I Just Learned What Chilli Powder Is Really Made From, And I Had No Clue

I’m only just wrapping my head around my recent discovery that a lot of paprika is made from bell peppers. 

And I’m learning to accept all the years I wasted not knowing how the lids of spice jars really work too. 

But now, there’s been another blow to my understanding of the world ― unlike allspice, which is made from one species of berry, most chilli powder doesn’t simply contain dried and ground chilli peppers. 

Spice manufacturing company McCormick says “you might be surprised to know that chilli powder is actually a blend of herbs and spices” (indeed, I was!). 

Though there are exceptions (Rajah’s offering is 100% chilli, for instance), I kept finding spice blend after spice blend in UK shops and on my shelves.

What other spices go into chilli?

Common add-ins include oregano, cumin, and dried garlic. 

The one on my spice rack at home contains all three of these plus a “flavouring”. 

Of course, the majority of the spice mix tends to be made from what you’d expect ― dried and ground chilli peppers. 

But the “hot” and “mild” versions of chilli powders can sometimes have different percentages. 

For instance, Tesco’s “hot” chilli powder is 83% chilli, while their “mild” version is 81% chilli and also contains some capsicum extract their hotter kind doesn’t have.

Spice company Schwartz’s’ “mild” kind has 69% chilli powder to 66% in their “hot kind,” however.

That’s because their “hot” version has more punchy cayenne in it, and the heat of the chilli pepper is mostly determined by the type of chilli used.

Aldi’s chilli powder combines 62% dried chilli with 20% cayenne pepper and adds the classic cumin, oregano, and dried garlic combo ― it also has salt.

If you’ve ever felt unhinged for liking one chilli powder brand over another, this should be reassuring news ― they really are different. 

What about chilli flakes?

I started wondering about those flakes I add to everything after finding out about the “spice blend” news. 

But those have nowhere to hide ― they really are just dehydrated chilli peppers. 

Still, I learned something new about those too – I’d previously thought they were just the seeds of the plant, but it turns out chilli flakes include the dried flesh of the peppers as well.

The more you know...