Does McDonald's Use Store-Bought Mayo?

Unlike McDonald's discontinued Szechuan Sauce, which achieved pop culture phenomenon status, the mayonnaise in your Golden Arches sandwich is just there. Yummy, but not flashy. However, if you are trying to recreate a drive-thru classic in your own kitchen, like a homemade McChicken, you might find yourself stymied by this creamy ingredient, which looks basic but tastes inimitably delicious. Can you purchase McDonald's brand of mayo at the store? Unfortunately, no. While the relatively few ingredients in McDonald's fries are common enough to pull together, you are unlikely to exactly duplicate McDonald's mayo, because they get it from a private supplier.

This is the gospel according to chef Mike Haracz, former Manager of Culinary Innovation for McDonald's. On TikTok, Haracz has often answered your burning questions about everything related to McD's, like sauce recipes and the best McDonald's hacks that you wish you'd known sooner. Here, he stressed the idea that you can only come close to replicating certain McDonald's menu items — including those involving mayo — because the components aren't publicly available. In other words, you're not going to simply grab it off a grocery store shelf, as McDonald's gets this condiment direct from a supplier. Mayonnaise isn't the only ingredient that McDonald's is gatekeeping, either. Those limp yet salty-savory dill pickles on your burger? Nope ... you can't buy those, either. 

Not only is the mayonnaise McDonald's gets from their supplier unavailable to you (because they certainly are not buying it from a grocery store), but also "in some cases [...] they are making the mayonnaise in line with the rest of the process," he claims on TikTok. Is he saying that individual McDonald's restaurants actually prepare their own condiments? The answer is frustratingly unclear from the short clip, though it's unlikely given how busy some locations get. However, the thesis of the statement is clear: McDonald's has the mayo, and you aren't getting it. And while he was at it, chef Haracz wanted you to know that there is no ketchup in Big Mac sauce!

But there may be a way to replicate it at home, so long as you're willing to put in a bit of extra effort. Making mayonnaise at home can seem intimidating, but you really only need an immersion blender and a few easy-to-source ingredients like whole eggs and olive oil. There are a ton of mayo recipes on the web, each with tweaks on the basic formula. That's not even touching compound aiolis that add zest with herbs, spices, or even chili peppers. For McDonald's fans who want to get as close to the restaurant's recipe as possible, chef Haracz recommends putting your sense of taste to work and experimenting with formulations until you find one that pleases you personally.