Wendy's Fries Used To Be Made In A More Flavorful Way - Tasting Table

"When Wendy's first opened in 1969, the fryers were filled with 100% vegetable oil. However, the brand pivoted to a signature beef tallow and vegetable oil blend in the mid '70s - for many, these are the fries they remember. By 1990, as a response to consumer health concerns, Wendy's and other chains like McDonald's and Burger King announced that they would stop using beef tallow, instead returning to 100% vegetable oil."

"Health was the "optics" explanation, but vegetable oils were also abundant, scalable, and competitively priced. Public health advocates applauding the cost-effective oil replacement was just PR gravy. So, Wendy's pivoted to 100% corn oil, although a company spokesperson at the time described the difficulties in replicating the qualities customers associate with a good fry - golden, hot, crispy - since beef tallow, in addition to tasting good, absorbs so well into the potato."

Wendy's fries tasted distinctly better during the mid-1970s through 1980s because the chain used a blend of beef tallow and vegetable oil for frying. When the restaurant first opened in 1969, it used 100% vegetable oil, but switched to the tallow blend in the mid-1970s, creating the memorable fries many recall. By 1990, Wendy's, McDonald's, and Burger King abandoned beef tallow in response to consumer health concerns about saturated fat. The shift to 100% vegetable oil was framed as health-conscious but also reflected practical advantages: vegetable oils were abundant, scalable, and cost-effective. However, the industry acknowledged the trade-off, as beef tallow absorbed into potatoes better and created superior taste and texture qualities that proved difficult to replicate.

Read at Tasting Table