In McDonaldland, grandma apparently liked butterscotch and toffee.

Ever since McDonald's teased the new treat last week, folks wondered about the taste of the Grandma McFlurry –inspired by grandmas who are remembered as always having something sweet in their purses. 

Here at USA TODAY we go to great lengths to get to the bottom of new tastes – remember how we took one for the team on 7-Eleven's Hot Dog Water? – so we zipped over to McDonald's to test the fast food chain's new Grandma McFlurry on its Tuesday debut.

Based on a taste test, grandma liked to have some butterscotch hard candies in her purse and maybe some toffee hard candy, too.

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What is in the Grandma's McFlurry?

McDonald's new Grandma's McFlurry is made with vanilla reduced fat ice cream, butterscotch flavored crumbles, and butterscotch flavored syrup.

The treat includes an allergen warning: the ice cream includes milk, the butterscotch crumbles have nonfat dry milk and whole milk powder, and the butterscotch syrup has nonfat dry milk, too.

What does McDonald's new Grandma's McFlurry taste like?

Ahead of the release of Grandma's McFlurry, some would-be samplers wondered whether the treat might taste like butter pecan, butterscotch, strawberry or perhaps peppermint.

When the McDonald's server gave me my McFlurry she was cagey. I asked whether she had any clue what's in the dessert. She smiled, gave a knowing smirk, and walked away.

The bright golden, almost mustardy-colored syrup around the edges circumnavigating the McFlurry's top definitely hinted at butterscotch even though the lid kept any aroma from coming out. A quick taste revealed a rich butterscotch flavor that blended well with the soft serve ice cream.

A second bite captured some of the not-too-crunchy butterscotch crumbles, which brought back memories of toffee and caramel candies.

The McFlurry is a winner, though it does weigh in with more calories (600) than a serving of my favorite Ben & Jerry's Ice cream (who eats only a suggested serving anyway?). So, I would make the McFlurry an occasional treat and not a regular daily dessert.

What do others think about the Grandma's McFlurry flavor?

Responding to McDonald's posts on Facebook, many commenters came close, guessing the treat would taste like Werther's Original Caramel Candy.

One comment questioned the branding as Grandma's McFlurry. "I heard it tastes like butterscotch 🤷🏼‍♀️ def sounds like a weird mcflurry but may just be good if everyone can get past the name of it."

Another saw parallels to another recent dessert. "My grandma never had butterscotch candies. This is an odd choice for McDonald’s. Kinda seems like they’re copying the Caramel Crumble milkshake Chick-fil-A had last year. It also had butterscotch flavor. And it was gross."

Food blogger Marcus Smith offered the McFlurry's crumbles had "the perfect crunchy/crumbly texture that don’t get stuck in your teeth, and this McFlurry is very delicious."

And another food reviewer, The Snackolator, said in a video that McDonald's delivered an "old-school butterscotch taste" with the dessert.

Grandma's McFlurry calories and nutritional information

Here are nutrition details on McDonald's Grandma's McFlurry, according to the restaurant chain.

• Calories: 600
• Total fat: 16 g (20% of daily value)
• Cholesterol: 40 mg (14%)
• Sodium: 340 mg (15%)
• Total carbohydrates: 102 g (37%)
• Protein: 11 g
• Added sugars: 73 g (147%)

Contributing: Amaris Encinas.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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