Try this recipe, will be closest you ever cooked (long read)

Custard powder is 100% in the recipe. It is what gives the vanilla taste i have detected so many times. It also is a big part of the note in the cooking aroma.

How do i know custard powder is in it?

1. I have tried it, it works and makes it more like the real thing.

2. One time i tried some of the modern O.R, it had like almost no spice flavour as if they didn't use any spice mix and it was just flour. Yet the strong flavour that was still coming through was artificial vanilla flavour. They add the custard powder into the flour imo.

Remember that story about the person who worked at a place where they prepared the flour that was used? and he said they had a separate area just to prepare the O.R flour. Yeah, because they probably had to add things like custard powder into it.


I have never ever seen anyone mention it before, but i did a search on here and you seem to be the only one who has mentioned such a thing. "birds eye custard"

I came up with it on my own. If you check my posts on here i have mentioned "custard flavour" but i never considered the use of literal custard powder because i forgot custard powder even existed. Once i remembered it existed, it became clear as day.

24 spices and herbs (not including pepper)

Then when we group together the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cardamom as an apple pie spice, those 4 now become 1, reducing the total now to 21.

Sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram grouped together as italian herb seasoning, all those 6 now become 1, reducing the total now to 16.

I have no idea why Sanders calls it "11 herbs/spices" when there is clearly more in the recipe.

The use of spice blends containing more than 1 ingredient can help make sense of this, but still not really because even if he's counting an italian herbs as 1 ingredient, you can't use it as 1 ingredient, and still need to change the proportions because there is not enough sage in just an italian herb seasoning. So why count it as 1 if you can't use it as 1, and would still need to make up a modified version of it?

Also, what are the chances that Sanders blend just happens to end on 11? not 12, not 13, not 14, it just happens by chance to end on the number that makes it sound the most catchy?

Nothing else like "14 herbs/spices" sounds as good as "Eleven herbs/spices" so it is obvious it is called 11 simply for marketing reasons because it sounds the best. And i don't know how Sanders can call it 11 if there is more than 11. Maybe there is 22 herbs/spices? so when he says "11 herbs/spices" he is actually meaning "11 herbs, and 11 spices"

My recipe almost adds up to 11 herbs, Parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram, basil, bay leaves. If i add tarragon, that makes it 9 total herbs, 2 shy off 11. But i can't justify adding any more herbs. Unless 2 of my other spices can be considered a herb?

And don't think i have that many herbs just to try and fit this "11x11" concept. Through all my trials i feel i need that many, and those specific ones to get the full note, but when i realized my recipe almost has 11 herbs, it made me think maybe this "11x11" thing could be true.

I agree. 11 was just a special number. In sports, I was always number 20. This is a tough discussion for me as I simply cannot give out the secrets to my chili seasoning recipe. Chili trumps KFC IMHO. But, Chickenman has scratched the surface though.

I have sought information about when the "11 Ss&Hs" phrase was first used for many years. I read these forums religiously, but I must confess that I've never seen the information you speak of. Telling me that you did does not ease my skepticism. Point me to the place it was posted, and you'll never hear me discuss it again. But, you ain't going to hear from me about it again anyway. So, cheers!