REVIEW: Kentucky Fried Chicken

May 28, 2009 by Tisha Tolar  
Filed under Nutrition, Recipes

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Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is a popular fast food chain with headquarters based in Louisville, Kentucky.  Serving over eight million customers around the world each day, it would seem that this franchise has a secure spot in the fast food market.  Here we will cover how it all began, what makes it special and whether or not a trip to KFC is a healthy option for you and your family.

How It All Began
Born in 1890, Harland Sanders was an American entrepreneur who started cooking at the age of five when his father passed away and his mother began working to support the family.  He eventually left home and worked various jobs before enlisting in the army when he was sixteen.  It wasn’t until age forty that he began cooking and selling food to customers.  Given the title “Kentucky Colonel” by the then governor in 1935, he began calling himself simply “Colonel”.  He used his first social security check of $105 to fund visits to potential franchisees and faced over one thousand rejections before co-founding what we now know as KFC.

The Famous “Secret Recipe”
The special blend of 11 herbs and spices that make up the Colonel’s trademark “secret recipe” still remains a secret to all but a handful of individuals who are bound by a confidentiality contracts to ensure it remains a secret.  Colonel Sanders himself created the recipe over eighty years ago and it (the recipe) remains locked away in a safe in Louisville, Kentucky to this day.

So how does the franchisee produce the taste millions have grown to love?  Believe it or not there is a very high tech and elaborate security system in place to protect the information.  There are two companies that each blend only a portion of the recipe, with a computerized processing system finishing off the blending to ensure not one entity has all the information.

Menu and Preparation
When Colonel Sanders began preparing food the most convenient way to cook chicken quickly (for customer convenience) was not the most healthy method.  Pan fried chicken produced a great taste, however it took considerably longer than most customers where willing to wait, therefore most restaurants choose to deep fry their chicken which is considerably faster.  Around this time a new product came on the market which revolutionized how the Colonel prepared his chicken.  This new gadget…..the pressure cooker.  To this day, most of the chicken sold at KFC is still made the same way, fried under pressure.  For health conscious individuals looking for a healthier version, KFC has introduced what they call the “unfried side of KFC”- Kentucky Grilled Chicken.  This option has fewer calories, less sodium and fewer fat grams than the Original Recipe chicken that so many have come to love.  KFC also offers Tender Roast and Honey BBQ sandwiches and several sides that offer lower fat and caloric value.  All of their chicken items on the menu in addition to several sides have 0% trans fat.

Fast food restaurants have long been considered an unhealthy option for people looking to maintain a balanced diet.  In the fast paced world we live in, however, it is almost impossible to avoid picking up lunch or dinner at some point for yourself or family.  Fortunately fast food franchises have reacted to increased pressure to offer healthier alternatives.  To make an informed decision, consumers are encouraged to review the nutritional content of all menu items which are easy to find on franchise websites.

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