Don't Skip One Important Seasoning Step When Making Chili

Walking into your home to the smell of chili cooking is like a warm, comforting hug. Cumin, chili powder, garlic, and more mingling their scents together is an olfactory delight. When making your chili, be sure to bloom your spices to enhance the fragrance and taste of your finished product.

Simply put, this method will make your chili taste better, and all you have to do is briefly sauté the spices in oil or butter. Exposing them to direct heat and combining them with a fat releases essential oils from the spices, which enhances their aromatics and makes them taste more pronounced without being overpowering. The best part is that this step is quick, easy, and totally worth the extra minute or two added to your cooking time. Feel free to put whatever spice your heart desires in your chili, but the ones usually included in most recipes are cumin, paprika, garlic powder (or real minced garlic), onion powder, black peppercorns, chili powder (or real dried chiles), cinnamon (sticks or ground), and coriander seeds (whole or ground).

Regardless of whether you're using whole pods, seeds, or ground spices, you want to avoid things getting too hot, as spices can burn fast and easily, which can result in a bitter and charred taste. Try to use a fat with a high heat point, like avocado oil or ghee. Once you have a couple of tablespoons of your fat sizzling in a skillet over medium heat, add in your spices to sauté. Fresh, whole spices will take a bit longer, so if you're using any, give those a head start. Exactly how much longer they need to cook will depend on the spice, but generally, it'll take about 30 seconds to a minute. When they begin to smell very aromatic, and any seeds begin to pop in the skillet, that's usually a good sign that they're done. Ground spices burn the fastest and take no more than 30 seconds. You can even turn off the heat right before you add them.

Give everything one last mix, and you're done. Remove from the heat, and you're free to add your spices to your pot or slow cooker with all the other ingredients and carry on cooking. Whether you're making a classic beef chili in the Crock-Pot, or perfecting your chili recipe full of secret ingredients on the stovetop, blooming your spices will add a depth of flavor to your dish worth the blue ribbon at a chili cookoff.