# Will PETA attack as KFC moves the secret recipe today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 10, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931 "2008-09-10T13:33:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/1 "2008-09-10T13:33:37Z")
Today the KFC secret recipe will be whisked by armored car to a new secret location. It is known that PETA has a vendetta against KFC. Will PETA intercept the recipe and destroy it? Will mob rule occur as they block traffic and hijack the armored car? Will they kneecap the carrier and cover him in guts. Wait! Where does PETA get their dead animal parts for protests? [http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080909/NEWS01/80909006/0/ZONE09](http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080909/NEWS01/80909006/0/ZONE09) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/2 "2008-09-10T13:38:06Z")
Perhaps most importantly - although I’m a vegetarian myself - did KFC make a second copy of the recipe in case something happens to the armored truck? This Ark of the Covenant level security makes me wonder if maybe they wouldn’t. While I find PETA despicable I have to admit it would be hilarious if they succeeded because KFC’s preparations here are so ridiculous and so clearly a publicity stunt. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/3 "2008-09-10T13:38:13Z")
Is it really plausible that nobody is able to figure out what the herbs and spices are? They say there are only 11 ingredients. Since it’s a national chain, there’s no way they can keep the spices out of the hands of anybody who really wanted them. They have to distribute them at some point in order to get them into the chicken. (Not to mention that somebody has to actually procure the spices. I can’t see how an operation that big could keep it a secret.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/4 "2008-09-10T13:54:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Is it really plausible that nobody is able to figure out what the herbs and spices are? They say there are only 11 ingredients. Since it’s a national chain, there’s no way they can keep the spices out of the hands of anybody who really wanted them. They have to distribute them at some point in order to get them into the chicken. > > (Not to mention that somebody has to actually procure the spices. I can’t see how an operation that big could keep it a secret.) In the first volume of his **Big Secrets** series, William Poundstone investigated the “secret recipe” of KFC. He really does do a lot of research on his topics, and he details it all. For the essential part of determining what was in the “secret recipe”, he managed to get a batch of the spice mix used for coating the chicken from some KFC workers. Presumably (he doesn’t say so) this was in a KFC sealed bag, or something, so he could tell he wasn’t just being given a bag of random stuff they mixed up. This was supposed to come from KFC central.. He took the stuff to a food chemistry lab and had it analyzed. Long story short – no 11 herbs and spices. The bag contained flour, mixed with salt, pepper, and MSG. It was to be mixed with eggs and milk, and the chickemn would be dredged in this before being cooked in Colonel sanders’ patented pressurecooking method that thoroughly cooked the inside which not overdoing the outside. That’s it. Poundstone hypothesizes that the original recipe did include “11 herbs and spices found on any well-stocked kitchen shelf” (The Colonel whipped up a batch in Salt Lake City for Pete Harmon, his first franchisee, using stuff on hand), but that iot got “streamlined” by the late patent holders, like Heublein. Apparently streamlined to death. Sanders later came to hate Heublein, and was vociferous in denouncing what they did to his gravy. I haven’t heare or read anyone corroborate Poundstone’s findings. Or refute them, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/5 "2008-09-10T13:57:31Z")
Perhaps the secret ingredient is… people!!!:eek: ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/6 "2008-09-10T14:03:19Z")
The real secret to the taste of KFC is the method it’s cooked, not its ingredients (though I’m sure they matter to an extent). The whole “secret recipe” myth is spun to make things sound more exotic and impressive than they really are. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/7 "2008-09-10T14:34:51Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Long story short – no 11 herbs and spices. The bag contained flour, mixed with salt, pepper, and MSG. It was to be mixed with eggs and milk, and the chickemn would be dredged in this before being cooked in Colonel sanders’ patented pressurecooking method that thoroughly cooked the inside which not overdoing the outside. That’s it. This is wrong… or at least, not accurate. I worked at KFC for two years in high school and a year in college. There is no flour or salt in the seasoning bags; those are added separately. The milk and eggs you refer to is simply a dry mix. When we ran out of flour or salt, we could just buy them from the grocery store. When we ran out of the milk and egg mix or the secret seasoning packageswe just omitted them. I don’t recall anybody ever complaining.ETA: There were little green bits in the seasoning bag; it was obviously more than just pepper. I can’t imagine it would be hard for somebody who had the gumption to separate all the different parts. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/8 "2008-09-10T14:44:52Z")
I forgot the most important part – MSG > [@](#): > > "In 1983, in his book BIG SECRETS, author William Poundstone hired a laboratory to analyze a dry sampling of the spice mixture. The surprising discovery was that instead of identifying eleven herbs and spices, the analysis showed only four ingredients: flour, salt, pepper and monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer. > **[Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken](https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/original-recipe-kentucky-fried-chicken/119073)** > > \- Original Recipe Kentucky Fried Chicken Perhaps they packaged it differently where **Santo Rugger** worked, but this one agrees with my memory from Poundstone that the flour was packaged with everything else. Or perhaps they changed through time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/9 "2008-09-10T14:48:18Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Will PETA intercept the recipe and destroy it? I _really_ hope so. I’m so bored w/ politics at this point, I think a co-ordinated attack by a 12 man PETA force made up of ex-military men would spice up the news channels just fine. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Mahna\_Mahna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Mahna\_Mahna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahna_Mahna)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2008, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/10 "2008-09-10T14:52:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Perhaps they packaged it differently where **Santo Rugger** worked, but this one agrees with my memory from Poundstone that the flour was packaged with everything else. Or perhaps they changed through time. …or perhaps they added dried parsley to the mix, just to give the impression that Poundstone’s analysis was wrong and that there’s some “herb” in there after all? :dubious: While it’s been years since I’ve been in close proximity to a bucket of KFC to determine what’s in the mystery coating, I don’t recall the batter having any distinctive flavours in the batter beyond pepper and lots of salt. Heaping bucketloads of it. Bletch. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/11 "2008-09-11T14:15:40Z")
Bad news people. The secret recipe was not intercepted by PETA during the transfer via armored car. A clash did not happen. The driver was not covered in guts. PETA is not holding me captive covered in chicken guts. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/12 "2008-09-11T16:29:30Z")
> [@Harmonious\_Discord](#): > > Bad news people. The secret recipe was not intercepted by PETA during the transfer via armored car. A clash did not happen. The driver was not covered in guts. PETA is not holding me captive covered in chicken guts. This day just keeps getting lamer and lamer :(. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/13 "2008-09-11T16:58:34Z")
I’ve eaten at KFC, and my experience has led me to believe the other 7 herbs and spices are all ‘lard’. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/14 "2008-09-11T18:54:29Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I haven’t heare or read anyone corroborate Poundstone’s findings. Or refute them, for that matter. There is sage or savoury in it. Mom is allergic to both and if she eats more than a piece of KFC she gets hives. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/15 "2008-09-11T18:58:44Z")
> [@](#): > > There is sage or savoury in it. > > Mom is allergic to both and if she eats more than a piece of KFC she gets hives Is she allergic to anything else? I suspect that if she’s allergic to sage and savory, that’s not a complete listing of her sensitivities, and it’s be incorrect to base ab evaluation on that slim a circumstance. If she were allergic to MSG, that would be in line with Poundstone’s analysis. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/16 "2008-09-11T19:00:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Perhaps the secret ingredient is… people!!!:eek: Considering everything else that turns up in buckets of KFC this would not surprise me in the least. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/17 "2008-09-11T20:28:25Z")
I know there must be MSG in it, because eating KFC gives me The Thirst That Cannot Be Quenched. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/18 "2008-09-11T20:37:27Z")
> [@hotflungwok](#): > > I’ve eaten at KFC, and my experience has led me to believe the other 7 herbs and spices are all ‘lard’. If that were the case, KFC might actually be worth eating. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/19 "2008-09-11T20:56:55Z")
Wouldn’t have done any good for them to hijack the truck anyway. There was nothing in it except a piece of paper with “Fooled ya sucka!” written on it. The real recipe went out on a UPS truck 3 days earlier. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931/20 "2008-09-11T21:13:32Z")
If PETA does attack, will it be an army of naked girls? Cuz I’d be happy that happened. I don’t eat at KFC much anyway. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-peta-attack-as-kfc-moves-the-secret-recipe-today/462931.md?page=2)