The History of Fried Chicken

You might not associate fried chicken with Surrey, Canada, but for thousands of years, the humble chicken has been destined to arrive here to combine with innovative and exciting new flavour combinations. In fact, the origin of fried chicken begins its journey almost 10,000 years ago. Let us take you back…

From Prehistoric Wild Jungle Fowl…

At some point between 7500-5000 BCE, humans living in Southeast Asia decided to domesticate and begin farming the chicken’s prehistoric cousin – the wild jungle fowl. Once they’d gotten over the fact that chickens were good for fighting, sacrificing or telling the future (they believed a cockerel crowing in the morning signalled the coming of another day – go figure!), it became a popular food product; firstly for royalty and it swiftly filtered down to the masses as we find it today.

To the Scottish Highlands…

The earliest recipe for fried chicken is believed to be in Hannah Glasse’s cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, published in 1747. The method, bizarrely entitled To Marinade Chicken described frying the floured chicken in hog’s lard. Yum!

But, fried chicken as we know it in the USA today, however, began its life when Scottish immigrants settled in the Southern states in the 18^th Century. Living and eating with the African American slave population, the humble fried chicken was soon to be pimped up with spices and southern flavour combinations by the African American community – reminiscent of the southern comfort we might associate with American fried chicken today. Before long, the plentiful and affordable meat became a staple on the family dining table and a real treat for those special occasions.

From the Fast Food Boom… The fast food market exploded onto the scene in the 1950s, with the big players opening up shop across the States, but initially, fried chicken posed them a problem. Taking 15-20 minutes to cook chicken perfectly, the chicken entrepreneurs needed to find a way of frying chicken in large quantities and keeping it hot for their customers. Once they’d overcome that conundrum, nothing was keeping them away for the dizzying heights of success that hamburgers and pizzas had already achieved, taking the fast food market by storm.

To MAJOR JOY….

Major Joy Flavoured Chicken

While the history of fried chicken might be unexpected, the future is even more exciting. For decades, fried chicken has been served in classic or spicy varieties, but Major Joy is about to open up the next chapter for fried chicken. With original flavours such as Sweet Sesame and Major Hot, Major Joy is about to rewrite the history books and lay the table for the next generation of fun loving chicken lovers.

Discover MAJOR JOY’s range of delicious chicken flavours and try something new and adventurous today!    You can browse the menu here: majorjoychicken.com

References:

https://www.thedailymeal.com/eat/10-things-you-didn-t-know-about-fried-chicken-slideshow/slide-4
https://chikn.com/thechiknfeed/history-of-fried-chicken
https://firstwefeast.com/features/2016/04/fried-chicken-illustrated-history