Day 21 - Hamburger Watch

Day 21 - Hamburger Watch

As you can see, I have added french fries to my selection. So today we begin "Day 1 - French Fry watch". From left to right, we have hamburgers and fries from McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's and of course, my own creations. Note also how I have a mixed bunch of fries on the right. I have a perfect for eating bunch near the bottom of the picture, a slightly over cooked bunch next to my hamburger and an overcooked bunch in the middle. I tried to get a good variety for what I expect to be an interesting experiment.

To tell you the truth, I am not sure what to expect with the fries. With the burgers, as I have suspected from the beginning, all four have the potential for surviving for years. Perhaps the Wendy's burger may surprise me because of the existing oil/grease on the surface that is not dissipating, but is changing consistency somewhat from a clear oily substance to a not so clear slimy substance. Also, the small amount of mold growth on my own burger has faded away.

Here is what I have been able to find about all of these hamburgers. There is nothing different about them other than possibly suppliers, cuts used and seasoning. No magic chemicals that I can find are keeping them alive. What is keeping them from molding is completely in my control. They, like many examples before them, have or will simply dry out. If I wanted to create mold on them, I could have sealed them in plastic bags to contain the moisture and promote molding or left them out in warmer weather to allow the bugs to get at them. Mystery solved! However, in my research I have discovered that GMO's may be more a part of our life than we think, including much of the meat we eat. More to come soon.

As for the fries, I still have some work to do with these because the fries are not simply made from 100% potatoes. They have a laundry list of ingredients that I will start analyzing.

Check back on Sunday, 11/21 for an update. Here are some other shots of my burgers & fries.