Cooking With Chili Spices- Chili Powder

Chili powder is one of the most popular and most used spices in the kitchen. You might say it's a kitchen staple. Chili powder is used in chili of course, but it's also used in a wide variety of Mexican and Indian dishes. It adds a bit of heat and spice to American dishes as well.

From the name you may think that it's made of just ground chili peppers but chili powder is actually a blend of many spices. Chili powder contains chili peppers plus a combination of garlic, oregano, cumin, and salt. Some chili powders also contain cloves, coriander, pepper, and allspice.

• Try different brands and varieties to see which you prefer. McCormick sells a hot chili powder and well as a regular blend.
• Purchase your chili powder in small quantities as the flavor will start to decrease after opening. Be sure to check the spice "best by" date on the container.
• Here's a yummy recipe for Brown Bean Chowder which uses our featured spice.

*smile* Sherri

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