Tarter Sauce Cartridge

Tarter Sauce Cartridge

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Description
This cartridge for holding tartar sauce is made of white cardboard; the words “McDonald’s ® Tartar Sauce” are shown in green lettering along with the McDonald’s double arches logo. This canister holds 25 fluid ounces of tartar sauce, and is made to be used with a ratchet gun condiment dispenser. The tartar sauce is used on McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, a menu item developed by a franchisee in 1962 as an option for his customers who did not eat meat on Fridays for religious reasons. The Filet-O-Fish became a nationwide menu item by 1965 beating out another meatless option, the Hula burger, made with grilled pineapple.
The McDonald’s Corporation is one of the most recognizable hamburger restaurants in the United States. As of 2011, the McDonald’s Corporation and franchisees were operating in 119 countries with 1.9 million employees, making it the 4th largest employer in the world.
In 1940, Richard (Dick) and Maurice (Mac) McDonald opened the first McDonald’s Bar-B-Q drive-in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, the brothers redesigned their menu, centering on the 15 cent hamburger. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a Multimixer (milkshake machine) salesman, became interested in the McDonalds brothers’ high volume restaurant. He worked out a deal with the brother to be their franchising agent and opened the first franchise location in Illinois the following year. Under Kroc’s direction, the company grew to become the giant we know today.
Object Name
cartridge
Physical Description
cardboard (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 16.5 cm x 8.5 cm; 6 1/2 in x 3 11/32 in
ID Number
1991.0324.02B
catalog number
1991.0324.02B
accession number
1991.0324
Credit Line
Gifts of McDonald’s Regional Training Center
See more items in
Work and Industry: Retail and Marketing
Food
FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000
Exhibition
Food: Transforming the American Table
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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Comments

Hi! Thanks for reading: I worked at McDonald's in the late 80's - first job, all the cool kids were doing it - and I remember the sauce "gun." I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the tartar sauce had it's own tube that we used what was basically a caulk gun to apply condiments to the sandwiches. I'm pretty sure it was all about keeping the amounts uniform and that ketchup, mustard, "special sauce," and tartar sauce were all tubed and the same equipment as tartar sauce was used to make all of the sandwiches. The description suggests that only the tartar sauce was packaged and applied in this fashion and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the case.

Kristan

Mon, 2022-01-10 09:11

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