KFC Fries Review: The Colonel's Crispy Contender

Kentucky Fried Chicken or better known as KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952. With over 22,000 locations around the world, it is one of the biggest fast-food chains, standing supreme in all its chicken glory with its famous secret herb blend seasoning. But can they be equally proud about their fries? Will they be a testament to the flavor of the Colonel's "Secret Recipe"? Let's find out.

Colonel Sanders prominent on the red and white KFC store.

Texture (8/10)

The texture of KFC's fries is very crispy, with a crunch in every bite. The outside most layer is pure crisp, almost like a battered fry which many use to generate the crunchy bite. The inside of the fries is soft and bit mushy but well balances the outer crispiness. These are one of the best textures we have tasted, and again the key is the balance; achieved by the perfect thickness.

KFC fries nail the texture.

Flavor (7/10)

Now we were super curious about the flavor and whether it would be influenced by the secret herb seasoning. And the answer is yes! Surprisingly, the flavor of these fries is very buttery, oily, and actually gives a hint of cheese. The ingredients of KFC's "Secret Recipe" is a closely guarded secret, but it has been speculated that it includes spices like paprika and black pepper, which we believe contributes to the buttery flavor with a gentle kick.

Shape (6/10)

The fries are shaped a bit randomly, not all even and consistent, but a scattered range potato sizes. The structure and construction of the fry allowed it to flop around a lot though, but fortunately did not fall apart in your hands. Our advice is to not dip too much ketchup and eat one in a single bite.

KFC fries don't have a consistent shape and size.

Presentation (5/10)

The first are placed in a boat shaped carton but is a bit taller in its aspect ratio, sort of based on a "square". The picture is deceiving below as the package is rather small. The fries are weirdly laid out in a horizontal fashion, probably not being as space efficient as vertical insertion, but at least the wide entrance allows multiple fingers to pick up the sticks. But other than this squarish boat carton, there's nothing that stands out about the presentation. It's more random and lacks thoughtfulness we think.

The shapes are all over the place.

Experience (6/10)

The fries go well with the tenders and KFC's flagship original fried chicken (yes, the ones using the secret recipe). But at the price of $5.11 for a normal size packaging, and the way the fries are inefficiently inserted and hence lacking in quantity, we think it is quite a bit overpriced.

Texture	8
Flavor	7
Shape	6
Presentation	5
Experience	6
Overall	6.4 / 10

Conclusion

KFC may be the king of fast-food fried chicken but the same can't be said for their fries. Although the flavor and texture of their fries were great, they overlooked the experience the customer would have while eating them. The fact that they set the price high, almost at a premium level, does not help the cause as other fast-food chains will get you more fries for less. We do not believe that anyone is visiting KFC just for their fries although we think it absolutely has potential with just a bit more refinements.