Why Wendy's Fries Taste So Much Saltier Than Its Fast Food Competitors

Whether you are dipping them into ketchup, ranch, or your chocolate milkshake, there's never a wrong way to eat french fries — but that doesn't quell arguments about which restaurant serves the best ones. Out of all the fast food french fries customers have to choose from, many would consider Wendy's to have the crispiest and saltiest on the market. The Wendy's website explains that its fries are made from natural cut, skin-on potatoes and seasoned with sea salt. That last part is crucial: The choice to use flaky sea salt over typical grains of table salt is the reason why Wendy's fries might taste saltier than the competition.

While sea salt contains approximately the same amount of sodium as other forms, such as kosher or iodized table salt, this special type derived from the ocean might taste saltier due to the size of the flakes. Sea salt is extracted from evaporated sea water, which produces crystals in a wide range of sizes and textures. These larger, uneven flakes on Wendy's fries are more easily detected by our taste buds and melt slower, resulting in a saltier fry experience, compared to the tiny grains used by other fast food chains. Sea salt is also not as heavily processed as other forms of salt, so it may contain traces of other minerals like magnesium, potassium, and calcium — all of which can make the salt taste a bit more assertive.

While Wendy's square burgers are always made fresh, its fries do arrive at restaurant locations frozen. This isn't uncommon, as many restaurants choose to serve frozen french fries because they actually taste better after they have been reheated in the fryer. Besides the salt, what really makes Wendy's fries unique is how they are shaped and the fact that some of the skin is left on — but things weren't always this way.

There are many different types of french fries, and some hold onto heat and crispiness for much longer than others. In 2021, after testing out 20 different kinds of french fries, Wendy's debuted a new style that ditched the traditional square-cut fry and experimented with more uneven slicing. The makeover was meant to preserve the fries' freshness, heat, and texture, even after traveling home from the drive thru. Wendy's senior specialist for culinary and innovation Emily Kessler told Nation's Restaurant News, "One side is built with a thicker side, and it's built for heat retention, while the other side is thinner and that's really to enhance crispiness." 

Furthermore, keeping the potato skins and sprinkling each side with plenty of sea salt are both intentional choices to create the biggest crunch when you bite down. The extra salty taste is basically a bonus. Whether you are a lover of Wendy's fries or your loyalty lies with a rival chain, there is no denying that these fried spuds have a special something.