they may be the better choice.