From: utzoo!decvax!ittvax!freb
Newsgroups: net.cooks
Title: Chili
Article-I.D.: ittvax.618
Posted: Sat Feb 12 16:59:34 1983
Received: Sun Feb 13 07:43:11 1983

The recent discussion on what chili is/what it contains has almost
reached the fervor of a religious debate.  So I'll throw in my few
cents worth.

First, I would recommend that the chili lovers out there buy a book -
"Chili Madness", by Jane Butel.  It's full of chili recipes and words
about the origin of chili, what goes in it, the kinds of chile peppers,
etc.

You can put just about anything you want into chili - beans, meat,
tomatoes, chocolate, whatever, and it will still be chili.  Carroll
Shelby, one of the founders of the International Chili Society, says
what goes into chili is a matter of taste and inclination:  "You can
put in anything you feel like at the time".

To quote Jane Butel:

"New Mexicans are committed to the idea that chili must be pure -
everything-but-the-kitchen-sink concoctions are unheard of, hissed and
booed at and generally ignored.  Traditionally, New Mexicans serve a
saucy red chili puree or green chili stew with sizable chunks of red
meat with stewed pinto beans on the side.  Heavy on the chile and light
on the meat, New Mexican chili never contains any additional
vegetables.

"Next door in Texas (and elsewhere), however, chili nearly always
contains coarse-ground beef, chile, garlic, cumin, and onions - and
perhaps beans and tomatoes."

So, what goes into "authentic chili" depends on who's cooking it.
About the only things you can say for certain about chili are that it's
great stuff, and that it did not originate in Mexico (probably in
Texas).

As an example of what can go into chili, consider this list of
ingredients for "Australian Dinkum Chili" (chili is popular down
there):

	500 g	Wallaroo bacon
	1 kg	coarsely chopped red kangaroo shank
	500 g	coarsely chopped gray kangaroo steak
	500 g	ground emu ham
	2 tblsp	vegetable oil
	1	medium brown onion
	1	white onion
	2 	stalks celery
	1	green pepper
	2	cloves garlic
	31 1/2 g Tasmanian light red chile
	31 1/2 g Wooroorooka chile
	26 1/2 g Mount Isa dark red chile
	140 g	oregano
	1 fl dram cumin
	740 ml	Australian beer
	1	4ll can whole tomatoes
		Boomerang
	3 fl drams brown sugar

I'll probably post one of my favorite chili recipes before too long.

	Karl Freburger
	decvax!ittvax!freb