Tangy, nutty, and pretty hot: McDonald's launches 'Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese' burger in Korea

Industry

Published: 11 Jul. 2024, 00:00 Updated: 11 Jul. 2024, 11:43

Tangy, nutty, and pretty hot: McDonald's launches 'Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese' burger in Korea

McDonald’s Korea held a tasting event for its new products under the Taste of Korea series at the Seongsu Station branch on Wednesday, a day before their release on Thursday. [KIM JU-YEON]

McDonald’s Korea is bringing the heat with its new Korean burger as part of its ongoing “Taste of Korea” series that uses locally sourced ingredients as primary components.

This year’s star ingredient is green chili peppers sourced from Jinju, South Gyeongsang, which will appear in the Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese Burger as well as the Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese Muffin, a breakfast menu item. A third release, the Yeongdong Shine Muscat McFizz, includes shine muscat grapes from Yeongdong, North Chungcheong.

“Koreans are the biggest consumers of chili peppers in the world, eating 4 kilograms [8.8 pounds] each year,” Baek Chang-ho, lead of McDonald’s Korea’s menu development team, said at a tasting event on Wednesday, a day before the products' release.

“We sourced the chili peppers from Jinju as there are many farms that utilize facility cultivation, which ensures a stable supply,” said Yang Hyoung-keun, McDonald’s Korea’s public affairs lead. “The chili peppers have fewer seeds, high amounts of capsaicin and a thick flesh that is smooth in texture and has a clean aftertaste, making them perfect for the burger.”

The Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese Burger, Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese Muffin and Yeongdong Shine Muscat McFizz will be available from Thursday and will sell for around a month. [MCDONALD'S KOREA]

The Korea JoongAng Daily had a taste of the limited-edition products at McDonald's Korea’s event. Peppery, slightly tangy and rounded out with a nutty spread, the Jinju Pepper Cream Cheese Burger is pleasantly spicy, even for the average Korean’s taste buds.

It consists of two beef patties, bacon, tomato, onion and lettuce. Pickled and diced chili peppers are mixed into its cream cheese dressing. They are also pulverized in the horseradish sauce.

The key inspiration for the burger was gochu jangajji (green chili peppers pickled in soy sauce), a Korean side dish, according to the chefs. But while the sauce’s primary ingredient may be sourced from Korea, the addition of cream cheese evokes a flavor profile of, and the recipe for, a Tex-Mex jalapeño cheese dip.

Spiciness is not unfamiliar territory for Koreans, but locals may be pleasantly surprised by how hot the burger actually is. McDonald’s did not provide a Scoville rating, but it certainly didn’t hold back on the heat. Each burger contains one-fourth of a Cheongyang chili, and while the horseradish flavor is barely noticeable amid the cream cheese, it adds a fiery kick that balances out the heaviness of the beef and bacon. And while “spicy” burgers developed for the Korean audience often tend to be on the sweeter side due to the addition of chili sauce, this burger's aftertaste is not clogged by sugar.

The breakfast muffin, on the other hand, incorporates a mayo dressing in addition to the chili pepper cream cheese sauce, better suiting the customer’s more sensitive morning stomachs. It has a chicken patty instead of beef.

Yang Hyoung-keun, McDonald’s Korea’s public affairs lead, answers questions from the press at a tasting event of the new Taste of Korea's products. [MCDONALD'S KOREA]

Whether the Taste of Korea products will remain on the permanent menu will be up to the customers, executive Yang said.

“There has to be a stable supply of demand,” Yang said, adding that the same principle applies to the question of the products' potential future overseas.

The company has introduced seven products — including three burgers incorporating garlic from Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang; pork fed with green tea from Boseong County, South Jeolla; and green onion from Jindo County, South Jeolla — since launching the Taste of Korea project in 2021.

Around 20 million units of the seven products have sold so far, according to McDonald’s Korea. The brand’s signature Big Mac sells the same amount per year in Korea.

The pepper cream cheese burger sells at 7,400 won ($5.35) on its own, or 8,900 won in a meal, which is discounted to 8,200 won when bought as part of the McLunch deal. The muffin costs 4,900 won while a medium size shine musket fizzy drink costs 2,400 won.

BY KIM JU-YEON [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]