Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Fix Too Much Cumin In My Chili







There are several ways to fix chili that is flavored with too much cumin.


Cumin is a seed that is commonly used as a spice in whole or ground form. It has a strong, earthy and nutty flavor. It is a staple in Central American, South American, Indian and Asian cuisine. Many would argue that cumin is a necessary ingredient for any chili recipe or other dishes in Tex-Mex cuisine. However, if too much cumin is added to chili, the flavor can be overpowering and will need to be fixed.


Instructions


1. Double the chili recipe and store the extra chili in the freezer for later consumption. When you double the recipe, do not add extra cumin - you want the cumin flavor to be diluted throughout the chili.








2. Spoon out some of the liquid in the chili pot and replace with an equal amount of unseasoned tomato juice. Add the other spices to taste to make up for the extra tomato sauce. Much of the flavor is in the liquid and the amount of liquid you need to spoon off depends on the amount of cumin that was used.


3. Balance the cumin flavor with more chili powder or try nutmeg, a spice that is often regarded as the opposite of cumin.


4. Add one or two whole peeled potatoes to the chili and simmer for 30 minutes to absorb some of the excess seasonings. Discard the potato when finished. This is a common fix for adding too much salt, but the potato can absorb other spices as well.


5. Leave the spice ratio as is and serve the chili with a dollop or two of sour cream. Sour cream can cool the spiciness of the cumin.


6. Pour 12 ounces of beer into the chili and simmer for at least 10 minutes to let the flavors combine.

Tags: chili recipe, chili simmer, cumin flavor, other spices