Penzeys Chili 3000 is awesome. You can buy at a Penzeys near you or order online.

Badia makes a smooth chili powder. McCormicks chili powder is a bit hotter.

Williams Original Chili Seasoning--a very nicely balanced blend without salt--is good. Available in packets to season 2# of meat. Made by a company in Texas--C.H. Guenther & Son. When I lived in Oklahoma, every grocery store stocked it. When we moved to WI, had to go without for a few years (before Amazon). Now, I can find it at Wal-Mart (check Sam's) and Amazon, of course. Packets or in various food-service bulk quantities.

I alternate between using Williams Chili Seasoning, bulk chili powder from Aldi (always very fresh looking probably because of Aldi's high turnover of product), and whole dried New Mexico hot (Barker's) chili pods that I bought in Arizona. Check the produce section in Wal-Mart for dried chili pods. I think those are the same brand that I got in AZ.

You can rehydrate the whole pods by soaking in hot water (I use hot chicken broth) and then whizzing them up in a blender or VitaMix before adding to the soup.

Williams is a mild seasoning (no heat). I always amp it up by adding fresh serranos to the chili. IMO, seriously good and interesting-ly heated up chili is best made by using the whole pods. The whole pods are available in 'mild', 'medium' & 'hot'. Also in different varieties of peppers. I stick w/ New Mexico for the most part (what I'm most familiar with) but have some others that I toss into the mix sometimes. Still experimenting. No two pots of chili are ever the same at this house!

The quality of Tone's products is uneven, IME. I do buy Tone's whole black peppercorns at Wal-Mart--the only brand & only local store that stocks a larger size. The last batch has been very good. The container before was mediocre.

I won't rule out Tone's for other things and do buy the peppercorns too, how can you mess that up...right? HA! I'll check for these and see what I can find. I would much prefer buying at a store if possible. You know, I think in the past, I just bought generic stuff at Walmart...those cheap bottles that are less than a dollar...better than Tone's. I like hot, the Tone's isn't hot, it's just gross, almost bitter or pungent. I used to buy Badia when we had Bottom Dollar stores...I'll have to bolo for that one, I recall it was fine.

Penzy's! So worth the effort.

I recommend checking out Penzy's website and signing up for offers. They offer lower free shipping and free spices on a regular basis. In fact, I have a few too many spices because I've sometimes received as many free spices as the ones I've paid for!

Plus, I love their advocacy and mission.

Great catalog, too. I always look forward to reading the stories and seeing family recipes.

I make my own but Pendery's and Penzy's 3000 are both good. pendery's

Nothing like fresh ground seed at a tenth the cost but both above i'm familiar with.

Have you tried Gebhardt's? ? It's the favorite around here.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gebhardt-Chili-Powder-3-oz/21296157

Rusty

I like Penzey's, but I also like Alton Brown's recipe for homemade chili powder. I purchase the bulk spices at my local natural foods market or you could get them from Penzey's. I've also been happy with the Spice Island brand in a pinch.

Cook's Illustrated magazine did a taste test of chili powders, and Morton & Bassett chili powder won. They said, "our winner had a deep, roasty, complex flavor; subtle sweetness; and just the right amount of heat. We used it on its own to season a batch of chili that was “bright,” “sizzling,” and “full-flavored.”" (IMHO it is really good, but not that spicy.)

I like Atlantic Spice for mail order. For example: 1# of Saigon cinnamon from Atlantic Spice is $6.30. 10.4 ounces of Vietnamese cinnamon from Penzey's is $19.49.

I've compared the cinnamon from both vendors. Both are excellent w/ no discernible difference between them.

1# of California garlic granules from Atlantic Spice is $9.50. ($7.50 for Chinese garlic granules). 17.6 oz of garlic granules (no source info, so I assume Chinese) from Penzey's is $16.99.

Atlantic Spice shipping cost is flat rate $7.95 for orders under $50. Actual cost of shipping for orders over $50.

Badia has a couple of different chili powders to choose from. Excellent value if they're available where you are. BTW, their cinnamon is true Sri Lankan cinnamon.

Frieda - could be different years, but I recall CI recommending Spice Islands among the top if not the best, and Penzey's low. Might have been before Penzey's had different varieties. You seem to be quoting - am I correct? I also seem to remember them not liking Gebhardt's, which surprised me as I see that specifically called for in many recipes. I know this is just their opinion...

Thanks - interesting how they went from best to boring. I'll give B&M a shot.

I think either Spice Islands changed its formulation, which happens with any food company, or, in the 8 years interim, the testing panel's tastes changed. Or both.

I used to use Penzey's 3000, but now I make my own, thanks to Alton Brown. I had a hard time finding the cascabel's, but finally did. I'm a heat wuss, though, and so I go really easy on the spice, tasting as I go.

Annie

I never use any "spice mix". I like, most of the time, hatch chili powder and some cumin to taste. sometimes I add some ancho to the mix, sometimes a hotter pepper. Never any garlic powder, always fresh garlic and oregano....or not oregano....depends on what I am making
I like Penzey's ancho chili....and the hatch I order from New Mexico.

I also do not use chili powder, and when I make chili, I use whole dried chilies, which I toast and then simmer in a liquid and purée or strain through a food mill. If I were going to use a powder, I would make it from dried chilies (ancho, pasilla, guajillo) and toast them before grinding them into a powder. I use a coffee grinder for this, and I also grind cumin seeds rather than use cumin powder. Like Linda, I also use fresh garlic and fresh oregano, although I think dried oregano is acceptable - I just have a lot of oregano in my yard. I do have some ancho chili powder and pasilla chili powder that I bought at a restaurant supply store, and I use these only if I feel I need to punch up the flavor. I also have some ancho chili paste from the same store. For heat, I add Habanero chilies, as I find ancho, pasilla, and guajillo to be too mild.

If you find any ancho chili powder in the store, it will probably be better than what you find as a spice mix and will give you more control over the spice mixture.

I was hesitant to post this, but thought that you might like to try some more variations on chili.

I'll echo the Penzey's recommendation - it's good stuff. There are some other good recommendations on this thread: https://www.hungryonion.org/t/do-you-blend-your-own-chili-powder/3020/15

Maybe what I really want is "chile powder"?

AG--Here's a link to some good info on using whole chile pods (how to and what kind):
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/01/the-best-chili-recipe.html

"Chile" is the Spanish spelling for "chili". In UK, it is spelled "chilli". If you look for chile powder, it will most likely be Spanish or Hispanic, which may be helpful.

In the thread posted, I'd read that chile was just ground up chili peppers but chili powder was a blend of oregano and cumin etc. I already put cumin and garlic in the recipe I use. My recipe is a very old recipe that my Great Aunt made at a restaurant that they owned. It is very basic and calls for chili powder. I just wonder what "chili powder" was like back in the 1940s?

Oh I went to Walmart SC and found next to nothing. I found McCormick Chili powder and the generic one that's called 5th something or nother, I forget now. I'll have to try a better store like maybe Giant Eagle, just to see what's available in the store for easy access. Since I've moved to Ohio, I've had a hard to time finding things that I was used to buying when I lived in Texas.

Did you check the produce section in WMT for the whole dried chiles? (I can get them at my WMT in central Wisconsin.)

Are there any Hispanic food stores in your area? I found an interesting variety of dried chiles at a small Mexican food store in Wausau.

I know the frustration in trying to find foods/ brands that you're used to. Relocated to WI from western Oklahoma. No okra, no Williams Chili Seasoning, no raggedy ripe canned peaches, no Stillwell frozen blackberry cobblers, Shawnee Mills pancake mix.... And, worst of all, no Braum's ice cream stores (German Chocolate ice cream and wonderful burgers.)

My dad made chili in his restaurant using Williams chili seasoning but he always added more herbs & stuff to it. Just like you have been doing using the Tone's chili powder which is a blend of ground chiles, cumin, etc.

From Fine Cooking:

The terms “chili” and “chile” are often used interchangeably across North America, but they don’t always mean the same thing. Chili powder is usually a blend of ground chile pods and other spices like cumin, peppercorn, and salt. Chile powder most often refers to pure ground chile pods with few or no additives; the only way to tell is to read the ingredient label. For most dishes I prefer pure ground chile powder, as it allows me to blend (or not blend) it with the particular spices I want for each dish.

'Chili powder' (the blended product) has been around a very long time. Some of the old brands still in existence (Gebhardt's and Pendery's) were making a blended chili powder way back in the late 1800's. I'm betting that your great aunt was using a blended chili powder product.

Coming from Kansas City, it's Williams all the way!

I've been buying

The Gourmet Collection Pineapple Mango & Lime Chipotle Spice

blend from TJmaxx/Tuesday Morning/Marshalls for the past couple years and love it for

a lot of different dishes. One, the blue apron southern style chicken cacciatore.

McCormicks used to be good, now it's awful. I bought it for years but the large jar I bought a few months ago had me going what??

I'm going to add the Penzeys 3000 to my order next time and try some of their other chili powder type blends. I'm a big Penzeys fan. Love Arizona Dreaming.

Williams--since 1937. Lenexa, KS

Williams Chili Seasoning Mix

Like lindac, I don't really use chili powder, tho I do have some on hand. I prefer ground chiles, whole cumin seed, fresh garlic & onion, oregano(fresh or dried), salt & pepper. Sometimes I like to add some ground coriander as well. I buy herbs & spices in bulk @ several local stores & they're almost all from Frontier Co-op.

https://www.frontiercoop.com/

Chili powder always tastes kind of bitter to me & I don't really care for the taste of dried garlic/onions.

In a pinch, I substitute paprika for ground chiles.

Rusty nailed it. Gebhardt's. I suspect you can find it in AR too.

I would have to order Gebhardt's from Amazon. I live in Ohio and I have yet to find anything but McCormick's or generic or a chili seasoning mix. I did find some bulk at an independent grocery store. I'll see if that's any good first before I order from someone. I did taste a bit on my finger and it seems to have a more pleasant taste than that Tone's junk.

My guess is that you would also have to order it from Amazon up there, but I use Fiesta (looked -- it's Bolner's Fiesta) Fancy Light Chili Powder (I did check - Amazon does have it). I always have that as well as ancho, guajillo, pasilla negro, chimayo and a couple of others. I get most of my spices from Penzey's but I order a lot of my chilies from New Mexico.