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chili beans
23/7/22 20:28today I happened to look at the chili bean selection at the supermarket, perhaps drawn to the newer packaging of chili magic, even though I've probably never bought it.
for some reason, I was bizarrely surprised to learn that all varieties of chili magic and iirc at least two other brands of chili beans (plus they're in Bush's mixed chili beans otherwise) use pinto beans.
I'm not sure this should have been surprising—it's not that I dislike pintos (in fact they are my fast casual burrito bean of choice in recent years), but the prototypical chili bean in my mind is either small red or kidney beans, though there are also specific black bean and white bean chilis, and for some reason pink beans also feel Extremely Acceptable for chili.
(it's even very true that I've made midwestern-ish (via Mollie Katzen, transplant from New York to California) lentil chili and enjoyed it, although it's again not the prototypical chili in my head)
I suppose this is probably also why this one Jamie Oliver chili recipe felt Wrong— chickpeas are not archetypal chili material.
...it's not impossible that some manufacturers may have switched to pinto beans—Camillia brand claims they are extremely popular, and my nonrepresentative experience suggests that small red beans otoh are not in fact terrifically popular. there could even be crop availability issues.
but growing up they were among the select few varieties of beans I would even eat: baked beans (mostly either from Bush's or my mom's family), chili beans, and kidney beans, so I didn't expect to be so unfamiliar with the product.
(PS: it's also my personal view that small red beans are The Proper bean for Cincinnati 4/5-ways (and, while I have vastly less room to speak on the topic, red beans and rice), even though I see kidney beans recommended for both these applications.)
What bean(s) do you like in chili? Do you have any Bean Opinions?
for some reason, I was bizarrely surprised to learn that all varieties of chili magic and iirc at least two other brands of chili beans (plus they're in Bush's mixed chili beans otherwise) use pinto beans.
I'm not sure this should have been surprising—it's not that I dislike pintos (in fact they are my fast casual burrito bean of choice in recent years), but the prototypical chili bean in my mind is either small red or kidney beans, though there are also specific black bean and white bean chilis, and for some reason pink beans also feel Extremely Acceptable for chili.
(it's even very true that I've made midwestern-ish (via Mollie Katzen, transplant from New York to California) lentil chili and enjoyed it, although it's again not the prototypical chili in my head)
I suppose this is probably also why this one Jamie Oliver chili recipe felt Wrong— chickpeas are not archetypal chili material.
...it's not impossible that some manufacturers may have switched to pinto beans—Camillia brand claims they are extremely popular, and my nonrepresentative experience suggests that small red beans otoh are not in fact terrifically popular. there could even be crop availability issues.
but growing up they were among the select few varieties of beans I would even eat: baked beans (mostly either from Bush's or my mom's family), chili beans, and kidney beans, so I didn't expect to be so unfamiliar with the product.
(PS: it's also my personal view that small red beans are The Proper bean for Cincinnati 4/5-ways (and, while I have vastly less room to speak on the topic, red beans and rice), even though I see kidney beans recommended for both these applications.)
What bean(s) do you like in chili? Do you have any Bean Opinions?
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