It’s finger lickin’ good! That’s the theme of Kentucky Fried Chicken’s “eleven herbs and spices” secret. Everyone knows Kentucky Fried Chicken; it’s beloved the world over. In Japan, they actually eat KFC for Christmas. The secret recipe was supposedly leaked in 2016, and if the recipe is 100% accurate, it is a bit more bland than one would think. The KFC recipe is filled with ingredients and spices one would find in their cupboard. It is actually more simplistic than you might think (with the one exception being white pepper). Have you ever heard of white pepper? White pepper does not sound like an ingredient everyone would have in their cupboard.
Harland David Sanders is the “colonel” who invented the KFC mega franchise in 1952. The “colonel” kept his recipe a secret, until it was supposedly leaked by members of his own family in 2016. His nephew, Joe Ledington, leaked the recipe in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. The recipe wasn’t under lock and key, in some security vault; it was in a family scrapbook. Claudia Ledington (Joe’s aunt), wrote the simple recipe in simple blue ink on the back of her Last Will and Testament. The recipe is titled “11 Spices — Mix With 2 Cups White Fl.” Joe explained to the reporter: “That is the original 11 herbs and spices that were supposed to be so secretive.” He then followed it up with “It could be; I don’t know for sure.” In other words, he’s not 100% certain of the accuracy of the Last Will.
It could be the real recipe, but if it is, why would Joe reveal his uncle’s secret recipe? Read more about the leak here: It’s Finger lickin’ good!