Chili Powder #2

Title:
Chili Powder #2

Yield:
4 Servings

Categories:
Seasonings




Ingredients:





    12    Dried; cored & seeded chiles


          -(I use 10 Pasilla and 2


          -Ancho chiles)


   1/4 tb Freshly ground cumin


     1 tb Whole oregano leaves


     1 ts Garlic powder


     1 ts Salt






   Most Americans think that the wonderful rich, beefy, and beany dish that


 we call chili came from some other culture. Mexico, perhaps, or Spain. Not


 so. I am afraid that both Mexico and Spain refuse to have anything to do


 with what we call good old American chili. One Mexican dictionary goes so


 far as to scornfully describe chili as "A detestable food with a false


 Mexican name sold in the United States from Texas to New York City." Hey,


 watch that! The rest of the country loves chili, too!


 


   The original dish is truly American, though I have found that a lot of


 Americans in different locales claim that it was invented in their


 backyard. After much research (two days) I have come to the following


 unquestionable decision. Chili was invented in San Antonio, Texas, in 1840.


 It was a blend of dried beef, beef fat, chili powder and spices, and salt.


 It was pressed into a brick and it was so potent that it would not spoil


 quickly. It was then taken by the prospectors to the California gold


 fields. There it could be reconstituted with water and cooked with beans.


 It was very much like the pemmican that had been used in earlier times but


 with spices added. Please note that there is a difference between plain


 powdered chile and chili powder. Chili powder is a mixture of spices. See


 hint below.


 


    San Antonio has the distinct privilege in history of laying claim to


 "Chili Queens." These ladies had little carts and tables and would appear


 late in the evening and sell chili and whatnot. . . . I expect more whatnot


 was sold than chili. They were forced to close down in 1943 due to city


 health regulations of some sort . . . mostly sort.


 


    I would have thought that all of Texas would have been involved in


 wonderful chili. But in 1890, when chili arrived in McKinney, a town just


 north of Dallas, all blazes broke loose. It seems that some wayward


 ministers claimed that chili was "the soup of the devil--food as hot as


 hell's brimstone." I wonder if these clergy ever bothered to taste a good


 pot of chili.


 


    This very American dish spread throughout the country and in 1985 the


 canned chili industry (Lord, only in America) claimed that 240 million


 pounds had been sold, grossing $254 million. I am repulsed by canned chili


 and I urge you to make your own. It is not complex and you will become


 famous in your own dining room.


 


   CHILE PODS: You need to decide what kind of chile pods you wish to use


 for your own chili. See "CHILES, TYPES OF" for a discussion of the red


 pods.


 


   PLAIN CHILI POWDER: If a recipe calls for plain chili powder, then you


 ask the merchant in your Mexican or Latin American shop for just that. You


 do not want spices in the mixture.


 


   HINT: ON MAKING YOUR OWN CHILI POWDER. Remember that chile and chili are


 different. Chile is ground chile pods. Chili is a blend of spices.


 Commercial chili powders are made of ground chile (see above for your


 kind), ground cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt. Some even contain


 sugar. I would suggest the proportions described in the list of


 ingredients.


 


   Place all in your medium-sized food processor or food blender and grind


 until fine. Use as you will in your chili recipes. Your version will have
a


 much brighter flavor than commercial chili powder. If you wish to make it


 hotter, add cayenne pepper to taste. You will have your own blend going in


 no time.


 


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