Brand and product history KFC Corporation (KFC), founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. KFC primarily sells chicken pieces, wraps, salads and sandwiches. While its primary focus is fried chicken, KFC also offers a line of grilled and roasted chicken products, side dishes and desserts.
Outside North America, KFC offers beef based products such as amburgers or kebabs, pork based products such as ribs and other regional fare. The company was founded as Kentucky Fried Chicken by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, though the idea of KFC’s fried chicken actually goes back to 1930. The company adopted the abbreviated form of its name in 1991. Starting in April 2007, the company began using its original name, Kentucky Fried Chicken, for its signage, packaging and advertisements in the U. S. s part of a new corporate re-branding program; newer and remodeled restaurants will have the new logo and name while older stores will continue to use the 1980s signage. Additionally, Yum! Continues to use the abbreviated name freely in its advertising. The secret recipe The Colonel’s secret flavor recipe of 11 herbs and spices that creates the famous “finger lickin’ good” chicken remains a trade secret. Portions of the secret spice mix are made at different locations in the United States, and the only complete, handwritten copy of the recipe is kept in a vault in corporate headquarters.
On September 9, 2008, the one complete copy was temporarily moved to an undisclosed location under extremely tight security while KFC revamped the security at its eadquarters. Before the move, KFC disclosed the following details about the recipe and its security arrangements: The recipe, which includes exact amounts of each component, is written in pencil on a single sheet of notebook paper and signed by Sanders. The recipe was locked in a filing cabinet with two separate combination locks.
The cabinet also included vials of each of the 11 herbs and spices used. Only two executives had access to the recipe at any one time. KFC refuses to disclose the names and titles of either executive. One of the two executives said that no one had ome close to guessing the contents of the secret recipe, and added that the actual recipe would include some surprises. On February 9, 2009, the secret recipe returned to KFC’s Louisville headquarters in a more secure, computerized vault.
In 1983, writer William Poundstone examined the recipe in his book Big Secrets. He reviewed Sanders’ patent application, and advertised in college newspapers for present or former employees willing to share their knowledge. From the former he deduced that Sanders had diverged from other common fried-chicken recipes by varying the mount of oil used with the amount of chicken being cooked, and starting the cooking at a higher temperature (about 400 OF (200 oc)) for the first minute or so and then lowering it to 250 OF (120 oc) for the remainder of the cooking time.
Several of Poundstone’s contacts also provided samples of the seasoning mix, and a food lab found that it consisted solely of sugar, flour, salt, black pepper and monosodium Sanders sold the chain, later owners had begun skimping on the recipe to save costs. Following his buyout in 1964, Colonel Sanders himself expressed anger at such hanges, saying: “That friggin’ outfit…. They prostituted every goddamn thing I had. I had the greatest in the world and those sons of bitches– they dragged it out and extended it and watered it down that I’m so goddamn mad! Ron Douglas, author of the book America’s Most Wanted Recipes, also claims to have figured out KFC’s secret recipe. Products Packaging The famous paper bucket that KFC uses for its larger sized orders of chicken and has come to signify the company was originally created by Wendy’s restaurants founder Dave Thomas. Thomas was originally a franchisee of the original Kentucky Fried Chicken and operated several outlets in the Columbus, Ohio area. His reasoning behind using the paper packaging was that it helped keep the chicken crispy by wicking away excess moisture.
Thomas was also responsible for the creation of the famous rotating bucket sign that came to be used at most KFC locations in the US. Menu items This is a list of menu items sold at KFC. Chicken KFC’s specialty is fried chicken served in various forms. KFC’s primary product is pressure-fried pieces of chicken made with the original recipe. The other chicken offering, extra crispy, is made using a garlic marinade and double dipping the hicken in flour before deep frying in a standard industrial kitchen type machine. Kentucky Grilled Chicken – This marinated grilled chicken is targeted towards health- conscious customers.
It features marinated breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings that are coated with seasonings before being grilled. It has less fat, calories, and sodium than the Original Recipe fried chicken. Introduced in April 2009. KFC has two lines of sandwiches: its “regular” chicken sandwiches and its Snackers line. The regular sandwiches are served on either a sesame seed or corn dusted roll and are ade from either whole breast fillets (fried or roasted), chopped chicken in a sauce or fried chicken strips. The Snackers line are value priced items that consist of chicken strips and various toppings.
In the I-JK, Australia and New Zealand, sandwiches are referred to as “burgers”; there is the chicken fillet burger (a chicken breast fillet coated in an original-recipe coating with salad garnish and mayonnaise) and a Zinger Burger (as with the former but with a spicier coating and salsa). Both of these are available as “tower” variants, which include a slice of cheese and a hash brown. KFC considers its Double Down product a sandwich in spite of containing no bread. A variety of smaller finger food products are available at KFC including chicken strips, wings, nuggets and popcorn chicken.
These products can be ordered plain or with various sauces, including several types of barbecue sauces and buffalo sauce. They also offer potato wedges. Several pies have been made available from KFC. The Pot Pie is a savory pie made with chicken, and vegetables. In the second quarter of 2006, KFC introduced its variation on Shepherd’s pie called the Famous Bowl. Served in a plastic bowl, it is layered with mashed potatoes or rice, ravy, corn, popcorn chicken, and cheese, and is served with a biscuit. The bowl had of 2005. Ђ The KFC Twister is a wrap that consists of either chicken strips or roasted chicken, tomato, lettuce and (pepper) mayonnaise wrapped in a tortilla. In Europe, the Twister is sold in two varieties: 1) the Grilled Twister (chicken strips), and 2) the Grilled Mexican twister/Spicy Toasted Twister (I-JK) (chicken breast supplemented by tortilla chips and salsa, I-JK: adds only salsa to pepper mayonnaise) KFC Fillers are a 9 in (23 cm) sub, available in four varieties over the summer period in Australia. Shish kebab – in several markets KFC sells kebabs. Kentucky Barbecued Chicken – barbecued chicken dipped in the original recipe Wrapstar is a variant of the KFC Twister, consisting of chicken strips with salsa, cheese, salad, pepper mayonnaise and other ingredients, contained in a compressed tortilla. Other products In some international locations, KFC may sell hamburgers, pork ribs or fish. In the U. S. , KFC began offering the Fish Snacker sandwich during Lent in 2006.
The Fish Snacker consists of a rectangular patty of Alaskan Pollock on a small bun, and is the ifth KFC menu item in the Snacker category. Some international locations also may sell KFC ‘Mashies’ – balls of mashed potato cooked in original recipe batter. Three types of salads (which can be topped with roasted or fried chicken) are available at KFC: Caesar, house, and BLT salads (in the US). The Boneless Banquet Zinger Burger – A regular sized burger which regularly consists of a boneless fillet of hot and spicy chicken, lettuce and mayonnaise in a burger bun.
Cheese, tomato, bacon and pineapple can be added upon request. Barbecue sauce can also replace/ join the mayonnaise. Ђ Chili Cheese Fries – By 2007, 2 former KFC/A&W Restaurants locations in Berlin and Cologne, Germany had reverted to KFC-only locations and the third location in Garbsen (by Hannover) was closed in 2005. The only remnant from the former A&W menu are the Chili Cheese Fries which were added to the system wide KFC Germany menu. Ђ Parfait desserts – “Little Bucket Parfaits” in varieties such as Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Creme (once called the Colonel’s Little Fudge Bucket), Lemon Cr©me and Strawberry Shortcake are available at most locations in the US. Sara Lee Desserts – Available in either Cookies and Cream Cheesecake or Choc Caramel Mousse. Krushers, available in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. These are drinks containing “real bits”. They include “classic krushers”, “smoothie krushers” and “fruit krushers”. Selected outlets are now equipped with “Krushbars” to serve these drinks.
Sides Other than fried chicken, many KFC restaurants serve side dishes like coleslaw, various potato-based items (including potato wedges, French fries and mashed potatoes with gravvy), biscuits, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, macaroni salad, rice, steamed vegetables and corn on the cob. Discontinued products The Colonel’s Rotisserie Gold – This product was introduced in the 1990s as a response to the Boston Market chain’s roasted chicken products, and a healthier mindset of the general public avoiding fried food.
Purportedly made from a “lost” Col. Sanders recipe, it was sold as a whole roaster or a half bird. Tender Roast Chicken – This product was an off-shoot of ‘The Colonel’s Rotisserie Gold’. Instead of whole and half birds, customers were given quarter roasted chicken pieces. For a time, customers could request chicken “original”, “Extra Tasty Crispy”, or “Tender Roast”. U. S. during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a small chicken patty with mayonnaise on a small roll, similar to White Castle’s mini chicken sandwich. Ђ Extra Tasty Crispy (ETC) – Chicken much like the Extra Crispy served today, except ETC was prepared using chicken that had been soaking for 15 minutes in a special marinade machine. There is some speculation that the marinade may have been made with trans-fats, and KFC boasts to no longer use trans-fats in their chicken, the known ingredients were garlic and chicken stock. In the summer of 2007, KFC started marketing the chicken Just as “Extra Crispy” without the marinade. Kentucky Nuggets were a chicken nugget product available at KFC until 1996. No reason has been given for their discontinuation. Ђ Smokey Chipotle – Introduced in April 2008. The chicken was dipped in chipotle sauce then doubled breaded and fried. It has been discontinued since August 2008. Nutritional value KFC formerly used partially hydrogenated oil in its fried foods. This oil contains relatively high levels of Trans fat, which increases the risk of heart disease. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a court case against KFC, with the aim of making it use other types of oils or make sure customers know about trans fat ontent immediately before they buy food.
In October 2006, KFC announced that it would begin frying its chicken in Trans fat-free oil. This would also apply to their potato wedges and other fried foods, however, the biscuits, macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes would still contain Trans fat. Trans fat-free soybean oil was introduced in all KFC restaurants in the U. S. by April 30, 2007. CSPI announced that it would immediately drop its lawsuit against KFC and was hopeful that this would create a ripple effect on other restaurants or fast food chains that prepare food rich in Trans fat.