rcd@opus.UUCP (03/07/84)
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Articles to help those who need help & recipes on chili.
First, some basics on chili, mostly on chiles:
1. There is no such thing as "authentic" chili. The word itself is a
bastardization of the Spanish word chile, meaning pepper (the large
fleshy vegetable, not peppercorn). Chili is either a stew or a sauce,
depending on how you make it and what needs saucing, in which the primary
flavoring is derived from chiles. Various forms have various ingredients.
Don't let anyone tell you things like, "Real chili never contains tomatoes"
(garlic, beans, onions, etc.). Some do, some don't.
2. Hot chili is not a way of attaining manhood. Play your macho games
somewhere else. The purpose is to get something that tastes good! I CAN
make chili hotter than virtually anyone can eat. I HAVE made it, but not
intentionally. The "...oh, that's not hot..." rejoinder is tired one-
upmanship. HOWEVER, realize that you will become accustomed to the heat of
chiles and you will gradually like hotter and hotter chili (to a point).
If you're making chili for a bunch of people, either know their
tastes or aim on the mild side. We periodically have large (~50 people)
Chili Feeds, for which I make two versions to cover the range of tastes.
This works well, since people can always mix hot&mild to get in between.
3. KNOW YOUR CHILES! The worst too-hot disasters are generated by using
the wrong kind of chiles. When in doubt, taste a little bite. A guide
to A FEW that you're likely to find, in roughly increasing seriousness:
bell pepper - standard salad fare. Sweet, not hot at all.
poblano - like a dark, slightly pointed bell pepper. Just a slight tang.
Hard to find in supermarkets.
anaheim (various other names) - usually green in the store, sometimes red.
About 15 cm long, 3 cm dia., pointed at end and somewhat "deflated"
in shape. Some definite heat, but you can still put a bunch in
without trouble. A pepper like the anaheim is dried and powdered
to make one sort of chili powder.
jalapeno (~ over n) - green, about 4-5 cm long, 2 cm dia, fat (smooth
shape). Hot; be careful!
serrano - like a small, skinny (<1 cm dia) jalapeno. VERY hot. Don't even
bother with these unless you want hot chili.
Chiles start out green early in the season; most turn red as they ripen.
There are lots besides those above, plus various dried, powdered forms.
"Chili powder" is a mild red chili, dried and powdered. (If you're lucky,
you can find several types of chili powder of varying heat and flavor.)
"Cayenne" is a very hot red chili, dried and powdered.
4. Handle hot chiles carefully! If you're dealing with very many (>3)
fresh ones, wear rubber gloves or something. I'm serious. The "hot stuff"
will irritate your hands and make them ultra-sensitive for days if
you're careless, and once the stuff gets into your skin, washing won't get
it off. Don't let your hands go near your eyes! Canned chiles are a lot
less prone to problems, but still be a little careful.
5. The hottest parts of hot chiles are the inner membranes and the seeds.
The most flavorful part is the flesh. If you want good chili, TAKE OUT the
membranes and seeds; use the flesh. If you want it hotter, use more
chiles; that way you'll add flavor as well as heat.
6. Chiles can be canned ok (pressure canning; they're a low-acid food) but
beware of freezing them. It seems to change how hot they are--occasionally
a dramatic increase in heat. I don't know why. (Anyone out there know?)
7. It's usually better to peel the chiles first - to do this, roast them
under the broiler to scroch the skin, toss in cold water, peel. (It's
still a bit of a mess.)
8. As always in cooking, use the freshest ingredients. My order of
preference is fresh, then home canned, then commercially canned.
To follow: two chili recipes. One, as requested, to put hair on your
chest, and another to take the hair off.
--
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd