It's just 11 herbs and spices, but the secret recipe of Colonel Harland Sanders -- the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken -- has been one of America's biggest mysteries since the chicken chain's first restaurant opened in 1952.
Well, 57 years later, Ron Douglas thinks he has cracked the code. It's one of the 200 recipes in his new cookbook, America's Most Wanted Recipes. He also uncovers some of the most successful dishes from the hallowed kitchens of Red Lobster, the Cheesecake Factory and the Olive Garden.
The KFC recipe is a treasured food secret as precious as the Coca-Cola
formula. Author William Poundstone attempted to
uncover the secret back in 1983 in his book BIG Secrets.
He reviewed Colonel Sanders' patent application and had a laboratory
test the seasoning, eventually deciding the amount of oil and
temperature might just matter more than the ingredients.
But all of that science couldn't beat a handwritten recipe written in pencil on a single sheet of notebook paper. The security that surrounds the recipe
has developed its own mythology over time. This year the recipe was
transferred to a vault protected by motion detectors and 24-hour video
surveillance.
Douglas'
book is the latest entry in a market filled with people attempting to
recreate their favorite dishes from chain restaurants or products on
supermarket shelves. As one who has made homemade versions of Cadbury
eggs, I can attest that this sort of thing should be approached with
caution.
But there's something very American in taking imitation seriously. At Top Secret Recipes, you can learn how to make Taco Bell Lava sauce; Top Secret Copycat Recipes has instructions for cooking "Copycat Cracker Barrel Chicken & Dumplings"; and Cdkitchen cracks everything from A&W to York Peppermint Patties.
But just because we have
the capability to recreate fast food at home, it doesn't mean we
should.
[Image via Flickr: my name is Katy]
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