Wednesday, February 11, 2009

What Secret Recipe?!

Kentucky Fried Carcinogens

I don't think I've ever believed that KFC really actually had 11 herbs and spice that went into the fried chicken. 11 herbs and spices? What possible combination could they be?

I was once told there was no such thing. That it was:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Flour
- Butter
and that was it.

That radically minimalist recipe sounds unlikely too.
- 2 parts paprika
- 1 Part onion salt
- 1 part celery salt
- 1 part rubbed sage
- 1 part garlic powder
- 1 part ground all spice
- 1 part chili powder
- 1 part black pepper
- 1 part crushed basil leaves
- 1 part marjoram leaves

I think it's almost too spicy to be true.
- Salt
- Pepper, Chili Powder
- Turmeric
- Cinnamon
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Mustard
- Coriander
- Oregano
- Tarragon

Not a bad list. Out of these I strongly doubt Coriander. Anyway... The company still insists there is a secret recipe. Here's a story on the recipe.
The recipe is such a tightly held secret that not even Eaton knows its full contents. Only two company executives at any time have access to the recipe. KFC won't release their names or titles, and it uses multiple suppliers who produce and blend the ingredients but know only a part of the entire contents.
"We've very comfortable with the security," Eaton said. "I don't think anyone can break into it."
Just how valuable is the recipe?
Thomas P. Hustad, professor of marketing at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business, said the recipe "goes to the core of the identity of the brand." The recipe, along with the man who created it, conjure images for the chain that help set it apart in the minds of customers, he said.
"I would say that the heritage value is just as high for this secret recipe as the stories around the Coke formula," Hustad said by phone Tuesday. "I guess I'd put the two of those at the top of the pyramid."
Dietl said the security measures he installed replaced an "antiquated" system. For years, the recipe was kept in a filing cabinet equipped with two combination locks in the vault.
"The colonel could have used a pry bar to open that thing up," Dietl said.
Kind of scary to think what's actually in it.

UPDATE:
A KFC devotee who ditched his Wall Street job in a quest to unravel the food giant's best-kept secret says he's finally figured out a recipe that is identical to Colonel Sanders' 11 herbs and spices.

And now a major book house will publish the recipe.

Ron Douglas spent years experimenting with different techniques in an attempt to reproduce KFC's Original Recipe.

At one point, he grew so desperate he tried to bribe a cook at the chain.

"(He) wouldn't tell me," Mr Douglas said.

But while trying to nail down KFC's ingredients, he discovered there were lots of people online trying to duplicate recipes from the US's most popular food outlets.

So Mr Douglas decided to start a
website devoted to copycat recipes, relying on his discriminating taste buds and a growing community of amateur foodies.

It was such a hit that he ditched his job as a finance manager at JP Morgan in 2007 to manage the website full-time.
Weirdness has its merits.