Herb Peterson, Egg McMuffin Inventor, Dies at 89
It's with sadness that I write this post, as it's to inform you that the man who invented the Egg McMuffin has died. Herb Peterson, age 89, passed away Tuesday in Santa Barbara, California, where he operated six McDonald's.
The inspiration for Peterson's 1972 creation was the dish eggs Benedict, which he was very partial to, a company spokesman said. Interestingly enough, the now ubiquitous breakfast sandwich was first served open faced on a buttered English muffin.
I was just thinking about Egg McMuffins Tuesday morning—since I happened to be eating a Sausage Egg McMuffin at the time. As I finished the last few bites, I was struck by how well-crafted the sandwich is. All the textures seem to work perfectly together. The muffin offers enough chewy sponginess to keep things interesting but is soft enough that your bite-through experience is somewhat consistent with that of the egg and sausage. And the egg-sausage-cheese flavor combo—well, how can you deny the tastiness of that? It's easily my favorite McDonald's menu item, and for that, I have to tip my hat to and pour some coffee on the curb for Mr. Peterson. Rest in peace, good man.
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10 Comments:
McDonalds is gross. No one should eat there... ever. The only thing Mr Peterson did was clog the arteries of millions of people with mass produced garbage. The world would be a better place without McDonalds and its McEverythings.
Why not get a bacon-egg-and-cheese at your local Mom and Pop deli?
Soup_Dumpling at 2:11PM on 03/27/08
Personally I liked the Burger King Croissandwich a lot better. I don't like eating an untoasted English muffin.
RichardCrystal at 2:51PM on 03/27/08
The Egg McMuffin is probably one of the best things on the McDonald's menu. It's also one of the simplest. It still uses eggs that are cracked and cooked in the McD kitchen, and you more or less know what you're getting when you order it.
That's probably why I still love it. With strawberry jam, too. But no sausage, thanks. I'm a straight-up plain Egg McMuffin type.
onalark at 3:04PM on 03/27/08
the only thing i don't like about the egg mcmuffin? they're unavailable after 10:30am.
when i was a kid my family only ate fast food when we were on vacations, so it was a real treat to eat breakfast at mcdonald's before starting our day.
j at 3:14PM on 03/27/08
Egg McMuffin is one of the few McDonald's things I eat. I order it without the meat and by my calcuations it's 200 calories. The perfect breakfast for me. (I usually order the Sausage McMuffin because I can tell by the smell of the bag whether or not they put the meat on it.)
onalark - yes! I agree that you know that the egg is freshly cooked from a real egg.
Soup - I'd love to get the same thing or something similar at a locally owned/run place, but I live in L.A. and despite my searches, have found no takeaway place the does anything even remotely close. (Jack in the Box used to do a scrambled egg thing with cheese in a pita.)
When I'm in NY there are gobs of corner delis that do their own version (usually a scrambled egg sandwich) and I like trying a different one each morning.
cybele at 3:28PM on 03/27/08
@cybele...I'm lucky enough to be a NYer with lots of corner deli options...but I still mix it up with McMuffins from the McDs around the block.
@ j. - I'm with you, wish they were a round the clock item.
sixsonnets at 3:59PM on 03/27/08
@Soup_Dumpling: Millions of people clogged their own arteries with Egg McMuffins. I typically go to mom-and-pop places, but I had a craving for an Egg McMuffin, and no one seems to be able to duplicate that sandwich.
Adam Kuban at 5:04PM on 03/27/08
The egg part grosses me out ... it just doesn't seem natural. The egg isn't properly poached or fried ... so what the hell is it? Some kind of mutant?
Twice a month when I succumb to McDonald's Breakfast Frenzy I get the sausage McMuffin with no egg ... now THAT is a tasty sandwich.
redfish at 5:42PM on 03/27/08
What a fun invention, lots of McCustomers enjoyed the McMuffin.
He looks like a fun person…I’m sure Herb will be missed. I sure those guys had fun back in the McDay.
Purenvy at 6:06PM on 03/27/08
I haven't been to McD in many years but this morning on my way to work I just had to have a Sausage McMuffin - nearly got run over crossing 6th ave - maybe it was some sort of a premonition - very unsettling; the experience that is, not the muffin. Mr Herb, thanks for breakfast, you will be missed!
aruntoon at 7:54PM on 03/27/08