This Is The Type Of Oil KFC Uses For Its Fried Chicken

When it comes to choosing a type of cooking oil, there are several factors to take into consideration. The oil's smoke point (the temperature at which it begins to smoke and degrade) is important as is the impact it has on your health. Kentucky Fried Chicken had the latter in mind when selecting which vegetable oil it would fry its famous chicken in. As of 2007, KFC uses low-linolenic soybean oil for all of its frying needs. 

Different from typical hydrogenated soybean oil, the low-linolenic variety has less linolenic acid. Although it is an essential omega-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid consumed in more than small amounts can contribute to high cholesterol, inflammation, obesity, and heart disease. Hydrogenated oils, which are made by introducing hydrogen to the mix to extend shelf life, are trans fats. A 2006 study suggests that using low-linolenic soybean oil instead of hydrogenated soybean oil slashes trans fat consumption by a whopping 45%. (That's why you should always check food labels for hydrogenated oil if you're trying to avoid trans fats.)

Before KFC made the announcement that it would be making the switch to low-linolenic soybean oil, the fried chicken chain (like many other fast service restaurants at the time) used hydrogenated vegetable oil to fry chicken to golden brown perfection. However, as consumers were learning, the type of fat you eat matters more than you think. In response to public push back over the amount of trans fat in fast food (and a lawsuit involving a nutrition advocacy group that called on the restaurant to stop using hydrogenated oil), KFC vowed that it would remove trans fat from its fried foods over the span of a few months in 2006. Around the same time, popular chains like Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, and Starbucks also responded to the call to action and began pulling trans fat from menus. 

Although KFC announced that it would be removing hydrogenated oil from its fryers, the company admitted at the time that it had yet to find a solution for the trans fat contained in some of its other offerings like biscuits. Though it appears there was never any formal announcement that the switch had been made, as of 2024, KFC's nutrition calculator suggests that even its buttermilk biscuit recipe is free of trans fat!