The thing about french fries is that they’re pieces of potato, fried in oil, dipped in whichever substance you choose (ketchup, mayo, chocolate ice cream, oh my) and gobbled up by fry-loving Americans across this great land. But what if they packed less of a caloric punch? Burger King thinks it has what you want with its new “Satisfries.”

Yes, they are really called Satisfries. It’s a pun, how delightful! etc. The Associated Press says the new crinkle-cut french fries come with 20% fewer calories than BK’s regular fries, at 270 calories versus 340 for a small order.

How does this magical fry still get fried and yet not fill out your waistline quite so much, you might be asking yourself, me or the heavens: The chain says it’s using a new kind of batter that just doesn’t absorb as much of the oil the fries are cooked in.

Burger King claims customers won’t know the difference between the taste of the two kinds of fries, saying all the ingredients are exactly the same and the same fryers are used for both.

But the ingredients in the Satisfries batter have just had their proportions tweaked to block oil. That’s about as specific as Burger King is going to get, apparently.

As for the crinkle-cut, that’s a visual thing so that workers can tell the Satisfries from their more calorically-burdened fellows.

“You need to make things as simple as possible,” says Eric Hirschhorn, Burger King’s chief marketing officer.

Anyone out there who’s tasted the Satisfries, let us know if they left you feeling well, satisfied, of course: tips@consumerist.com.

Burger King launching lower-calorie french fry [Associated Press]

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