ELEVEN HERBS AND SPICES — famous for my dinner parties

Mar 30

Mar 30 ELEVEN HERBS AND SPICES

Arguably the most famous secret recipe is the mix of eleven herbs and spices that is rubbed onto thousands of kilos of chicken parts every day around the world. KFC has been able to keep this mix a secret since the nineteen-thirties: a real tour de force. It is said the original, handwritten recipe — signed by the Colonel himself — is kept in a safe in KFC’s Louisville, U.S.A headquarters. Production takes place in two steps: Griffith Laboratories mix the first half, after which it is transported to the factories of McCormick, where the latter half is added. No one knows which company is in charge of the herbs, and who adds the spices.

In 2016, the Chicago Tribune reported that Joe Ledington, the Colonel’s nephew by marriage, had discovered a little handwritten note with, you guessed it, eleven herbs and spices on it — to be mixed with 2 cups of flour. While it is widely disputed whether this actually is the recipe (some say the paper isn’t nearly yellow enough to be that old), it’s the closest thing chicken fans have. We’ll share it with you here, so you yourself can judge whether or not it’s the real deal.