A Brief History of Chili, the Fiery Fare
By Barbara J. Avery
(Originally published in the Grand
Junction Free Press.)
When you’re in Mexico,
don’t ask for a bowl of chili. They
don’t have any there. At least not
what Americans refer to as chili. Chili
as we know it isn’t a Mexican invention at all, but rather a dish that evolved
over the centuries in the United States into the spicy stew we know today.
Accounts of chili date as far back as 1618. It was in that year, as
Southwest American Indian legend tells it, that Sister Mary Agreda of Spain
appeared to them in a vision and wrote down a recipe that called for antelope or
venison, tomatoes, onions, and chile peppers.
It’s worth noting that the Sister never physically visited America.
Could this have been the first chili?
A little over a century
later, in 1731, a group of families left the Spanish Canary Islands, on King
Philip V of Spain’s orders, and settled in what is now San Antonio.
Historians tell us that the women of the group made a spicy Spanish stew.
What is chili, if not spicy stew?
Linda Stradley of the
What’s Cooking in America website, mentions that some Spanish priests were
said to have been wary of the chile pepper, believing that the hot peppers
inspired passion and were aphrodisiacs. Many
a sermon was preached against eating the demon pods.
In 1850, chili hit the Texas trail when trail cooks made concoctions of
dried beef, fat, pepper, salt, and chile peppers, creating the first chili mix.
This blend was formed into bricks that could be boiled in pots along the
trail, whether for cowboys in Texas, or adventurers headed to California seeking
gold and fortune.
Note that none of the blends above have mentioned the use of chili powder.
That little miracle was the invention of
William Gebhardt, a German immigrant living in New Braunfels, Texas.
In 1890, he made the first chili powder to sell commercially in the
United States. It is interesting to
note that Gebhardt, in 1911, wrote the first Mexican cookbook to be sold in the
Untied States.
By the turn of the 20th Century, chili joints began to spring
up in San Antonio, eventually spreading westward.
They gained in popularity during the Depression Era, as they offered
cheap, if not always good, chili and free crackers.
An overview of chili wouldn’t be complete without addressing the unique
chili of Cincinnati. This style of
chili is very different from the southwest’s version.
Cincinnati chili was created in 1922 by Tom Kiradjieff, a Macedonian
immigrant. His version of chili used
Mediterranean spices such as cinnamon. This
unique creation became Cincinnati 5-way chili when it was served on a pile of
spaghetti noodles, and topped with chopped onion, red kidney beans, and shredded
cheddar cheese, along with a side of oyster crackers.
Chili gained panache when Chasen’s restaurant in California had it on
its menu. Actors, actresses, and
studio folk would stop by and buy the chili by the quart to go.
Sadly, the Chasen’s closed in 1995, ending a glamorous era in chili
history.
There are as many ways to make chili as there are people who cook it.
Recipes call for antelope, beef, elk, buffalo, pork, chicken, beer, wine,
chocolate, masa, beans and no beans. Which
brings up the great bean debate. It
is often argued that “real” chili doesn’t have beans, as it was not made
that way through Texas chili history. The lack of beans is probably due to the
fact that the beans had to be soaked and then cooked, which would have made
chili making quite a lengthy process, especially if you were cooking it along
the trail.
Beans or no beans, it is the chile
peppers that give the stew its heat and character.
How do you know which peppers will provide just the right amount of kick
for your recipe? Fortunately for
cooks, in 1912, Wilbur Scoville created a heat scale for peppers.
Although the testing method has changed a bit, we still measure the heat
in Scoville Units, which are stated in multiples of 100. A bell pepper has a
Scoville Unit of 0, whereas a habanero rates at between 100,000 and 325,000
Scoville Units. You can find a chart
with the Scoville Units for some popular peppers at:
http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/Pungency.htm.
Are you in the mood for
chili now? Here are a couple of
recipes to get you started.
Skyline -style Chili
Source:
The original recipe for Cincinnati Chili was created by John Kiradjieff
and origianally served in Cincinnati's first chili parlor, The Empress, sometime
in the 1920s. Skyline is a famous
Cincinnati modern day chili parlor.
Ingredients:
1 quart water
2 pounds ground chuck, crumbled
2 medium onions, finely chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, crushed (use garlic press) or minced
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
10 peppercorns, ground
8 whole allspice, ground
8 whole cloves, ground
1 large bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, grated
Posted by LladyRusty, a
Cincinnati resident, at recipegoldmine.com
Method:
Bring water to a boil in a 4-6
quart pot. Add the ground chuck (do
not brown first.) Stir until
separated and reduce heat to simmer. Add
onions, garlic, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Stir
to mix well. Add peppercorns,
allspice, cloves, bay leaf, salt,
cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and grated unsweetened chocolate.
Bring back to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 2 1/2 hours
cooking time in all. Cool,
uncovered, and refrigerate overnight. When
ready to eat, skim all or most of the fat and discard the bay
leaf. Reheat and serve over hot,
cooked spaghetti. For 5-way chili,
top with chopped onion, red kidney beans, and shredded
cheddar cheese with oyster crackers on the side.
Western Slope White Chicken Chili
from The Collective Chicken
Cookbook, the official Mike the Headlerss Chicken Cookbook by Barbara Avery
For the chili:
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chikcne breast halves, diced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 cup chicken broth
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chiles
1 (15 oz.) can white kidney beans (cannellini beans), undrained
2 green onions, sliced
For the Mt. Garfield Chili
Spice Blend
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon cilantro leaves, whole
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Method:
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high
heat. Add the chicken and the
onions. Cook for 4-5 minutes. in the
broth, green chiles, and the spice blend. Simmer
for 15 minutes. in the beans. Simmer
for 5 minutes. Top with onions and
Monterey Jack cheese, if desired.
