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Revealed
BONE, BELL, BALL OR BOOT?

Ever noticed McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets come in four specific shapes? Here’s why

According to the fast food chain, the pieces are all a standard shape and size to ensure consistent cooking times for food safety

HERE'S an interesting nugget of information for you, that even the most die-hard McDonald's fans have probably never noticed.

Next time you tuck into your tasty Chicken McNuggets, take a moment to study them carefully before you scoff the lot.

 Have you ever noticed that McDonald's Chicken McNuggets come in four specific sizes and shapes?
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Have you ever noticed that McDonald's Chicken McNuggets come in four specific sizes and shapes?

Interestingly, the bite-size pieces always come in four specific shapes.

These are the ball, the bell, the bone (also known as the bow-tie) and the boot.

Sound a bit bizarre?

According to , the four shapes the Chicken McNuggets are in made in create "the perfect equilibrium of dip-ability and fun".

Apparently, three would've been "too few" while five would've been "wacky".

 

 

 This portion of six Chicken McNuggets show the four standard shapes they come in
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This portion of six Chicken McNuggets show the four standard shapes they come in

On its Q&A page, the company explained: "Our Chicken McNuggets are shaped uniquely for kids and kids at heart - it makes dipping more fun."

It added they make them similar in size to "ensure consistent cooking times for food safety in all McDonald’s restaurants".

So how do they make them into these four individual shapes?

A video produced by McDonald's Canada reveals that shapes are all the same width and are "pressed out with a rolling cookie cutter".

In this shot of the nuggets post-cutting, the bottom row shows the bones (or bow ties), followed by a row of boots, then balls, then bells.

 This shot of the production line clearly shows the chicken having been cut into the four shapes
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This shot of the production line clearly shows the chicken having been cut into the four shapesCredit: McDonald's Cananda

After the nuggets are shaped, they are then coated in two layers of batter before being dispatched to the fryers, where they're partially cooked.

Finally the McNuggets are frozen and packaged to be shipped off to McDonald's restaurants, where they are completely cooked through ready for our consumption.

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