McMuffin is a family of breakfast sandwiches sold by the international fast food restaurant chain McDonald's. The Egg McMuffin is the signature sandwich, which was invented in 1972 by Herb Peterson to resemble eggs benedict, a traditional American breakfast dish with English muffins, Canadian bacon, eggs and hollandaise sauce.[1]

Product description

In the United States and Canada the standard McMuffin consists of a slice of Canadian bacon,[2] a griddle-fried egg, and a slice of American cheese on a toasted and buttered English muffin. The round shape of the egg is achieved by cooking it in a ring mold.[3][1]

Versions with sausage and chicken instead of Canadian bacon and egg, named respectively Sausage McMuffin and Chicken McMuffin, were released alongside the original.[4] The Sausage and Egg McMuffin, a version of the Sausage McMuffin with an egg, is also popular.[5][6] The McGriddles are a variant of the McMuffin with a scrambled egg flap and American cheese between two maple-flavored griddle pancakes, with the same variants as the McMuffin.[7]

There is also a vegetarian version named "McMuffin Egg & Cheese", in countries like France and Germany. Since 2019, it is available all day long in France.[8]

History

The sandwich was invented in 1972.[9] Former McDonald's President Ray Kroc wrote that Herb Peterson and his assistant, Donald Greadel, the operator of a McDonald's Santa Barbara franchise in Goleta, California,[10] asked Kroc to look at something, without giving details because it was:

... a crazy idea — a breakfast sandwich. It consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, and was dressed with a slice of cheese and a slice of grilled ham. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin. The advent of the Egg McMuffin opened up a whole new area of potential business for McDonald's, the breakfast trade.[3][1]

The first McDonald's corporate-authorized Egg McMuffin was served at the Belleville, New Jersey, McDonald's in 1972.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies at 89". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. March 26, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2008.
  2. ^ "McMuffin Ingredients". Archived from the original on April 26, 2009.
  3. ^ Kroc, Ray & Anderson, Robert (1992). Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-92987-0., p. 174
  4. ^ Greiner, Andrew & Sherman, Ivory (2019-02-11). "A history of McDonald’s breakfast". CNN Business. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  5. ^ Sutherland-Namako, Amber (2020-04-24). "A Sausage Egg and Cheese Is Better Than a Bacon Egg and Cheese and I Will Tell You Why". Thrillist. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  6. ^ Scinto, Maria (2020-02-04). "This Is The Best Fast Food Breakfast Sandwich". Mashed. Retrieved 2025-03-16.
  7. ^ Moskin, Julia (10 January 2007). "The Breakfast Wars". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 5, 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  8. ^ "L'oeuf débarque en force chez McDonald's"
  9. ^ "Egg McMuffin Inventor Dies At 89". Los Angeles: KCBS-TV. Associated Press. March 27, 2008. Archived from the original on March 29, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008. Tilghman came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972
  10. ^ Greg Lucas. "Breakfast-To-Go On a Toasted Bun". CA170. Retrieved October 30, 2022.