THE Big Mac special sauce is as iconic as the fast food giant itself.

And while home chefs have been trying to replicate it for generations and various recipes purporting to be the real deal have been floating around the internet for years, Australians will be the first in the world to get their hands on their own pack.

In a global first McDonald’s Australia will offer 25ml tubs of the special sauce for sale at restaurants across the country from Monday.

media_camera For the first time globally, Big Mac special sauce is for sale from today. A bottle will be auctioned on eBay for Ronald McDonald House. Picture: Supplied

media_camera Big Mac special sauce. Picture: Supplied

media_camera In all its glory ... The Big Mac. Picture: Bob Barker

For years the Golden Arches kept the ingredients a closely guarded secret but food labelling laws, rising allergies and a shift in consumer sentiment towards transparency has seen McDonald’s reveal what is in its trademark condiment.

And while McDonald’s now makes no secret of the special sauce’s ingredients — it even lists them on its website — it still keeps the ratios under lock and key.

media_camera Journalist Richard Noone makes a Big Mac with Thornleigh McDonald’s employee Cameron Goodacre. Picture: Bob Barker

So much so the sauce is manufactured under contract off-site and delivered to restaurants in sealed canisters and dispensed with the food equivalent of a calibrated caulking gun.

In addition to the small tubs McDonald’s will also auction an exclusive 500ml bottle of special sauce on eBay, with proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House Charities.

History First Big Mac was created by franchisee Jim Delligatti in Pittsburgh in 1967 The name was coined by a 21-year-old advertising secretary Esther Glickstein Rose Big Mac was the burger’s third name, it was first called the Aristocrat and then the Blue Ribbon It’s now served in more than 120 countries In August 2007 McDonald’s opened the Big Mac Museum in Pennsylvania to celebrate the burger’s 40th anniversary The name of the Big Mac’s secret ingredient, special sauce, was created for a 1974 advertising campaign which introduced the world to the slogan: "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun"

The bottle is one of only 200 being produced in the world.

McDonald’s Australia chief marketing officer Mark Lollback said the special sauce had developed a cult following since it first hit the menu more than 40 years ago.

``Big Mac sauce is one of the most iconic McDonald’s ingredients and people often ask us where they can buy it, so we’re excited to be the first country in the world to offer tubs of Big Mac sauce to our customers,’’ he said.

``I know of people who love adding our special sauce to all types of food — from French Fries to McNuggets — so it’s going to be interesting to see what Aussies choose to add a spot of Big Mac sauce to over the next month.’’

Mr Lollback said it would also be interesting to see how much people would be prepared to bid for the charity bottle when it went on eBay tonight in support of a cause the restaurant chain was ``passionate about’’.

The small 25ml tubs will be sold over the counter for 50c and will only be available while stocks last.

The release of the packaged sauce spearheads the fast food giant’s latest campaign, which will see a Big Mac special sauce vending machine tour Australia next month giving people the chance to grab a free tub in return for a tweet.

Special sauce ingredients

Soybean Oil (Antioxidant (330)), Water, Relish [ Pickles, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Distilled Vinegar, Preservative (202), Thickener (415), Flavourings], Mustard [Water, Distilled Vinegar, Mustard Seed, Salt, Sugar, Colours (150d, 100), Spice], Salted Egg Yolks, Distilled Vinegar, Onion, Thickeners (1442, 415, 405), Spices, Sugar, Salt, Hydrolysed Protein (Corn Gluten, Soy, Wheat Gluten), Preservative (211), Colours (160c, 150d, 100), Emulsifier (433), Garlic, Antioxidant (385).