The Internet is filled with photos and videos of burgers which seem to never go bad. Tweets of McDonald’s burgers (also known as ‘immortal burgers’), in particular, not showing any signs of mould after being left out in the open for a while have been extremely popular.
https://twitter.com/SalDaviesPhoto/status/477524739234091008
If you haven’t heard or seen any of this, then my friend, you’ve been living under a rock. Don’t worry about it though because we’ve got your back. We’ve decided to test this theory — three burgers from three different fast food chains were filmed for seven days to see whether any of them would get mouldy, and if so, which one would get mouldy first and the most. To find out more click on the video below:
It is a bit concerning that it took all burgers around four to five days to show the first signs of mould, since food usually starts showing first signs of fungus 24-48 hours after being prepared. As you can see from the video, the Burger King burger has the most mould, while the McDonald’s and Five Guys burgers have way less. This could potentially mean that the Burger King one is the healthiest as it contains the least amount of additives.
What about the ‘immortal burger’ theory? Well, if the burgers from the video didn’t contain any lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup and mayonnaise they would take way longer to get mouldy or wouldn’t get mouldy at all. This is because the patty loses water in the form of steam during the cooking process. Toasting the bun, quite similarly, reduces the amount of moisture in it. This means that after preparation, the burgers are petty dry. Where there is no moisture, there is no bacteria/mould growth. Quite simple.
Here are some more shocking facts about burgers:
Infographics by Lucija Duzel | Created with Piktochart
If you can’t imagine yourself in a world without burgers, at least choose the healthiest option or the lesser evil one. However, you could also challenge yourself a bit and try to make a healthy burger on a budget. For more information click here.
Words and Video: Lucija Duzel | Subbing: Vanessa Craus