Chili Powder

Specifications

Chili powder (also powdered chili or chile powder) is the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties of chili pepper, sometimes with the addition of other spices (when it may be known as chili powder blend). It is used as a spice to add pungency or piquancy and flavor to dishes. In American English the name is usually spelled "chili", or, less commonly, "chile". In British English the spelling "chilli" (with two "l"s) is used consistently.

Chili powder is sometimes known by the specific type of chili pepper used (such as cayenne pepper). It is used in many different cuisines, including Tex-Mex, Indian, Chinese, Korean and Thai.

Chili powder blends are especially popular in American cuisine, where they are the primary flavor ingredient in chili con carne. 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, 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.