Chili powder (also spelled chile, chilli, or, alternatively, powdered chili) is the dried, pulverized

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in partic ...

of one or more varieties of

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

, sometimes with the addition of other

spices A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...

(in which case it is also sometimes known as chili powder blend or chili seasoning mix). It is used as a spice (or spice blend) to add

pungency Pungency () refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy () is sometimes applied to foods with a l ...

(piquancy) and flavor to culinary dishes. In

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

, the spelling is usually "chili"; in

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadl ...

, "chilli" (with two "l"s) is used consistently. Chili powder is used in many different cuisines, including

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

(particularly Tex-Mex), Chinese,

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, Portuguese, and Thai. A chili powder blend is the primary flavor in American

chili con carne Chili con carne (also spelled chilli con carne or chile con carne and shortened to chili or chilli; ), meaning " chili with meat", is a spicy stew containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), tomatoes ...

Varieties

Chili powder is sometimes known by the specific type of chili pepper used. Varieties of chili peppers used to make chili powder include

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, ancho,

cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic coast. The city's m ...

chipotle A chipotle (, ; ), or ''chilpotle'', is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in dif ...

, chile de árbol,

jalapeño The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scov ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

pasilla The pasilla chile ( ) or chile negro is the dried form of the chilaca chili pepper, a long and narrow member of species ''Capsicum annuum''. Named for its dark, wrinkled skin (literally "little raisin"), it is a mild to hot, rich-flavored chile ...

, and

piri piri ( , often hyphenated or as one word, and with variant spellings , ''piripiri'' or ) is a cultivar of ''Capsicum frutescens'' from the malagueta pepper. It was originally produced by Portuguese explorers in Portugal's former Southern African te ...

chili peppers. '' Gochugaru'' is a variety used in

Korean cuisine Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions in Korea and southern Manchuria, Korean cuisine reflects a complex interaction of the natural envi ...

traditionally made from sun-dried Korean red chili peppers known as ''taeyang-cho'', with spicier varieties using Cheongyang peppers. Kashmiri chili powder is bright red, but mild in heat and used in

Indian cuisine Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, her ...

, named after the region of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. File:Aleppopepper.jpg, Aleppo pepper File:Anchochilipowder.JPG, Ancho chili powder File:Pilipili-spice.jpg,

Piri piri ( , often hyphenated or as one word, and with variant spellings , ''piripiri'' or ) is a cultivar of ''Capsicum frutescens'' from the malagueta pepper. It was originally produced by Portuguese explorers in Portugal's former Southern African te ...

powder File:India - Kolkata 2 - 24 - New Market spice shops (3504585620).jpg, Indian chili powder (from red chilis) File:Gochugaru.jpg, Gochugaru ( Korean chili powder) Traceability of unknown chili powders can be detected by using

spectrophotometry Spectrophotometry is a branch of electromagnetic spectroscopy concerned with the quantitative measurement of the reflection or transmission properties of a material as a function of wavelength. Spectrophotometry uses photometers, known as sp ...

methods. Studies had found that origin of chili powders can be detected by analysing the

trace element __NOTOC__ A trace element, also called minor element, is a chemical element whose concentration (or other measure of amount) is very low (a "trace amount"). They are classified into two groups: essential and non-essential. Essential trace elements ...

s in the chili powder.

Blends

Chili powder blends are composed chiefly of chili peppers and blended with other spices including

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

garlic powder Garlic powder is a spice that is derived from dehydrated garlic and used in cooking for flavour enhancement. The process of making garlic powder includes drying and dehydrating the vegetable, then powdering it through machinery or home-based app ...

, and sometimes

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

. The chilis are most commonly red chili peppers; "hot" varieties usually also include

cayenne pepper The cayenne pepper is a type of '' Capsicum annuum''. It is usually a moderately hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes. Cayenne peppers are a group of tapering, 10 to 25 cm long, generally skinny, mostly red-colored peppers, often with ...

. As a result of the varying recipes used, the spiciness of any given chili powder is variable. The first commercial blends of chili powder in the U.S. were created by D.C. Pendery and William Gebhardt for this dish. Gebhardt opened Miller's Saloon in

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...

, Texas. Chili was the town's favorite dish. However, chili peppers could only be found at certain times of the year. Gebhardt imported some ancho peppers from Mexico and ran the peppers through a small meat grinder three times and created the first commercial chili powder, which became available in 1894.

Chili in food

Chili powder is very commonly seen in traditional Latin American, west Asian and east European cuisines. It is used in soups,

taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling. The tortilla is then folded around the filling and eaten by hand. A taco can be made with a variety of fillin ...

s, enchiladas,

fajita A fajita (; ), in Tex-Mex cuisine, is any stripped grilled meat with stripped peppers and onions usually served on a flour or corn tortilla. The term originally referred to skirt steak, the cut of beef first used in the dish. Popular alternati ...

s, curries and meat. Chili can also be found in sauces and curry bases, such as

. Chili sauce can be used to marinate and season things such as meat.

References

External links

* * {{Herbs & spices Chili pepper dishes Korean cuisine Spices Chili

Varieties

Blends

Chili in food

See also

References

External links