Just Askin': Is there actually chocolate in Cincinnati chili? (2024)

FAQs

Just Askin': Is there actually chocolate in Cincinnati chili? ›

Answer: Nope, according to Dann Woellert, author of "The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili." For the 2013 book, Woellert spoke with the owners of all the local chili parlors – Skyline, Gold Star, Pleasant Ridge and Price Hill, to name a few – and they all confirmed chocolate was not an ingredient in their recipes.

A lot of people have said this, but it's not true.

In Mexico, for example, unsweetened chocolate is mixed with pulverized dried chiles, aromatic spices, seeds, and nuts to make a dark mole sauce—a quintessential chile sauce with origins in pre-Hispanic times—that is often served with meats. The practice of mixing chocolate and chile dates back to the Aztecs.

Why is Skyline Chili so popular? This dish has a Mediterranean influence in flavor so it is really unique! It has the traditional chili powder and cumin but also cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Skyline Chili has perfected their recipe so well that it is even sold in grocery stores.

Its name evokes comparison to chili con carne, but the two are dissimilar in consistency, flavor, and serving method; Cincinnati chili more closely resembles Greek pasta sauces and spiced-meat hot dog topping sauces seen in other parts of the United States.

Answer: Nope, according to Dann Woellert, author of "The Authentic History of Cincinnati Chili." For the 2013 book, Woellert spoke with the owners of all the local chili parlors – Skyline, Gold Star, Pleasant Ridge and Price Hill, to name a few – and they all confirmed chocolate was not an ingredient in their recipes.

Skyline Chili is unique in that it is not chili con carne, the meat dish that originated in (and is the state dish of) Texas. Instead, Cincinnati chili is a sauce usually used over spaghetti or hot dogs, containing a unique spice blend that gives it a very distinct, sweet-and-savory taste.

Both chili peppers and chocolate are native to Mexico and Central America — and they were often combined, as they are in Mexican mole sauce. Adding chocolate to chili lends depth and richness to the spicy dish, making it both more savory and more satisfying.

If you're familiar with mole or Mexican hot chocolate, you know the power of chocolate and spice; adding cocoa to your chili boosts the flavors, allowing you to get the most out of minimal spices, without adding a noticeable chocolatey-ness.

Dark chocolate is by far the healthiest form of the treat, containing the least sugar and, because of its cocoa content, higher levels of substances that protect the body's cells.

What is Cincinnati chili made of? ›

Cincinnati chili and traditional red chili (chili con carne) both consist of a tomato base, ground meat, and chili powder. Traditional red chili often includes cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder, though it's not limited to these spices.

In a small bowl, add a tablespoon of cornstarch and a few splashes of stock or water. Stir the mixture well until it becomes a thick liquid with no streaks of powder remaining. Pour that liquid directly into your pot (you may need to scrape the last bits out with a rubber spatula) and bring the chili up to a boil.

One-way: Just a bowl of chili. Order it like that if you want, but you're missing out. And no one calls it a "one way." Two-way: Chili plus spaghetti.

Originally, Cincinnati chili was just chili spaghetti. It was based on the Greek saltsa kima, which is meat sauce on pasta.

It all started with Tom and John Kiradjieff, two arrivals from what is now northern Greece, who founded Empress Chili Parlor in downtown Cincinnati in 1922.

Cocoa Powder and Chili Go Very Well Together

Adding chocolate to chili lends depth and richness to the spicy dish, making it both more savory and more satisfying. That's especially the case for vegetarian and vegan chilis, when the hearty flavors from meat aren't part of the equation.

While measurements are unknown, the recipe most likely contains three common Greek spices (nutmeg/mace, cinnamon, cloves) plus a balance of sweet (coriander, cardamom, anise, ginger, allspice), spicy (garlic, chili powder, paprika, cumin) and herby (oregano, thyme) ingredients.

In fact, I suspect that most of them don't, though some use MSG for the same purpose. But dried yeast adds a distinctive umami depth to the three-ways* at Skyline Chili, the city's most popular chili chain, which inspired this recipe and many others.

Description: This classic Cincinnati dish starts with a foundation of spaghetti noodles coated in Skyline's secret blend of seasonings. A heaping spoonful of kidney beans goes on next, followed by Skyline's "original, secret-recipe chili," some chopped onions and a heaping mound of finely shredded aged cheddar.