CHILI AS BASE INGREDIENT
Chili recipes have always been with us. They feature as the most popular ingredient in dishes today but we can have chili recipes all their own and not as part of some other meal. Chili recipes are largely seen as Mexican but they are several Mediterranean and even Continental American recipes that heavily dwell on chili.
Chili goes well with many other vegetables including tomatoes, spinach and onions. It blends well with onions in gravy. Each region seems to have their own brand of chili recipes. From the Mediterranean, to South America or Asia or Africa, chili today means so many different things to cooking experts and beginners.
GLOBAL APPEAL
White chili which is typically served with salad produce a delicacy for both young and old. It can be an aside recipe or a full dinner for many. Likewise the Spanish themed Quinoa Chili which is prepared with ground beef in many parts of Mexico and the South. We also have the Black Beans and Rice Chili which can have fish fillets as extras. But I think above all chili recipes, I seem to relish the vegetable based chili with seafood like salmon.
Chili peppers are an essential component of many food recipes worldwide today because of their distinct spiciness; this is especially true of Chinese, Mexican, Thai, and New Mexican cuisines, as well as many other cuisines from South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia. Asian cuisine of the twenty-first century uses a lot of chili peppers in many different places.
BOTANICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Botanically, chili pepper pods are berries. They are often prepared and consumed like vegetables when used fresh. To make chili powder, which is used as a spice or condiment, whole pods can be dried and then crushed or powdered. Chilies can have their shelf life extended by drying them. In addition, pickling, brining, and submerging the pods in oil are methods for preserving chili peppers.
The stiff outer peel of many fresh chiles, including poblanos, does not break down when used in food recipes today. Sometimes, whole or big slices of chillies are used, and the skin is blistered or charred by roasting, without fully cooking the flesh underneath. The skins usually come off easily when chilled.
