I was looking at the recipe for last year's winning recipe at the
International Chili Society's World Championship Chili Cookoff, and there
are a couple of ingredients I don't understand.


"1 tablespoon hot chile powder
1 tablespoon mild chile power
5 tablespoons red chile powder"


It's not at all clear to me what these three ingredients are. I buy my
spices at Penzey's or at the local supermarket, and neither has products
that are described as above. I presume that they are pure ground chiles, but
which varieties of chiles? Any guesses?

Also, does anybody know what ingredients are in Gebhardt® chile powder? I
prefer to mix my own spices rather than use a premixed product. (The chili
champion would probably rather do that, too, but when cooking in competition
it's always a good idea to use the products of the contest sponsors.)

Thanks for your help.

I'm going to try this recipe as close to exactly as possible. The only
changes I'll make intentionally are mixing my own Gebhardt®, if possible,
and the substitution of homemade broths for the canned stuff called for in
the recipe.


-- Rich

Rich wrote:
> I was looking at the recipe for last year's winning recipe at the
> International Chili Society's World Championship Chili Cookoff, and there
> are a couple of ingredients I don't understand.
>
>
> "1 tablespoon hot chile powder
> 1 tablespoon mild chile power
> 5 tablespoons red chile powder"
>
>
> It's not at all clear to me what these three ingredients are. I buy my
> spices at Penzey's or at the local supermarket, and neither has products

Penzeys sells regular, medium, and hot chili powder... you need to pay
closer attention.

> that are described as above. I presume that they are pure ground chiles, but
> which varieties of chiles? Any guesses?

I don't guess, I know. Chili powder is a blend of mostly ancho peppers,
with cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt.

Pure chili pepper is called "ground/powdered chili pepper".

> Also, does anybody know what ingredients are in Gebhardt® chile powder?

Probably the same as most other commercial chili powders... I prefer
Penzeys because it's fresh/potent, and contains no salt. I see no
point in mixing my own chili powder... one can always add more cumin,
more oregano, more hot pepper, to Penzeys.

Sheldon

Rich wrote:
> I was looking at the recipe for last year's winning recipe at the
> International Chili Society's World Championship Chili Cookoff, and there
> are a couple of ingredients I don't understand.
>
>
> "1 tablespoon hot chile powder
> 1 tablespoon mild chile power
> 5 tablespoons red chile powder"
>
>
> It's not at all clear to me what these three ingredients are. I buy my
> spices at Penzey's or at the local supermarket, and neither has products
> that are described as above. I presume that they are pure ground chiles, but
> which varieties of chiles? Any guesses?
>
> Also, does anybody know what ingredients are in Gebhardt® chile powder? I
> prefer to mix my own spices rather than use a premixed product. (The chili
> champion would probably rather do that, too, but when cooking in competition
> it's always a good idea to use the products of the contest sponsors.)
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> I'm going to try this recipe as close to exactly as possible. The only
> changes I'll make intentionally are mixing my own Gebhardt®, if possible,
> and the substitution of homemade broths for the canned stuff called for in
> the recipe.
>
>
> -- Rich
>
>


Gebhardts is ground red chile peppers (it doesn't say if it's ancho,
guajillo, or New Mexico) cumin, oregano, garlic, and silicon dioxide.
From the color and what I remember of the taste, I'd guess New Mexico
and Ancho, maybe equal parts or a little more New Mexico. The sand is
probably to keep it from clumping, although maybe if it's in the form of
diatomateous earth it could be to keep spice worms out.

"1 tablespoon hot chile powder, 1 tablespoon mild chile power, 5
tablespoons red chile powder" is probably intentionally vague --
especially the "red chile powder" part.

This might help:
<http://www.myspicer.com/data_returns/listbytype.php?id=3&tname=Crushed%20and%20Powdered %20Chiles>

Look at the Chamayo Hot New Mexico and the Chamayo Mild New Mexico.

Ancho chile is very mild and tastes a little like good chewing tobacco
with a little bit of chocolate overtones. Some people consider ancho to
be essential to making good chili.

Best regards,
Bob

"Sheldon" > wrote in message
oups.com...

Rich wrote:
> I was looking at the recipe for last year's winning recipe at the
> International Chili Society's World Championship Chili Cookoff, and there
> are a couple of ingredients I don't understand.
>
>
> "1 tablespoon hot chile powder
> 1 tablespoon mild chile power
> 5 tablespoons red chile powder"
>
>
> It's not at all clear to me what these three ingredients are. I buy my
> spices at Penzey's or at the local supermarket, and neither has products

Penzeys sells regular, medium, and hot chili powder... you need to pay
closer attention.

Penzey's sells regular, medium, and hot chili powders, blends all. The
championship recipe calls for chile (with an "e") powders, implying that
they are ground chiles without other ingredients. Penzey's sells those, too,
but they are not labeled "hot," "mild," and "red." I really want to
replicate this recipe as closely as possible, and I doubt that its author
actually used four different blended products (including the Gebhardt®).



> that are described as above. I presume that they are pure ground chiles,
> but
> which varieties of chiles? Any guesses?

I don't guess, I know. Chili powder is a blend of mostly ancho peppers,
with cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt.

Pure chili pepper is called "ground/powdered chili pepper".

Actually, it's called "ground/powdered chile (with an 'e') pepper."

> Also, does anybody know what ingredients are in Gebhardt® chile powder?

Probably the same as most other commercial chili powders... I prefer
Penzeys because it's fresh/potent, and contains no salt. I see no
point in mixing my own chili powder... one can always add more cumin,
more oregano, more hot pepper, to Penzeys.


Once again, I'm trying to replicate the recipe that wowed the judges. If I
can figure out the ingredients in Gebhardt® chili powder, I can decide
whether I really need to use the product, (I'm not trying to impress
ConAgra) or if the other ingredients can be adjusted to cover the Gebhardt®
flavors. If it's just anchos, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder, those
ingredients are already in the recipe independently, so why bother?

Thanks for your help, though.


--Rich

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> Rich wrote:
>> I was looking at the recipe for last year's winning recipe at the
>> International Chili Society's World Championship Chili Cookoff, and there
>> are a couple of ingredients I don't understand.
>>
>>
>> "1 tablespoon hot chile powder
>> 1 tablespoon mild chile power
>> 5 tablespoons red chile powder"
>>
>>
>> It's not at all clear to me what these three ingredients are. I buy my
>> spices at Penzey's or at the local supermarket, and neither has products
>> that are described as above. I presume that they are pure ground chiles,
>> but which varieties of chiles? Any guesses?
>>
>> Also, does anybody know what ingredients are in Gebhardt® chile powder? I
>> prefer to mix my own spices rather than use a premixed product. (The
>> chili champion would probably rather do that, too, but when cooking in
>> competition it's always a good idea to use the products of the contest
>> sponsors.)
>>
>> Thanks for your help.
>>
>> I'm going to try this recipe as close to exactly as possible. The only
>> changes I'll make intentionally are mixing my own Gebhardt®, if possible,
>> and the substitution of homemade broths for the canned stuff called for
>> in the recipe.
>>
>>
>> -- Rich
>>
>>
>
>
> Gebhardts is ground red chile peppers (it doesn't say if it's ancho,
> guajillo, or New Mexico) cumin, oregano, garlic, and silicon dioxide. From
> the color and what I remember of the taste, I'd guess New Mexico and
> Ancho, maybe equal parts or a little more New Mexico. The sand is
> probably to keep it from clumping, although maybe if it's in the form of
> diatomateous earth it could be to keep spice worms out.
>
> "1 tablespoon hot chile powder, 1 tablespoon mild chile power, 5
> tablespoons red chile powder" is probably intentionally vague --
> especially the "red chile powder" part.
>
> This might help:
> <http://www.myspicer.com/data_returns/listbytype.php?id=3&tname=Crushed%20and%20Powdered %20Chiles>
>
> Look at the Chamayo Hot New Mexico and the Chamayo Mild New Mexico.

Thanks for the link. It's now bookmarked in my "Chili" folder.


>
> Ancho chile is very mild and tastes a little like good chewing tobacco
> with a little bit of chocolate overtones. Some people consider ancho to
> be essential to making good chili.

Thank you. Yes, I've used anchos in my chili for a long time. The Chamayo's
and ancho powder for the "red" looks like a good place to start.


--Rich


>
> Best regards,
> Bob

"Rich" > wrote in news:Wh4kg.12595$Z67.7396
@tornado.socal.rr.com:

> If it's just anchos, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder, those
> ingredients are already in the recipe independently, so why bother?
>

The blend would be a starting point, I'm willing to bet those ingredients
are not in the same proportion to each other in the recipe as they are in
the blend.

I start my Chili I make with McCormick's Chili powder, but I also have
Chipolte Chile Powder, Cumin, Garlic that I add as I want to tweak the
blend.

Can anyone here define hot or mild? Define the red hue of those last
chiles, perhaps then define the color and taste of the first two? a Red
Chile powder could be a Paprika, but would that be that mild or hot? So how
many expert chile affectionate actually worked at Gebhardt's actually tasked
to mixing chile?

So there are two points here; #1. The contest winner was (deliberately?)
vague and did not give you his/her recipe ingredients. #2. No one outside
of a select few Gebhardt's employees, present or former, can tell you the
answer you seek with any reliability or accuracy.

Realizing that all the chile powder you are talking is a commercial
venture ( always find the lowest price) and the fact that Chile's are a
product of nature, therefore subject to many variables, a specific batch
could be any number of chile varieties and from many different locations,
all of which will influence that batch's taste but I suspect all stay as
close to the Holy Trinity mix as they can. Face it us Gringos' talk smack
about heat and chiles but do not know the dif between a Chilipin and
Serrano,a Poblano or the Pisilla and so for Corporate sales you have to
stay close to or slightly below the heat average for large quantity sales.
Then recognize the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement has made it
hard for US growers to compete with chile peppers grown in Mexico and US
production has been down ever since hence most peppers are various Mexican
grown, not of the American SW quality you would find in say the Hatch or
other NM varieti or even the California Aniheims. Gebhardt as a corportate
enity must use the lowest price main ingredient they can and so are
dependent on their Quality Control.

I include a couple of links from some of my research that may help you
discover the answer for a quality belnd you seek on chiles.

http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/chilevarieties.html

http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/ndx_chili.asp this one may your biggest help

here is the home page of that which may have other info for you may come to
want:
http://www.fiery-foods.com/default.asp

When you are looking for a chile blend you like, go beyond the commerical
"everything in the cabinet" blends and concentrate on the specific chile
first, then the combos of various chiles and then add the "spices" cumin,
garlic, etc, etc. which you will see everyone adds to according to their
tastes. A lot of mouth (and other body heat ) heat does not necessarily
equate to good eats. Buy a batch of various pure chile powders and try each
by themselves in your recipes. Acquire the tases then blend.

Good luck
My best
de


"Rich" > wrote in message
...
>
> I was looking at the recipe for last year's winning recipe at the
> International Chili Society's World Championship Chili Cookoff, and there
> are a couple of ingredients I don't understand.
>
>
> "1 tablespoon hot chile powder
> 1 tablespoon mild chile power
> 5 tablespoons red chile powder"
>
>
> It's not at all clear to me what these three ingredients are. I buy my
> spices at Penzey's or at the local supermarket, and neither has products
> that are described as above. I presume that they are pure ground chiles,
> but which varieties of chiles? Any guesses?
>
> Also, does anybody know what ingredients are in Gebhardt® chile powder? I
> prefer to mix my own spices rather than use a premixed product. (The chili
> champion would probably rather do that, too, but when cooking in
> competition it's always a good idea to use the products of the contest
> sponsors.)
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> I'm going to try this recipe as close to exactly as possible. The only
> changes I'll make intentionally are mixing my own Gebhardt®, if possible,
> and the substitution of homemade broths for the canned stuff called for in
> the recipe.
>
>
> -- Rich
>
>

Rich wrote:
> Once again, I'm trying to replicate the recipe that wowed the judges. If I
> can figure out the ingredients in Gebhardt® chili powder, I can decide
> whether I really need to use the product, (I'm not trying to impress
> ConAgra) or if the other ingredients can be adjusted to cover the Gebhardt®
> flavors. If it's just anchos, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder, those
> ingredients are already in the recipe independently, so why bother?

Probably a lost cause. Gebhardt's is an old, famous, and very
successful brand. Their exact blend is likely to be an
I-could-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you grade of industrial
secret. And in things like chili powders, the differences in
stoichiometry can be small yet crucial.

Is the problem that you can't get Gebhardt's? It's available in a lot
of grocery stores, and I have no doubt if you go to froogle.com you can
find a reasonable online supplier.

I generally adulterate it with extra cumin, garlic, oregano, and hot
paprika, but even with none of those it makes classic chili.

Starting from scratch, you'll want a mix of earthy, bright, and hot
chile varieties. Guajillo, ancho, and pequin, for example. With
several thousand varieties to choose from, the combinatorics are
astronomical.

Then add some cumin, garlic, and oregano (Mexican oregano if you can
get it, but only for authenticity; the regular kind is fine), and maybe
onion.

The peppers and herbs should all be a dry type, if your goal is a
powdered mix. Doing it all from fresh creates a very different, but
very interesting flavor.

--Blair

"Blair P. Houghton" > wrote in message
oups.com...

Rich wrote:
> Once again, I'm trying to replicate the recipe that wowed the judges. If I
> can figure out the ingredients in Gebhardt® chili powder, I can decide
> whether I really need to use the product, (I'm not trying to impress
> ConAgra) or if the other ingredients can be adjusted to cover the
> Gebhardt®
> flavors. If it's just anchos, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder, those
> ingredients are already in the recipe independently, so why bother?

Probably a lost cause. Gebhardt's is an old, famous, and very
successful brand. Their exact blend is likely to be an
I-could-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you grade of industrial
secret. And in things like chili powders, the differences in
stoichiometry can be small yet crucial.

Is the problem that you can't get Gebhardt's? It's available in a lot
of grocery stores, and I have no doubt if you go to froogle.com you can
find a reasonable online supplier.

I generally adulterate it with extra cumin, garlic, oregano, and hot
paprika, but even with none of those it makes classic chili.

Starting from scratch, you'll want a mix of earthy, bright, and hot
chile varieties. Guajillo, ancho, and pequin, for example. With
several thousand varieties to choose from, the combinatorics are
astronomical.

Then add some cumin, garlic, and oregano (Mexican oregano if you can
get it, but only for authenticity; the regular kind is fine), and maybe
onion.

The peppers and herbs should all be a dry type, if your goal is a
powdered mix. Doing it all from fresh creates a very different, but
very interesting flavor.


I make a damn good chili already, using powdered chiles, dried chile pods,
fresh garlic, onions, etc. I'm just trying to make some of that "World
Champion Chili" to see what the fuss is all about. I don't want to mess with
the recipe, I just want to replicate it as closely as possible. The reason I
was asking about the ingredients in Gebhardt's is just wondering if it
really is necessary to the recipe or is there because Mr. Wilkey knew that
cookoff sponsor ConAgra was adding $5000 to the prize if the winning recipe
included Wesson® Oil, Gebhardt® chile powder, Hunt's® Tomato Sauce, Ro*Tel®
Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, and Tabasco® Pepper Sauce.

Here's the recipe: http://www.chilicookoff.com/Winner/WC_2005.asp

It's all pretty straightforward except for those "mild," "hot," and "red"
chili [sic] powders. I plan to use Chamayo Hot New Mexico and the Chamayo
Mild New Mexico, and go with anchos powder for the "red" in my initial test
batch (as suggested by zxcvbob). Oh, and I will use all the ConAgra products
initially, too, at first, including the Gebhardt's. Later, if I like the
result, I'll experiment with replacing the commercial products with
homemade. The canned tomato products and the canned broths are loaded with
salt, for example, and I prefer to control the seasonings independently. My
own broths will certainly be an improvement, especially the beef broth. The
commercial shit is mostly salt and caramel coloring.
--


--Rich

Recommended websites:

http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles
http://www.acahf.org.au
http://www.quackwatch.org/
http://www.skeptic.com/
http://www.csicop.org/

Rich wrote:
> "Blair P. Houghton" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>
> Rich wrote:
>> Once again, I'm trying to replicate the recipe that wowed the judges. If I
>> can figure out the ingredients in Gebhardt® chili powder, I can decide
>> whether I really need to use the product, (I'm not trying to impress
>> ConAgra) or if the other ingredients can be adjusted to cover the
>> Gebhardt®
>> flavors. If it's just anchos, cumin, oregano, and garlic powder, those
>> ingredients are already in the recipe independently, so why bother?
>
> Probably a lost cause. Gebhardt's is an old, famous, and very
> successful brand. Their exact blend is likely to be an
> I-could-tell-you-but-then-I'd-have-to-kill-you grade of industrial
> secret. And in things like chili powders, the differences in
> stoichiometry can be small yet crucial.
>
> Is the problem that you can't get Gebhardt's? It's available in a lot
> of grocery stores, and I have no doubt if you go to froogle.com you can
> find a reasonable online supplier.
>
> I generally adulterate it with extra cumin, garlic, oregano, and hot
> paprika, but even with none of those it makes classic chili.
>
> Starting from scratch, you'll want a mix of earthy, bright, and hot
> chile varieties. Guajillo, ancho, and pequin, for example. With
> several thousand varieties to choose from, the combinatorics are
> astronomical.
>
> Then add some cumin, garlic, and oregano (Mexican oregano if you can
> get it, but only for authenticity; the regular kind is fine), and maybe
> onion.
>
> The peppers and herbs should all be a dry type, if your goal is a
> powdered mix. Doing it all from fresh creates a very different, but
> very interesting flavor.
>
>
> I make a damn good chili already, using powdered chiles, dried chile pods,
> fresh garlic, onions, etc. I'm just trying to make some of that "World
> Champion Chili" to see what the fuss is all about. I don't want to mess with
> the recipe, I just want to replicate it as closely as possible. The reason I
> was asking about the ingredients in Gebhardt's is just wondering if it
> really is necessary to the recipe or is there because Mr. Wilkey knew that
> cookoff sponsor ConAgra was adding $5000 to the prize if the winning recipe
> included Wesson® Oil, Gebhardt® chile powder, Hunt's® Tomato Sauce, Ro*Tel®
> Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, and Tabasco® Pepper Sauce.
>
> Here's the recipe: http://www.chilicookoff.com/Winner/WC_2005.asp
>
> It's all pretty straightforward except for those "mild," "hot," and "red"
> chili [sic] powders. I plan to use Chamayo Hot New Mexico and the Chamayo
> Mild New Mexico, and go with anchos powder for the "red" in my initial test
> batch (as suggested by zxcvbob). Oh, and I will use all the ConAgra products
> initially, too, at first, including the Gebhardt's. Later, if I like the
> result, I'll experiment with replacing the commercial products with
> homemade. The canned tomato products and the canned broths are loaded with
> salt, for example, and I prefer to control the seasonings independently. My
> own broths will certainly be an improvement, especially the beef broth. The
> commercial shit is mostly salt and caramel coloring.


Actually, I would use more Chamayo and less Ancho than that. Maybe
equal parts of Chamayo Hot, Chamayo Mild, and Ancho. Then adjust the
heat later with cayenne.

I've made pretty good chili, if I may say so myself, (and I may) using
just medium-hot Chamayo, or just guajillo, or just cascabel chiles. But
usually I put in at least a couple of Ancho pods. I don't recall ever
making chili with just Ancho peppers. I might have to try that...

I just looked at the winning recipe. It says:
2 tablespoons Gebhardt® chile powder
1 tablespoon hot chile powder
1 tablespoon mild chile power
5 tablespoons red chile powder

Notice the spelling of the Gebhardt chile powder -- with an 'e'. That
makes the other three suspect. Is it really ground chiles or is it
commercial chili powder of unspecified brand? I suspect the latter,
because otherwise there's not enough oregano in the recipe. OTOH,
there's already too much cumin... It's very difficult to interpret.
That's probably intentional.

Bob

Sheldon wrote:
> >
> >
> > It's not at all clear to me what these three ingredients are. I buy my
> > spices at Penzey's or at the local supermarket, and neither has products
>
> Penzeys sells regular, medium, and hot chili powder... you need to pay
> closer attention.
>

Damn, don't you love Penzey's? I'm looking forward to my 4th of July
pilgrimage to the Penzey's store in Pittsburgh. My 92-year old
grandmother thinks I'm coming up to visit her for the big parade and
fireworks, but it's all just a big excuse to get my Penzey's fix.

Sandy

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Sheldon wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> > It's not at all clear to me what these three ingredients are. I buy my
>> > spices at Penzey's or at the local supermarket, and neither has
>> > products
>>
>> Penzeys sells regular, medium, and hot chili powder... you need to pay
>> closer attention.
>>
>
> Damn, don't you love Penzey's? I'm looking forward to my 4th of July
> pilgrimage to the Penzey's store in Pittsburgh. My 92-year old
> grandmother thinks I'm coming up to visit her for the big parade and
> fireworks, but it's all just a big excuse to get my Penzey's fix.

Yeah, I wish we had a store here in Hawaii. I order all my spices online. I
must say, though, that Penzey's mail-order service is exemplery, and the
products are always high quality and fresh.

--Rich