<P> A copy of the recipe, signed by Sanders, is held inside a safe inside a vault in KFC's Louisville headquarters, along with eleven vials containing the herbs and spices . To maintain the secrecy of the recipe, half of it is produced by Griffith Laboratories before it is given to McCormick, who add the second half . </P> <P> In 1983, William Poundstone conducted laboratory research into the coating mix, as described in his book Big Secrets, and claimed that a sample he examined contained only flour, salt, monosodium glutamate and black pepper . KFC maintains that it still adheres to Sanders' original 1940 recipe . In Todd Wilbur's television program Top Secret Recipe, the Colonel's former secretary, Shirley Topmiller, revealed that Sanders learned from his mother that sage and savory are good seasonings for chicken . Also, Winston Shelton, a former friend of the Colonel's, revealed that the secret recipe contains Tellicherry black pepper . </P> <P> It is well attested that Harland Sanders asked Bill Summers of Marion - Kay Spices in Brownstown, Indiana, US to recreate his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices . While alive, Sanders recommended the Marion - Kay seasoning to franchisees over the corporate version, as he believed the latter had been made inferior by its owners . In 1982, after Sanders' death, KFC brought a lawsuit against Marion - Kay and the latter was barred from selling its mixture to KFC franchises . The Marion - Kay seasoning is still sold under the name "99 - X," and according to Sanders biographer Josh Ozersky, it is indistinguishable from the original KFC recipe . </P> <P> In August 2016, the Chicago Tribune reported that Joe Ledington of Kentucky, a nephew by marriage of Colonel Sanders, had claimed to have found a copy of the original KFC fried chicken recipe on a handwritten piece of paper in an envelope in a scrapbook . Tribune staffers conducted a cooking test of this recipe, which took several attempts to get right . They had to determine whether the "Ts" meant tablespoons or teaspoons, and soon concluded the correct interpretation was tablespoons . After some trial and error, they decided the chicken should be soaked in buttermilk and coated once in the breading mixture, then fried in oil at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until golden brown . They claimed that with the addition of MSG as a flavor enhancer, they could produce fried chicken which tasted "indistinguishable" from fried chicken they had purchased at KFC . </P>

What is the secret recipe of kfc chicken