Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t love a bite of classic ol’ KFC chicken? Probably not. The inviting aroma wafting as you pass by the restaurant is enough to make you want to order a bucket. Its tagline, finger-lickin’ good, is certainly not an overstatement. After all, KFC offers one of the best fast food chicken sandwiches out there. A lot of people are familiar with its irresistible taste, but what most don’t know is that we have dairy to thank.
Hidden in plain sight, listed within the sea of ingredients in its nutrition guide, KFC adds nonfat milk solids to its chicken — including to its original recipe. A lot of the chain’s chicken dishes — whether wrapped in a pillowy brioche bun or just served à la carte — have nonfat milk solids added to them. While it doesn’t take rocket science to know the ingredient is indeed dairy, what is it, really? Think of it this way: Milk is 87% water, which makes the rest what we call milk solids, consisting of nutrients like protein and minerals. It has a fine-grained texture, essentially like powder, perfect for coating chicken to boost its flavor. Of course, it helps that KFC is one of the chain restaurants that use quality chicken, but it’s the batter that really makes it a delicious classic.
The importance of dairy in KFC’s chicken
KFC chicken has that perfect crunch, paired with a nice, golden brown color — a sign that it’s well-fried. Adding nonfat milk solids helps create that satisfying crisp and boosts the flavor we all know and love. However, not only do we have powdered milk to thank for the chicken’s crunchiness, but it also helps ensure that the meat stays juicy, so that you can enjoy the best of both worlds. Maintaining juiciness is important because it shows that the chicken is fresh and not under or overcooked. After all, no one wants a stale, cardboard-like piece that’s hard to chew, nor a chance of contracting food poisoning. The juiciness makes each bite satisfying and enhances the overall dining experience.
Most tips on how to make the perfect fried chicken will tell you to use buttermilk, but the beauty of the culinary world is that it allows substitutes to shake things up. While buttermilk is a good, foolproof ingredient to make a chicken dish satisfyingly appetizing, some recipes also use powdered milk. Commonly used in soups and sauces, it makes the taste more robust . That said, as KFC successfully exemplifies, it’s not out of the question to coat chicken in powdered milk. The final fried result might even be better.
