What is the difference between "Chili powder" and "New Mexico chili powder"? Fiesta brand has both.

Probably the type chile used. Most chili powder seems to be red, a New Mexico powder may be a darker one. Just my guess.

quote:

---

What is the difference between "Chili powder" and "New Mexico chili powder"? Fiesta brand has both.

---

Chili powder often has additional ingredients such as cumin. Chili powder labeled "pure" or "new mexico" is straight ground chile.

Fiesta CP sucks as do most brands off the shelf. If you're not mail ordering from NM or grinding your own, use Gebhardt. It's the only bottle I'll even consider

Chili powder is ground chile peppers mixed with other spices like garlic, salt, pepper, etc.

Chile powder is just the ground chile peppers, like jalapeo, chipotle, Hatch, etc. ....and the way to go...IMO.

From what I have been reading, "Chili Powder" is darn sure a mix of everything from garlic to cumin, to cayenne to mild chilies. "New Mexico" is pure and is fairly low on the heat scale - just flavorful.

quote:

---

From what I have been reading, "Chili Powder" is darn sure a mix of everything from garlic to cumin, to cayenne to mild chilies. "New Mexico" is pure and is fairly low on the heat scale - just flavorful.

---

I love the flavor of NM chiles. Definitely distinct when compared to other dried chiles IMO.

I started grinding my own. It's easy and the flavor difference is shocking.

Buy a mortar and pestle or molcajete (you can use a food processer, but cutting =/= grinding).

Buy dried chiles, pick one or mix to get the flavor and heat you want. Fun to experiment here. I've been using cascabels lately.

Toast chiles briefly in the oven to really dry them out.

Grind with rock salt, whole black peppercorns, Mexican oregano, and toasted cumin seeds.

Great for taco meat or chili.

In New Mexico the vernacular is Chili Powder and Chili Powder with spice. In Texas the vernacular is Chili Powder (this is a spice blend) and Chili Pepper (pure chili pepper). In Texas the first ingredient in chili powder should be chili pepper. Generally at retail you find New Mexico chili pepper and ancho chili pepper in the ground form. They do taste substantially different.

As stated above it is not hard to grind your own. I would remove all seeds and stems first.

http://www.mildbills.com/

Penderys in Ft Worth is the be all end all of spices and chili powder have been since the late 1800's. They have every kind you could imagine. If you don't live in cowtown they have a mail order website.
http://www.penderys.com

If you want to order straight from NM, check out http://diazfarms.com . It is the family of a Co worker, some great stuff when in season.

quote:

---

Penderys in Ft Worth is the be all end all of spices and chili powder have been since the late 1800's. They have every kind you could imagine. If you don't live in cowtown they have a mail order website.
http://www.penderys.com

---

I love their NM Hot chili powder. Great place.

Here is a little more information to assist chili pepper aficionados to understand more about the products being talked about here.

Our Fiesta fancy light chili powder and the Gebhardt's version are what we call heavy ancho chili powder. The blend has a large percentage of ancho chili pepper in the formulation. Drying and grinding the ancho pods into the red chili pepper is the source of the spice. You can grind the seeds in or leave them out. By longer drying (heating), the pods will become a bit darker with a bit more complex and rich flavor, but the color is darker. Generally in Texas the light version is what is used for the Tex Mex flavor and color profile. If you like darker chili, you can fry the spices longer before adding them.

New Mexico chili pepper is generally hotter and a bit more harsh and can be found in similar to much higher heat levels than ancho chili pepper. There are many different versions of this chili pepper from a whole host of designer chili pod growers in New Mexico and further West. New Mexico chili pepper is not really interchangable with ancho chili pepper in a particular flavor you may be looking for.