I had a hankering to make chili.
Didn’t have chili powder.
Didn’t have cayenne.
Didn’t feel like buying cayenne.
But I did have a couple jars of dried jalapeños from last summer.
(See: Grew These)
So instead of grabbing a store blend, I built my usual chili powder…
and swapped the cayenne for my own ground jalapeños.
Now… the problem.
My wife has a very different definition of “medium.”
Costco salsa? Too spicy.
She powers through it… but I hear about it.
History suggests this swap was a risky decision.
Anyway, here’s what I did:
Used about 1 1/2 peppers:
- some with seeds
- some without
First I tried using a mortar and pestle to grind them…
Then I got fed up and finished it in a busted coffee grinder.
Mixed, it looked rougher than my usual chili powder…
Flavoured with the jalapeños I grew, dried, and ground myself.
Which felt like a great idea at the time.
Result:
Medium heat.
Nice warmth, not overpowering.
Well, at least not for me.
But the Food Critics’ verdict?
This is what I’m trying to figure out:
- How much do the seeds actually matter?
- How does grind size affect it?
- How does this compare to store-bought chili powder?
The goal here isn’t just to make chili powder.
It’s to understand what the peppers I grow actually do in a dish.
This is the start.
Next test:
- Remove jalapeños from the spice mix and cook them whole with the beans.
- All seeds vs no seeds.
- Toasted vs not toasted.
- Maybe bring in some chipotle powder to round it out.
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