Eat

KFC's Secret Weapon Leaked

A reporter may have stumbled upon a closely guarded secret

By Devra Ferst/

In the realm of food, there are few secrets more closely guarded than the special blend of spices KFC uses to make its chicken. The notorious blend helped launch an empire of 20,000 fried chicken shops in some 125 countries around the world.

Jay Jones, a reporter working on a story for the Chicago Tribune about the Harland Sanders Café and Museum (yes, there's a KFC museum) seems to have stumbled upon what may be the Original Recipe. While visiting Joe Ledington, the nephew of the Colonel, Ledington showed the reporter a family scrapbook, which included his uncle's last will and testament. On the back, Jones spotted a handwritten recipe: a list of 11 ingredients and their measurements.

When Jones asked if it was the real deal, Ledington said, "That is the original 11 herbs and spices that were supposed to be so secretive." But when the paper followed up with Ledington, he backpedaled, saying, "It could be [real]; I don't know for sure." The corporate offices of KFC haven't confirmed whether it's the real recipe or not. The Tribune office put the recipe to the test, adding a touch of MSG, currently one of the known ingredients. "Our chicken was virtually indistinguishable from the batch bought at KFC," the Tribune reports.

Never a team to say no to some fried chicken, we plan on testing it out ourselves.

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