Does McDonald’s Have Chocolate-dipped Cones (+ steps to make them at home)

In this brief article, we will be answering the question: does McDonald’s have chocolate-dipped cones and will be discussing their nutritional profile and its ingredients.

Does McDonald’s Have Chocolate-dipped Cones?

Yes! McDonald’s does feature chocolate-dipped cones on its menu, although every McDonald might not be offering them. 

Dipped Cones are simply McDonald’s regular vanilla cones dipped in a chocolate syrup that hardens around the soft vanilla. 

What is the Nutritional Information of the chocolate-dipped cones from McDonald’s?

The nutritional information of the chocolate-dipped cones from McDonald’s is:

  • 300 Calories
  • 20 milligrams of cholesterol (7% Daily Value)
  • 11 grams of total fat (15% Daily Value according to 2000 calorie diet)
  • 42 grams of total carbs (15% Daily Value)
  • 30 grams of total sugars (15% Daily Value)
  • 5 grams of protein
  • 10 grams of saturated fat (48% Daily Value)
  • 2 grams of dietary fiber (6% Daily Value)
  • Calcium: (10% Daily Value)
  • Iron:(15% Daily Value)
  • Potassium:(10% Daily Value)
  • Sodium:135 milligrams (6% Daily Value)

Does chocolate-dipped cones from McDonald’s contain Allergens

Yes, the chocolate dipped-cone from McDonalds contains different allergens. Generally, food allergies have increased the past two decades affecting 4-6% of children in the United States. The foods most commonly associated with allergies in the United States are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish (1).

Some people have allergies to specific substances like gluten in wheat and lactose present in the milk. McDonald’s ice cream contains the following:

  • Milk
  • Soy
  • Wheat.

What Makes McDonald’s Ice Cream So Creamy?

The creaminess of ice cream is provided by the amount of fat and the incorporated air. Ice cream has been described as a complex combination of a partially frozen foam and emulsion held together partially by emulsified fat and partially by a network of ice crystals dispersed in a viscous macromolecular aqueous solution. 

Very roughly, ice cream consists of about 50% incorporated air by volume and l0-15% fat, 10% milk solids, 15% sugars and 60-65% water by weight. Texture will be determined by factors such as number and size of air bubbles, number and size of ice crystals, number and size of fat globules (2).

Three factors give Mcdonald’s ice cream its distinct rich creamy flavor and texture:

  1. They use corn syrup as a substitute for most of the sugar. This results in much less sweet and smoother ice cream.
  2. They add a minimal amount of stabilizer, about ½ oz in 500 kilos.
  3. They use a state-of-the-art machine that scrapes the freezing crystals off the freezing chambers, so the ice cream appears ‘double-churned’ for extra smoothness.

Is McDonald’s Ice Cream Really Dairy?

Yes, McDonalds ice cream is a dairy product, as it is produced from ingredients derived from cow milk. McDonald’s ice cream is actually made from powdered milk mixed with sugar, cream, and glucose for additional sweetness.

This dairy mixture is chilled to a perfect temperature and blended at an optimum speed to produce a creamy, smooth, and truly delicious dessert.

Is McDonald’s Ice Cream Bad For You?

McDonald’s ice cream and any other ice cream may be bad for you, depending on the quantity that you ingest and depending on your health conditions. To achieve a healthy portion of ice cream in your diet, you should look for the amount of sugar and saturated fat in the serving. 

As mentioned earlier, a chocolate-dipped cone contains 10 g of saturated fat, which equals to 77% of the daily allowed ingested saturated fat, according to the American Heart Association. Eating too much saturated fat can raise the level of LDL cholesterol in your blood. A high level of LDL cholesterol in your blood increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.  

While not all desserts at McDonald’s are loaded with sugar, the iconic McFlurry indeed features a sweet ice cream base with additional sugar mixed into it, clocking in at a staggering 86 grams of sugar This is almost equal to seven McDonald’s Apple Pies!

Because the FDA recommends consuming no more than 50 grams of added sugar every day, this ice-cream dessert is significantly unhealthy. A chocolate-dipped cone contains 30 g of added sugar in one portion. There are many studies indicating that high intakes of sugars are associated with an increased risk of dental caries, overweight and cardio-metabolic risk factors and mortality. The WHO recommends reducing sugar intake to less than 10% of total energy intake for children and adults (3).

Does McDonald’s Ice Cream Contain Pig Fat?

Absolutely not. McDonald’s ice-creams and shakes owe their distinctive thickness to the cooling and blending processes, and the use of some common thickeners added to their dairy mix.

Does McDonald’s Feature Vegan Ice-Cream?

Yes, in some stores from McDonald’s a vegan version of ice cream is available. McDonald’s claims that their current ice cream is ‘Lacto-vegetarian’, which implies that it doesn’t contain any non-dairy animal products other than milk.

However, in Germany, vegan customers can enjoy a delicious dessert option – a vegan McFlurry. It’s basically strawberry sorbet mixed with Oreo pieces and is still to be launched in stores in the United States. 

Conclusion

In this brief article, we discussed: does McDonald’s have chocolate-dipped cones, their nutritional profile and its ingredients. If you have any more questions or comments, please let us know.

References

  1. Lee, Janelle, et al. Analysis of the cariogenic potential of various almond milk beverages using a Streptococcus mutans biofilm model in vitro. Caries res, 2018, 52, 51-57.
  2. Stanley, D. W., H. D. Goff, and A. K. Smith. Texture-structure relationships in foamed dairy emulsions. Food Res Int, 1996, 29, 1-13.
  3. Azaïs-Braesco, Véronique, et al. A review of total & added sugar intakes and dietary sources in Europe. Nutrition j, 2017, 16, 1-15.
  4. Main Food Menu. https://mcdonalds.com.au/maccas-food/nutrition 

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!