The Big Mac is a hamburger sold by the international fast-food chain McDonald’s. It is one of the company’s signature products, along with the Quarter pounder.

The Big Mac is a hamburger consisting of two 1.6 oz (45.4 g) beef patties, iceberg lettuce, American cheese, pickles, onion and special “Mac” sauce (a Thousand Island dressing variant) served on a three part sesame seed bun.

Variants

• The Mega Mac – four 1.6 oz (45.4 g) beef patties and an extra slice of cheese. Available in China, Ireland, Serbia, Japan, Turkey and Malaysia. Discontinued in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, limited availability in the United States and Canada (where it is commonly marketed under the name Double Big Mac).
• Monster Mac – eight 1.6 oz (45.4 g) beef patties and extra cheese. Discontinued in Germany.
• the Mckinley-Mac – made with two quarter pound patties. Named after Mt. McKinley in Alaska, and sold only in that state. Also known as the Bigger Big Mac as an LTO product to celebrate the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
• In India, where Hindus do not eat beef, the Big Mac was renamed the Maharaja Mac and was originally made with lamb instead of beef; however, along with the company’s other items it is now made from chicken.
• Son of Mac – Also known as the Mini Mac or Baby Mac, a version with only one patty and no center roll piece. It sold as a Baby Mac in New Zealand, Was sold in Australia, now discontinued. Served by some stores in the United States under the moniker “Mac Jr”.
• In Israel, where religious Jews do not mix dairy and meat products, a special Kosher version of the Big Mac is served without cheese.
• In Japan, there was a variant with egg, called the Mega Tamago, as well as a variant with tomato (called the Mega Tomato). Both versions dropped one patty and replaced it with the respective ingredient. Now discontinued.

 

History

The Big Mac was created by Andrew Davis, one of Ray Kroc’s earliest franchisees, who was operating several restaurants in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. It was designed to compete with the similar Big Boy. Customer response to the Big Mac was so good that it rolled-out nationally in 1968. One of its most distinctive feature is a middle slice of bread (“club” layer) used to stabilize contents and prevent spillage.

The Big Mac is known worldwide and is often used as a symbol of American capitalism. The Economist has used it as a reference point to determine the cost of living in different countries — the Big Mac Index — since it is so widely available and is comparable across markets. This index is sometimes referred to as Burgernomics