Who wants the muffin top?
In Marjan’s favorite comedy ever, Seinfeld (1989-1998), lead character Elaine once came up with the brilliant idea of selling only the top of the muffin. After all, that was the tastiest part. More than twenty years later, McDonald’s is going to do exactly that.
You have to admit: once you’ve eaten the crispy-on-the-outside and moist-and-soft-on-the-inside top of the muffin, you’re pretty much done. Every subsequent bite only makes that first pleasant eating experience less enjoyable. Until you reach the paper folded around the dry, soft bottom of the muffin and actually regret the whole endeavor.
Which sauce do you eat with the perfect steak?
The top
Elaine Benes (played by Veep actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus) had a point, in my opinion. In the Seinfeld episode in question, she describes the muffin top very aptly: ‘It’s where the muffin breaks free of the pan and sort of does it’s own thing’.
20 years later, McDonald’s is putting Elaine’s brilliant idea into practice
The downside is that the whole idea isn’t particularly sustainable, because Elaine explains: ‘You pop the top and toss the stump’: You can’t bake only the top, because that doesn’t work. You bake the entire muffin, break off the top for sale and simply throw away the rest. Or give it to a soup kitchen.
The bottom
About three years ago, McDonald’s captured a large share of the emerging breakfast market with products including the Egg McMuffin, but then let its focus on breakfast wane somewhat, while other fast-food chains jumped in wholeheartedly. Now the Golden Arches wants to win back that market with, among other things, cold brew coffee and this nineties idea from a comedy character. Even though Elaine’s brilliant idea (of course) didn’t end well in Seinfeld, because the homeless people to whom the muffin bottoms were donated also demanded only the tops, and the waste processors refused to accept them either.
Curious to see how McDonald’s will tackle that problem sustainably. For now, the tops can only be ordered in America. Until Elaine’s idea becomes a success there.
