Popular fast food chain reveals secret ingredient in its St. Patty's ice cream shake plus more food news this week.

McDonald's just revealed the secret ingredient for its Shamrock Shake… but not really.

 

McDonald's will start offering its Shamrock Shake and Oreo Shamrock McFlurry starting February 21st. These cool and creamy treats are the harbingers of the spring season. Their green color also marks the approach of St. Patrick’s Day.

And, speaking of green color, the fast food chain has also disclosed the secret ingredient in the Shamrock Shake. Drum roll please….

The secret ingredient is the #cbf2ac, the hex code for the minty green that makes up the Shamrock Shake.

So yeah, it's not an actual ingredient, but McDonalds hopes that this will help fans celebrate this well-loved beverage by allowing them to “go green”. McDonald’s encourages fans to use the hex code which also acts as a hashtag and #ShamrockShakeSZ in their social media when showing love for Shamrock SZN.

AllRecipe announces the winner of the most popular and helpful kitchen staples.

 

Food brand AllRecipes surveyed over two-thousand community members to discover the best kitchen products, foods and staples that their members use to make cooking easier and more efficient. In the survey, members were asked to vote for the best brands in over 47  categories. The winning brands and products were organized into categories that included: dinner helpers, plant-based product, global flavor helpers, always in your cart, baking helpers, snack solutions, drink fixes, household helpers, pet helpers and kitchen helpers/gotta have gear. A detailed list of all the winners within each of these categories can be found in the company’s press release.

Ghost kitchens may create highly visible results for restaurants.

The restaurant chain Wingstop has seen an increase of 7.5% in 4th quarter sales. They profits have also continued to increase and they are looking to expand in different areas. They recently introduced the brand to Manhattan but through ghost kitchens. These ghost kitchens are only used for food prep. They don’t have wait staff and dining rooms.The goal of these establishments is to help meet the demand of online orders. The company Wingstop is not the first to use this model. Wendy’s has a plans to open 700 ghost kitchens by 2025.

 

Taco Bell’s Choco Taco is coming back for a limited time but there’s a catch.

Taco Bell started offering its beloved Choco Taco  this Thursday. This taco styled-ice cream treat is a collaboration between Taco Bell and Klondike. The last time it was seen on the menu was seven years ago and its re-introduction comes just in time for Taco Bell’s 60th anniversary and Klondike’s 100th anniversary. However, like all good things, the Choco Taco is only around for a limited time AND it will only be available in two cities - Los Angeles and Milwaukee.

 

That's all for this week. See you next week!