KFC's 11 herbs & spices.

It's been talked about here several times that KFC doesn't taste the same as it used too. Less spicy and/or flavorful. I always thought it tasted the same and a couple nights ago I was watching a Discovery channel show about fast food chains and they did an interview with a big-wig from KFC. This guy stated that the formula was the same as what Colonel Sanders passed down. They hadn't changed it a bit.

I've always liked their chicken and coleslaw. I eat it about once a month. Like tonight.

MikeS.

Love the coleslaw, and I think I have perfected my own recipe to RIVAL theirs!
(psssst.. it's all about the food processor and a tiny bit of horsey sauce.)
But then again, it's all about the local shop too.
(got crappy KFC and a mile down the road, got great KFC)
Just like any other franchised place.

So share with us your receipe... Please.

MikeS.

Ate there last night, crispy fried chicken with mashed potatoes and a biscuit. Wish they had Coke products though, not very nice of Pepsi to freeze them out.



John

quote:

Originally posted by MikeSh

It's been talked about here several times that KFC doesn't taste the same as it used too. Less spicy and/or flavorful. I always thought it tasted the same and a couple nights ago I was watching a Discovery channel show about fast food chains and they did an interview with a big-wig from KFC. This guy stated that the formula was the same as what Colonel Sanders passed down. They hadn't changed it a bit.

I've always liked their chicken and coleslaw. I eat it about once a month. Like tonight.

MikeS.

This has been discussed a bit


I'll just say that when I was young, you could smell a KFC 2-3 blocks away. It was a very distinct aroma and when you ate the chicken, it tasted just like it smelled.

It's not the same. I didn't see the interview and it would be impolite to call the guy a liar...but..it's just not the same product. I would be interested in hearing somebody who grew up eating kfc (pre-1975) who truly thinks it is the same (not a kfc big wig ;-). Maybe you fit the bill for that one Mike but I'm pretty sure I can't be convinced.

BUT, their slaw piled on a stack of pulled or chopped pork bbq, some hot sauce, and a good roll...good stuff. It has a nice horsey/oniony bite that, I think, compliments a good bbq sandwich.

Maybe there are some KFC locations that are the same as the old days? I haven,t found one. I did like the "spicy extra crispy" that they sold in the early 90s. I wonder what the locations with bad product are doing wrong?
Joe

I still enjoy the original location in Corbin, KY. Perhaps it is the same as all the rest of KFC but the ambiance adds to the taste? It is a bit out of the way for travelers on I-75. Great museum. I hear the Colonel could be a bit of a wild man?!

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by MikeSh

So share with us your receipe... Please.

MikeS.

I am the worst at trying to give a recipe.
Like everything else, It is always a little bit of this and that.
Basic concoction is as follows:
Cabbage (medium head)
1/2 carrot-or enough for a visual look.
Vinegar (white)(start of with very little-add to your own tastes)
Pepper
Krafts creamy horsey sauce-or any creamy horsey sauce) (or a couple packets of arbys horsey sauce if hanging around--)
Mayonaise (for those of you who hate Miracle Whip-I use MW)
Sugar to taste.

All these ingredients are to personal taste.
I put the cabbage and carrot into the food processor, to get that fine grind/almost pulverized look.
I am not good at recipies, since most everything I do is by taste and smell.
I add the other ingredients to my own taste.
I told you I am crappy at giving recipes--
All I can say is come to my house and taste mine, and you will see it tastes just like KFC.
Sorry I cant be of more help with it.

Thanks Roossy for the try :)

Larry, yeah I fit that bill in more then a couple ways. The smell for blocks might be explained by better exhaust fan filtering. Air pollution controls and that kinda stuff. As for the taste it seems pretty even to me.

I still really like it and since I refuse to spend the time frying chicken then it's the best prepared (store bought) I find. Everything else is bland.

MikeS.

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/14/16646

quote:

Originally posted by Adjudicator

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/14/16646

OIL?
In coleslaw?
I dont think that recipe really looks like KFC's.

I am going to make some and write it down, and then post it,
Just for you, MikeS.

But thanks Adjudicator,..

All Right Roossy!

MikeS.

Roosy - I've always put a tablespoon or two of minced onion in my dressing (actually soak it in the vinegar, then add mayo), otherwise my recipe is pretty much the same as yours. Next time I think I'll leave out the onion and try a bit of creamy horseradish. Thanks!

quote:

Originally posted by Ashphalt

Roosy - I've always put a tablespoon or two of minced onion in my dressing (actually soak it in the vinegar, then add mayo), otherwise my recipe is pretty much the same as yours. Next time I think I'll leave out the onion and try a bit of creamy horseradish. Thanks!

It's amazing the taste!
Sometimes, I even dice up red and green bell pepper, not too much, and some onion to give it a totally different taste..
I love good coleslaw....
I hate it when you go to a restaurant, and get that prepacked slaw mix with the long stringy cabbage pieces. Can barely eat it.

Agreed. Hate to say it but IMO KFC is one of the few places I know that has reliably good cole slaw (on the sweet side, but tasty). Amazed that even some pretty good caliber places (including some popular delis and fish houses) serve the pre-made industrial waste, usually on its last legs. Always has a faint aroma reminiscent of cat food. If it's not too far gone I dose it with mustard and black pepper.

I'm sure it's different in the barbecue belt, but in our area cole slaw is usually a disappointment.

Here's a good website for KFC spice detectives. The forum for Marion Kay 99-X spices is particularly of interest.

http://kfc.forumup.co.uk/

http://kfc.forumup.co.uk/forum-17-kfc.html

quote:

Originally posted by ZekeTheCat

Marion Kay 99-X spices is particularly of interest.

I don't know about the story but this is what I use for my chicken.

quote:

Originally posted by RibRater

I'll just say that when I was young, you could smell a KFC 2-3 blocks away. It was a very distinct aroma and when you ate the chicken, it tasted just like it smelled.

It's not the same. I didn't see the interview and it would be impolite to call the guy a liar...but..it's just not the same product. I would be interested in hearing somebody who grew up eating kfc (pre-1975) who truly thinks it is the same (not a kfc big wig ;-). Maybe you fit the bill for that one Mike but I'm pretty sure I can't be convinced.

If the Colonel's original formula specified only the spice mixture, could any differences be related to a change in the type of oil used? Or maybe the chicken itself has changed? I don't eat enough of it to be able to make any distinctions over a span of 30+ years...

Brad

quote:

Originally posted by Brad_Olson
If the Colonel's original formula specified only the spice mixture, could any differences be related to a change in the type of oil used? Or maybe the chicken itself has changed? I don't eat enough of it to be able to make any distinctions over a span of 30+ years...

Brad

Well, that's possible but my guess would be from changes in the entire process from the recipe (cheaper spices probably), to the changes in oil, and perhaps some different or skipped steps because of the changes in volume and mass production. A small factor may even be the chicken itself but given that this is a spices and cooking process issue for the most part, I don't think that would be much of a factor.

To Mike's original post...the spices may be the same, but there are huge differences in the quality of spices so while the KFC gentleman may be correct, there's a lot of savings (and a lot less flavor) in cheap spices.

Or, maybe we have changed? KFC chicken was a very special treat to me 40 years ago, but not now.

There was a change that seemed abrupt around the early to mid 70's. The company owned red and white stores had already eclipsed the original franchises starting at the turn of the decade. If there was a decisive period when the chicken taste and quality had changed it started in this time period. The 9 piece Thrift Box was a family treat once or twice a month from the early 60's as a takeout. I remember that after repeated dissapointments both with quality and taste, we stopped going to KFC by 72. For those of you who remember the Chicken Unlimited chain, you probably remember the bland and lackluster chicken that wasn't anything special in taste, but the chicken quality was good. KFC's quality had deteriorated so noticeably, my parents chose to go there instead. Initally, the takeover by the red and whites produced the same chicken quality that you had come to expect from the franchises, but the sides weren't as good or terrible such as the mashed potatoes and gravy. I'm unfamilliar with the corporate timeline beyond Hueblin's acquisition, but the taste and quality changed dramatically over the course of Hueblin's tenure. My spouse concurrs with about the same timeframe in Nashville when many new celebrity chains opening there offered a better alternative.

Again, the company still claims that the there is 11 herbs and spices. Maybe so, but probably in insignificant or microscopic amounts so the claim can still be made.

Does this coincide with what many of you rememeber?

quote:

Originally posted by MiamiDon

Or, maybe we have changed? KFC chicken was a very special treat to me 40 years ago, but not now.

I agree. I recall the crust of the chicken having a very good spicy taste. That is not the case anymore. It tends to be very greasy.

40 years ago, it was a very special treat.

Paul E. Smith
knoxville, TN

Well I'm 63 and well remember KFC back in the 50's and 60's. Before it was franchised, the Colonel would get local family owned restaurants to feature his chicken and I remember him making promotional visits to the Chuckwagon restaurant in Gary Indiana ,my boyhood home town, several times. When he sold out in the early 60's and it became franchised as it it now , the flavor was still good. It started to go down hill in the 70's and 80's with each change of owners. I think the 11 herbs and spices have been cut to miniscule quanties to cut costs but technically remain legal and not be guilty of fraud . The only flavor I taste is salt and pepper any more. Most younger people nowadays don't have clue as to what real KFC with 11 herbs and spices should taste like. Although I'm not very good at frying chicken ,I'm going to get some of the Marion Kay 99-x spice mix and try it . Wish I had a pressure fryer but will have to settle for a skillet or oven.