by H. Snowborne

Created on: January 04, 2010

As a comfort food, chili is unbeatable.  It's simple to make, the ingredients are inexpensive and easy to keep in your pantry, and chili makes a wonderful, warming food on a cold day.  There are so many versions of this dish, so many recipes-some that make an almost "instant" chili, others that are specific about ingredients in terms of what makes an "authentic" chili as opposed to one that's just "messing around" with the concept.  There are a few basic techniques to keep in mind when you create your chili, however:  though almost anything goes, any combination of ingredients can be made to taste best if you use a few simple tricks. 

The first rule:  if you're going to take the time to make anything, use the best ingredients possible.  For many people, chili is strictly a meat stew; for others, it can easily become vegetarian or vegan and still be the complex combination of flavours and textures we all love to experience in the dish.  If you like your chili to be meaty, choose the best stewing meats that yield their flavours through long, slow cooking.   Choose fresh vegetables like fresh carrots, tomatoes, and celery; and fresh herbs and limes if you're intent on using them as flavourings in your stew.  If you like your chili with beans, you may prefer to soak them first (some say soaked dry beans are superior) or use a canned bean that you know tastes great-either way, use your preference, but know that a chili made with black beans will taste different from one made with pinto beans, or white beans.  Some people love to use a prepared chili powder mixture; some people love to create their own blend, as they go:  if you like a prepared chili powder, keep a fresh mix on hand so that its flavours are clear and strong.  You must do the same if you like to make your own:  use a fresh whole seed cumin or ground powder, fresh chili pepper flakes, and fresh paprika or pimenton-old dry spices like these lose their flavours over time and if they're used in your dish the quality of your chili will suffer. 

The most important flavouring ingredient, the chili pepper, needs the same kind of thought:  there are so many different kinds of chili peppers to choose from and it's best to know which you prefer before "experimenting" with types you've never tried before.  Some are far more hot that sweet, such as habanero peppers.  These are very high in Scoville units, so adding them to

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