TikTok Still Can't Believe How McDonald's Preps Its Onions

According to McDonald's Franchising Overview, the world has more than 38,000 McDonald's restaurants spread across more than 100 countries. The chain's prevalence has made it possible for people in many parts of the world to taste a McDonald's burger. But having eaten one doesn't mean you know how it's made. For instance, how many people could tell you the chain's burger meat is made from trimmings of beef chuck, round, and sirloin, or that pink slime is no longer used (via the McDonald's FAQ page)? Likewise, how many people could tell you how the chain prepares its onions? The latter question is what has some fast food fans' minds reeling, thanks to a TikTok that attempted to answer it.

Have you ever thought that McDonald's onions have a stronger, more lingering flavor and scent than the onions you dice and add to burgers at home? Well, it turns out that McDonald's uses dried onions. As a shift manager explained on the Quora forum, the onions "come in bags and need water to make them look all nice." Apparently, this process causes the onions to have more flavor, and it's also a much easier task for McDonald's employees than finely mincing hundreds of onions. But when a McDonald's employee shared a video of how the onions are rehydrated on TikTok, some users seemed pretty upset.

A video shared by TikToker EssentialMcDonalds shows how the onions are prepared. First, the bag of dehydrated minced onions is opened, then poured into a plastic container. The container is filled with tap water, covered, and refrigerated for two hours. After that time has passed, the onions are strained, and they're ready to be used. It's a practical solution for a fast food restaurant, but some fans still seemed aghast at the revelation.

"Man we can't even get fresh onions," lamented one user, while another said, "Why does it bother me that it's tap water..." Still, some commenters thought that other viewers were overreacting to the video. "I can't believe dehydrated onions are what some people wanna draw the line at," said one user, and some actual fans of the onions even made themselves known. "Not sure why, but those onions just hit different," said one rehydrated onion fan.