economie

10 fast-food menu items you didn’t know were more than 50 years old

August 7, 20240
McDonald’s Big Mac in a paper box.

Erin McDowell/Business Insider

The Big Mac is arguably McDonald’s most famous burger, but it wasn’t added to menus until over a decade after franchises opened.

The burger’s ingredients then remain largely the same as they do now: a double-stacked bun, two beef patties, shredded lettuce, pickles, and a Thousand-island-style sauce.

However, McDonald’s recently tweaked its most iconic burger to have a softer bun, meltier cheese, and more sauce.

In 1957, Burger King released its signature burger, the Whopper.
Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches on a counter.

Shutterstock/rblfmr

According to the chain, Chick-fil-A founder Samuel Truett Cathy tried hundreds of recipes for the original chicken sandwich before finalizing his famous recipe, which featured a fried chicken fillet with two pickles on a toasted butter bun.

Despite Chick-fil-A’s significant growth over the years — the company generated $21.6 billion in sales last year — the chicken sandwich has largely stayed unchanged.

In-N-Out added “animal style” burgers to its menu in 1961.
In-N-Out Double-Double burger.

Erin McDowell/Business Insider

The Double-Double, In-N-Out’s version of a double cheeseburger, is now one of the most popular menu items.

It’s also available in a variety of different styles, from “protein-style” sandwiched between two lettuce-leaf “buns” to animal-style.

White Castle began selling its sliders in the 1920s.
Taco Bell’s original menu, with its first franchisee, Kermit Becky.

Taco Bell

According to a vintage photo of the first Taco Bell menu, pictured above, each item cost just 19 cents, and the menu featured traditional Mexican favorites like frijoles, tostadas, burritos, and tacos.

Quite a few of Taco Bell’s original menu items, including tacos and burritos, remain on the menu in some form, though the ingredients have likely changed from classic versions to more creative menu items like the Doritos Locos taco or grilled-cheese burrito.