Herbs in Chili???

[Gary350]

Factory made CAN chili from the Grocery store has a flavor I can never get in home made chili.

What herb is in can chili that gives it that flavor?

Which can chili is the best, total best flavor?

[Kisal]

Cumin, maybe? It's hard to guess without knowing what herbs you use in your homemade chili.

I used to like Nalley's canned chili, but almost never eat commercially processed foods anymore. These days, I prefer fresh foods that I prepare at home.

[gumbo2176]

Cumin, maybe? It's hard to guess without knowing what herbs you use in your homemade chili.

I used to like Nalley's canned chili, but almost never eat commercially processed foods anymore. These days, I prefer fresh foods that I prepare at home.

Definitely Cumin. The Chili Powder is mainly used for the deep red color as it adds very little flavor in my opinion. At least that is the main herb flavoring I use for that traditional chili taste when I decide to make a big pot on cold days.

[gumbo2176]

Can chili from the Grocery store has a flavor I can never get in home made chili.

What herb is in can chili that gives it that flavor?

Which can chili is the best, total best flavor?

I haven't eaten commercial canned chili in ages. I'll make a couple gallons at a time when I make it and put it in quart freezer bags in the freezer for later use.

My wife and daughter like hot dogs and they will use my home made chili on them. I'm not much on hot dogs and their "mystery meat" ingredients. I do like a good bowl of chili and elbow macaroni for a hearty meal.

[Gary350]

I put Cumin in my chili it adds a nice chili flavor but it is not the same flavor as can chili. If you eat chili at Steak & Shake it is a very noticable flavor.

It is possible cumin seed has move flavor than ground cumin. All the India recipes call for cumin seed cooked in hot oil until the seeds pop for best flavor maybe I need to try that.

I start out with 1 lb of lean ground beef, 1 large onion, about 6 cloves of garlic, salt and pepper, 2 heaping tablespoons of chili powder, about 1 heaping tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 quart of fresh garden tomatoes, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of paprika if you want deep dark red chili, 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper, 2 tablespoons of soya sauce, 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, 1 teaspoon hersheys cocoa, 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of oregano, simmer in crock pot for a while.

I know a woman that puts 1 can of grocery store chili in her homemade chili just to get the can chili flavor.

[applestar]

Do you suppose pressure cooking it would change the flavor to be more similar to canned since all canned goods are "pressure cooked" right?

I hate to be negative, but I avoid commercially canned food since I'm chemically sensitive to phenol and I have been told that the coating inside the cans are phenol-based and can affect me. So there's another "flavor" if you will....

Hmm... isn't another "classic" ingredient mexican oregano? Ages ago, I was trying to make chili completely from scratch, not using pre-mixed chili powder, and I *think* that was one of the ingredients... but really, it was ages and ages ago so I might be wrong.

[Kisal]

I don't use a recipe. I probably make my chili differently every time, just tossing whatever strikes my fancy into the pot, and then tasting it until it seems right.

I start with a mixture of half ground pork and half ground beef. I'm very fond of fennel with pork, so I probably stir in some crushed fennel seeds while I brown the meat. After that, I'm sure I sometimes toss in a little oregano, and I put thyme in almost everything I make. I like rosemary, too, so often toss some of that in. I don't try to make my homemade chili taste like anything else. I just want it to taste good. I think I'd be very disappointed if my homemade chili ended up tasting like the canned stuff.

[Gary350]

Mexican oregano is definitely an ingredient in chili. I always add the juice of 1/2 lemon per quart of chili, shortly before serving. It brightens the flavors and cuts some of the "sweetness" of the tomato paste and cumin.
In Texas you can get strung up from the nearest tree for putting beans in your chili. Please don't tell on me .

It is NOT chili with NO beans.

Oregano adds a lot of flavor to chili. Sometimes I add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning and sometimes a bay leaf.

Sometimes I get ideas from Mexican cook books. Sometimes I put a can of Enchilada Sauce in chili, sometimes I use steak instead of ground beef, sometimes 10 cloves of garlic instead of 4, sometimes a can of salsa or green chilis, and chili is good with corn chips like you get in a mexican restaurant.

India food cooking teaches you the best way to cook with herbs, they always cook cumin seed in hot oil until the seed pop, I might need to try this with chili. They teach you not to over heat or over cook the food you will loose the herb flavors. The herbs are sometimes put in at end of the cooking so you don't loose the flavor. The sealed lid of a pressure cooker might work great to keep in flavor when cooking.

I sometimes add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and Hersheys cocoa to chili. These 2 combined flavors make a new flavor I learned from india cooking it is great in chili.

[lorax]

The other thing that might be in the canned vs your chili is powdered garlic. It has a markedly different flavour to fresh.

[Tonio]

Try alittle masa flour at the end of cooking. Masa flour is what is used to make tortillas, and tamales. Used as a thickening slury, and adds a nice flavor.
It does tame heat from hot peppers, so YMMV on that front.

I try to stay away from canned food. Especially canned tomatoes- BPA leach city

Try some chilpolte sauce for a smokey flavor.

T

[DeborahL]

Try adding a bit of clove.

[GardenGnome]

What's chili called if it has no beans. Well what ever its called and btw this forum rocks and now I want to make some...... whatever with no beans.

[webmaster]

There are smoked New Mexico red peppers for sale in some places, comes in a plastic bag. Sell them all over the place in Santa Fe. What you do with those is stick them in a sauce, soup or whatever then remove it when it has leached the desired amount of heat and smokey flavor. You can do that with chipotle from the can as well, but you might have to deal with the BPA leach thing, so smoked and dried up is probably the healthiest was to go.

[Allegre Nee]

What's chili called if it has no beans.

....spicy meat?

I put beans in my chili, too. And I have to admit...maybe other than when I was in the Army I don't think I've ever eaten canned chili. And in the Army it wasn't by choice!!

I use a LOT of oregano in my chili plus cumin, cayenne, and chili powder. The oregano was kind of an accident - the lid fell off one day when I was adding a dash and I wound up adding a whole lot. Whoops! But that day's chili was finished simmering it was the best I had ever made so now I add a lot more oregano that I used to.

[lorax]

What's chili called if it has no beans?

Carne estofado, usually.