If they've changed it I'm gonna freak out ! Maybe it's just the cooks at the one place you went to.

If there is a "difference" it's more likely due to the staff at the local restaurant. The "secret 11 herbs and spices" come in a packet and is mixed with flour. If the (ah hem) "chef" (according to their commercial) in each KFC doing the mixing doesn't follow the instructions and measurements correctly, they will get different results.

Maybe they are trying to save a little money and stretch the packet to make more than one batch of the flour mixture, and that caused the change. Maybe they were intending to make 3 batches, had to stop and do something else, and only added 2 packets by accident. Who knows.....???

-Grainlady

I haven't gotten chicken there in years. The one we have here is so expensive. And the Popeyes is so poorly-staffed and slow. We had a Church's where we used to live and I loved that place, good chicken, cheap and they had fried okra. There isn't even one Church's in this whole county. So since I don't do fried foods at home we only occasionally get it at the local grocery store, DH likes it but I don't care for it.

You mean more than it changed back when YUM Brands took over? To me it's been inedible ever since they got going on it.

Grainlady, you and I had the same thought about trying to stretch the blends bag by mixing it with too much flour. But that does not excuse the raw chicken.

We weren't pleased with it from another town I brought it home from last year, either.

I would say it is just DH and I, getting picky in our old age, but BIL and my nephew too? After all, a 15 year old boy will eat anything, and even he was disappointed. So no more KFC for us, anyway.

The raw chicken probably was from frying frozen or partially-frozen chicken. Everything is "done" at the push of the button and controlled by a timer. The "KFC Chef" probably isn't allowed an instant read thermometer!!! I've had problems with raw chicken, especially when I order grilled chicken at restaurants, because they use frozen chicken breasts and hastily remove it from the grill before it's cooked through.

I think the last time I had KFC chicken was an impromptu picnic my parents had in the late 90's. I did read recently the KFC Chicken Pot Pie has more than 100 ingredients in it. So that's one I would REALLY stay away from. I made a G-F Chicken Pot Pie Thursday with 14 ingredients (mostly from vegetables and chicken breast meat). I wonder what the other 86 ingredients were that I was missing :?)

-Grainlady

Here you go, Grainlady:

Chicken Stock, Potatoes (With Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate To Protect Color), Carrots, Peas, Heavy Cream, Modified Food Starch, Contains 2% Or Less Of Wheat Flour, Salt, Chicken Fat, Dried Dairy Blend (Whey, Calcium Caseinate), Butter (Cream, Salt), Natural Chicken Flavor With Other Natural Flavors (Salt, Natural Flavoring, Maltodextrin, Whey Powder, Nonfat Dry Milk, Chicken Fat, Ascorbic Acid [To Help Protect Flavor], Sesame Oil, Chicken Broth Powder), Monosodium Glutamate, Liquid Margarine (Vegetable Oil Blend [Liquid Soybean, Hydrogenated Cottonseed, Hydrogenated Soybean], Water, Vegetable Mono And Diglycerides, Beta Carotene [Color]), Roasted Garlic Juice Flavor (Garlic Juice, Salt, Natural Flavors), Gelatin, Roasted Onion Juice Flavor (Onion Juice, Salt, Natural Flavors), Chicken Pot Pie Flavor (Hydrolyzed Corn, Soy And Wheat Gluten Protein, Salt, Vegetable Stock [Carrot, Onion, Celery], Maltodextrin, Flavors, Dextrose, Chicken Broth), Sugar, Mono and Diglycerides, Spice, Seasoning (Soybean Oil, Oleoresin Turmeric, Spice Extractives), Parsley, Citric Acid, Caramel Color, Yellow 5. Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Water, Nonfat Milk, Maltodextrin, Salt, Dextrose, Sugar, Whey, Natural Flavor, Butter, Citric Acid, Dough Conditioner, L-Cysteine Hydrochloride, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (Preservatives), Colored With Yellow 5 & Red 40. Fresh Chicken Marinated With: Salt, Sodium Phosphate and Monosodium Glutamate. Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Salt, Spices, Monosodium Glutamate, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate), Garlic Powder, Natural Flavorings, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids, With Not More Than 2% Calcium Silicate Added as an Anti Caking Agent OR Fresh Chicken Marinated With: Salt, Sodium Phosphate and Monosodium Glutamate. Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Salt, Spices, Monosodium Glutamate, Corn Starch, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate), Garlic Powder, Modified Corn Starch, Spice Extractives, Citric Acid, and 2% Calcium Silicate added as Anticaking Agent OR Fresh Chicken Marinated With: Salt, Sodium Phosphate and Monosodium Glutamate. Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Sodium Chloride and Anti- caking Agent (Tricalcium Phosphate), Nonfat Milk, Egg Whites, Colonel’s Secret Original Recipe Seasoning OR Potato Starch, Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Sodium Chloride and Anti-caking agent (Tricalcium Phosphate), Nonfat Milk, Egg Whites, Colonel’s Secret Original Recipe Seasoning OR Potato Starch, Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Salt, Spices, Monosodium Glutamate, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate), Garlic Powder, Natural Flavorings, Citric Acid, Maltodextrin, Sugar, Corn Syrup Solids, With Not More Than 2% Calcium Silicate Added as an Anti Caking Agent OR Potato Starch, Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Salt, Spices, Monosodium Glutamate, Corn Starch, Leavening (Sodium Bicarbonate), Garlic Powder, Modified Corn Starch, Spice Extractives, Citric Acid, and 2% Calcium Silicate Added As Anticaking Agent OR Seasoning (Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Garlic Powder, Spice Extractives, Onion Powder), Soy Protein Concentrate, Rice Starch and Sodium Phosphates. Battered With: Water, Wheat Flour, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Salt, Dextrose, Monosodium Glutamate, Spice and Onion Powder. Predusted With: Wheat Flour, Wheat Gluten, Salt, Dried Egg Whites, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Monosodium Glutamate, Spice and Onion Powder. Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Salt, Soy Flour, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Monosodium Glutamate, Spice, Nonfat Dry Milk, Onion Powder, Dextrose, Extractives of Turmeric and Extractives of Annatto. Breading Set in Vegetable oil.

I just talked to an expert. Not an insider, but an expert taster who knows KFC (food of choice for travel). He says that the KFC overseas (Latin America and Europe) tastes more like KFC did here a couple of decades ago. He also says that it's been getting "greasier, though that isn't the right word because it's always been greasy."

Besides the reasons given above as possible poor performance factors, I think it's likely that other ingredients besides the herbs and spice recipe packets have changed, which decrease the flavor profile of the packet.

Thanks, writersblock! Seeing the total list is even worse than knowing there were 100 ingredients..... -Grainlady

Ok, reading that list of ingredients while having my first cup of coffee of the day has put me off wanting any breakfast. YUCK!!!

How much MSG do you really need in anything, let alone, what did I count, adding it 11 times!!! Really!!!

I have lived in three different cities in two different states in the last 6 months and I can tell you that every KFC we have tried has been terrible compared to previous visits. The one by my mom's house has closed for remodeling, but it was horrible the last time they tried it too. We don't eat fast food often, but during the moves it was almost a must, it cured us....no more KFC here. Blechhhh

I haven't eaten KFC in years and now I remember why. Their "mashed potatoes" I have always found disgusting and I have never been a huge fan of fried chicken. I have recently tried a fried chicken joint that is a few suburbs away from me that made me realize it's not fried chicken that I didn't like but bad fried chicken. The only fried chicken I had eaten in the past was either from a fast food chicken joint or at a catered birthday party. I have been passing the sign for this restaurant for years and never bothered to try it. Then a few years ago I saw them on "diners drive-ins and dives." I still hesitated because many times after eating at restaurants hyped on tv shows I have been disappointed. Then several months ago DH had just gotten off work, we were both hungry, and this place is very close to his work so I finally decided to try it. I have found a fried chicken I actually like. The breading not too heavy or greasy and the chicken is nice and juicy.

My DH loves their fried chicken but I like their grilled chicken. We haven't noticed any difference in taste here but their sides leave much to be desired!
Joann