Chili powder is the signature seasoning of Chili Con Carne (chili with meat), the classic cowboy chuck wagon trail stew. Today chili powder is found in numerous recipes from tacos to barbecue sauces. Top quality American chili powders are instantly recognizable due to their various layers of flavor complexity and heat.  

Bold and Vivid History

Like many other spices and seasoning blends chili powder has a colorful background. When was the first bowl of chili made? Some believe it was first thrown together in the early 1800's just outside of Laramie, Wyoming (this viewpoint is shared by those that believe it was born on a Texas cattle drive). Other food historians believe a more grisly tale of how enraged Aztecs who had been waging a war with invading Spanish conquistadors would cut up the dead Spaniards they had beaten in battle, season them with a variety of spicy chile peppers, and eat them.

These are both vivid, albeit very different, versions of history and while it may be difficult to know what's truly accurate there are early writings that can't be ignored. Archeological digs have shown that the combining of beans, herbs, meat and peppers was used by the Aztecs, Incas and Mayan Indians long before Columbus and the conquistadors stumbled onto the Americas. This of course is also well before cowboys trekked across the central prairies.

More Colorful Debates

Other debates are a bit more civil (well maybe just a tiny bit more civil) - which region makes the best chili - Arizona, New Mexico, Texas or Wyoming? Each has very strong and proud defendants. And in Texas you can get a serious chili lover to become hot under the collar with the chili question - beans or no beans? For the record the vast majority of native Texans don't believe that a dish with beans in it can be called a chili.

William Gebhardt's Role in Chili Powders

The first commercial blend of chili powder in the U.S. was created in 1894 by William Gebhardt for his signature chili con carne. Gebhardt had a saloon in New Braunfels, Texas and his chili was the town's favorite dish. Gebhardt's challenge was that the chile peppers he used in making his chili were only available at certain times of the year. So as any resourceful small businessman would do he began importing ancho chiles from Mexico and processed the peppers through a small meat grinder.

Do You Know the Difference?

In this country the terms "chili" and "chile" are typically used interchangeably, but they are certainly not the same thing. Chili powder (chili with an "i") is a blend of ground chile peppers that is mixed with other spices and herbs that may include cumin, oregano, garlic, onion and salt. The chile peppers used in a chili powder are most often cayenne chiles or another species of Capsicum annuum. Some of the popular other chile peppers used are ancho, jalapeño, New Mexico and pasilla. As a result of the various heat levels of the different chiles that may be used the spiciness and heat of any given chili powder will vary greatly.

If you see a Chile powder (chile with an "e") for sale this will be referring to a pure ground chile pod with no additional ingredients. To be sure which is which you should check the ingredient label. For most recipes we make from scratch in our kitchen we prefer using a pure ground chile powder, as it allows me to add (or not to add) additional spices and herbs for that particular dish.

In most other countries, chile powder is just ground red chiles, usually just one cultivar (often cayenne), but sometimes several chiles. These tend to be much hotter than American chili powder.

Flavor Profile

In this flavorful yet mild chili powder you'll also notice a hint of spicy heat with a nice base of earthiness from the cumin. Heat is always a subjective thing but I would rate this Mild Chili Powder about a 2-3 on the heat scale of 10.

This flavorful salt free chili powder is ideal for those that love the refined nuances of ancho and pasilla chiles - two of Mexico's signature chiles. This is an excellent all around chili powder.

We're fans of these two particular chiles especially when we in search of a bit of spicy heat but not wanting to overwhelm a dish with an avalanche of heat. The Ancho chile is sweet and fruity with a nice flavor complexity that brings to mind undertones of tobacco, raisins and prunes. The Pasilla chile is a bit more pungent and tangy with woodsy undertones. These two chiles compliment each other excpetionally well and are considered two of the three chiles in the Mexican holy trinity of chiles - with Mulato chiles being the third.

What's In In

Hand blended from ancho, pasilla, paprika, garlic, onion  and cumin.

Helpful Hints

If you haven't used this chili powder before we recommend using about 1/3 to ½ of what you're used to using. You can always add more to the dish if you feel that it needs more flavor.

You'll find a large selection of chili powders to suite just about any flavor preference - from our most popular Hill Country Chili Powder to our version of the classic Chili Con Carne and finally one of our specialty chili powders El Paso Chili Powder (for those that covet a more fiery kick).

Some of our favorite recipes using Chili Powder Mild are Vegetarian Bean Chili and Spanish Shrimp Tapas.