KFC South Korea Just Debuted An Unexpected New Sauce
Chocolate mint may be one of Baskin-Robbins' 31 original flavors, per The Los Angeles Times, but it is probably one of the youngest flavors in the line-up for the ice cream maker, which first opened its doors in 1945, per Baskin-Robbins. The idea of a mint and chocolate combo was born in 1973, in the kitchen of a British culinary student named Marilyn Ricketts, who invented the flavor to mark a special occasion: the wedding of Princess Anne to Captain Mark Phillips, per McCormick Flavor Solutions. No surprise then, that the dessert was named "Mint Royale," to mark the occasion that its creation was meant to celebrate.
And while mint chocolate has always been a hit in Britain and the United States, the same could probably not be said of South Korea, where the flavor was something of an outlier, because peppermint held strong associations with toothpaste (via Korea Travel Post).
South Korea has had an epiphany when it comes to mint chocolate
The Korean aversion to chocolate mint flavors in food may be in the past as the country now appears to have taken to the flavor in a way that few likely expected. Today, Korea Travel Post says the flavor is so popular that it even has its own 'min-chodan' or mint chocolate chip army. Talk about extremes.
In keeping with the idea of making the 'min-chodan' happy, Korean food manufacturers have come up with different ways of incorporating chocolate mint into their offerings. Korea Travel Post says Starbucks has a Mint Chocolate Chip Blended Drink, local confectionery manufacturer Orion now makes its iconic choco pie in a Mint Chocolate Chip Choco Pie version, and there are Mint Chocolate Chip Almonds, too.
But there's one fast food that takes this specific fandom to the next level, and that's KFC which unveiled a mint chocolate chip dipping sauce ... for fried chicken, per SoraNews24. The dipping sauce is meant to go with all types of fried chicken on offer — from Original to Hot and Spicy, and something SoraNews calls Black Label.
The KFC dip raised disapproving eyebrows
Unfortunately, SoraNews says the mint chocolate dip turned out to be something of a fail because its reporter had thought the sauce would be formulated to go with the chicken it was being served with. Instead, it purportedly tasted like eating a mint chocolate candy and a piece of chicken simultaneously.
Mothership was even less kind, first comparing the look of the mint chocolate sauce to a healing ointment, before comparing it to a "sugar-intense toothpaste," and then rating it a 2 out of 10. But Metro says the dip has a saving grace because it actually goes with KFC's biscuits. SoraNews also then compared the mint sauce to a palate cleanser because everything tasted better after that.
If anyone is in South Korea and willing to give it a try, the dip is available at KFC for 90 cents a tub until August 8. And if you're not near a KFC that carries the mint choco dipping sauce, SoraNews recommends eating your fried chicken with mint chocolate ice cream — it may have the same intended effect.