• Start a personal food blog, or, start a community food thread for all.

Alcohol and Sugar in Chili

I was just thinking. I know a lot of CASI cookoff cooks. Some of them put sugar in their chili to temper the burn.

If sugar tempers the burn, then would alochol temper the burn also since it is basically a sugar?

I use white zinfendel wine in my chili at the rate of 1 Liter per gallon.

Heres my question. If you don't put sugar or alcohol in the chili would it be hotter?
 
ive alway been told it cuts the head down also you got to concider the different burn....you got front heat and back heat. also it sounds wierd but 9 out of 10 judges dont want it hot.
 
bubbaschili said:
ive alway been told it cuts the head down also you got to concider the different burn....you got front heat and back heat. also it sounds wierd but 9 out of 10 judges dont want it hot.

I didn't consider the different burn part Bubba. That is something else I will take notice of when I make my next batch. I am not going to use any alcohol, and will replace the wine with plain ol' water just to see what happens.

I will make a small batch next weekend and let you know if I can tell a difference in the heat and kind of burn it produces.
 
AJ...alcohol is no longer a sugar as we recognize it after fermenting and distillation. Sugar really doesn't temper heat that well in spicy stuff in general. Milk and dairy in general work better. Personally, were I to add alcohol it would be for flavor, such as adding a bottle or 2 of good beer to a pot of red. Mind you..I am prejudiced as I am a Texas boy and even in parts of Tejas, anything but straight chili red/no beans is verbotten ...even beer added. I say ...live a little...hell I've even added Remy Martin to chili....pretty tasty stuff.
Cheers, TB.
 
seems like everytime i hear of someone put alcohol in chili its been wiskey now me personally like a batch of chili made with beer. and to me it had nothing to do with the heat it was the flavor
 
AlabamaJack said:
If sugar tempers the burn, then would alochol temper the burn also since it is basically a sugar?

*WHOA*:!: Alcohol is nothing like a sugar...they both have a caloric component to them, but so do fats and protiens. That fact aside, ethanol (the alcohol in question) boils at 78 C (about 150 F), and will boil off during cooking, leaving the non-volitile components behind.

Heres my question. If you don't put sugar or alcohol in the chili would it be hotter?

Should be no effect, I think the effect is more of our taste perception than actually making the food less hot, but the anatomy of the tongue isn't in my expertise.
 
Ok,a little beer in a chili is ok...but a liter wine to 3 liter chili,damn,thats much.I prefer chili without any "schnickschnack" like beans,bellpeppers,sourcreme,cheese and fancy stuff.
 
LMAO
yea maybe he likes his wine, 1 liter of wine to 1 gallon of chilli :lol:

I put sugar in my spaghetti & sometimes but rare for chilli.
 
I dont know if its a must, but I see others do this so I put some in. chilli I dont think its a must. but then again I also see people eat raw tomatoes with sugar on top, maybe theres a connection :lol:
 
This may sound dumb but isn't there enough sugar in tomatos? I found my tomato sauce this year overly sweet without sugar but maybe its the tomato varieties I used?
 
Not completely relevant, but capsaicin is incredibly soluble in beer. I would estimat 50-60 times more heat and flavor in beer as opposed to vinegar. I soak habs in beer for a week or so and add that to my chili for incredibly even heat and flavor distribution..sometimes. Sometimes I want chunks of hab to hit my tongue.
 
^^^^
Are you suggesting a great hot sauce could be made by combining Buds and pods? Nagaheiser? Michaberno? 7-pod Busch? Miller Hot Limon?

Time for me to go to bed!

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
^^^^
Are you suggesting a great hot sauce could be made by combining Buds and pods? Nagaheiser? Michaberno? 7-pod Busch? Miller Hot Limon?

Time for me to go to bed!

Mike

Hah! Imagine Nagameister. ewwww..

Now, an orange hab or three in tequila.. I may have to try that.
 
I have a 1 liter bottle of Quervo Especial with about a dozen whole Wild Tepin pods in it....and let me tell you......talk about a prarie fire...(that's a shot of tequilla with a splash of tabasco)...iI just tasted it and the burn is definitely there........
 
I made a nice chili the other night using some jalapeno beer in there for a kick.
I always put beer in my chili, when I'm having chili, its usually an event worth drinking for.
So I pour some in, no complaints.
 
AlabamaJack youve got the wife exited to try the zinfandel chilli..its here favourite wine lol so its down in the lab in the next few days doing my zinfandel surprise chilli (the surprise is what it will taste like lol :lol:
 
I don't know what it is about the Zinfindel in the chili but I sure do like it...that is the only liquid I use to make the "gravy" besides the canned tomatoes...it won't be long before I use fresh tomatoes again...hopefully within a month...with all the varieties of peppers I have going, I am going to be able to make my own chili powder too...I want a chili that is made from fresh veggies in my garden...I want to use Cascabel, Pasillo Bajio, and Anaheim as the basic powder and add some Naga/Bhut/Dorset powder for heat...
 
yep same here AlabamaJack got about 40 dif chilli variets in various states of growth and some san marzano,tumbling tom reds,gardners delight tomatoes.purple carrots,mini iceberg lettuce,rhubarb,red baron onions,purple spouting brocolli,aspargus and some red cabbage..all i need is the sun lol..but i get your point, trying here to grow as much as i can myself to use in my own recipies :)
 
Back
Top