A Canadian mother living in Australia discovered the hard way that there’s one small – but important – difference between a common supermarket ingredient sold in Australia compared to North America.
And it all revolves around a common dried spice pantry staple.
Since relocating Down Under, Emily Midori has tried cooking her family’s favourite Mexican burrito bowl and chilli con carne. To make the dishes, she had been following her North American recipes that call for up to four tablespoons of chilli powder.
When she lived in both Canada and the US, her go-to brands were McCormick’s Dark Chili Powder or Simply Organic Chili Powder.
Since arriving in Australia, Emily needed to find some substitutes for these ingredients, and has accordingly experimented with Coles Ground Chilli and MasterFoods Ground Chilli.
But much to the horror of her child in particular, the similarly-named Aussie-sold seasoning made her food ultra spicy.
Confused as to why the heat was so dialled up in the Australian version, Emily shared a video calling out to Aussies for advice.
‘Okay Australians, respectfully, what the f***?!’ she said in the video. ‘I cook with a lot of chilli powder normally,’ she continued, before showing bottles of the Australian-purchased Coles and MasterFoods spices, explaining they were simply too ‘hot’.
North American mother Emily Midori, who has relocated to Australia, was baffled as to why her Mexican dishes were turning out ultra spicy compared to when she made them back home
In North America, she would use McCormick Dark Chili Powder or Simply Organic Chili Powder to make family favourite meals like chili and burrito bowls
Since being in Australia, Emily experimented with substitute ingredients MasterFoods Ground Chilli and Coles Ground Chilli
‘I’ve made chilli, I’ve made a salsa chicken burrito bowl. The chilli powder makes everything so spicy that my kid will not eat.’
‘Am I supposed to be buying something else? Please help me out.’
The video shared to her @itsemilymidori Instagram account erupted with hundreds of replies – many from observant Aussies who picked up on the cooking mistake she’d inadvertently made.
‘American chilli powder is a mix of cumin, paprika, garlic and onion powders,’ one Aussie clarified. ‘Australian chilli powder is pure red chilli.’
Another local added: ‘US chilli powder is a spice mix to make a dish you call chilli. Here in Australia, chilli powder is literally powdered dried chilli peppers.’
An American expat living in Oz confirmed it was ‘a classic American mistake’ that ‘we all make when moving to Australia’.
‘Chilli powder in the States is like a seasoning blend for making chilli – so very little actual chilli pepper in it.’
Meanwhile, both of the ground chilli powders Emily bought in Australia are just that: pure ground chillies, with nothing else added.
Accordingly, most people would cook with only a light sprinkle of ground chilli powder – and certainly not heaped tablespoons.
A number of replies pointed out that Emily had made a classic – but understandable – mistake. In America, chilli powder is a blend of spices while in Australia, ground chilli powder is pure chilli
The ingredients list for the McCormick chili powder Emily normally cooks with lists ingredients like garlic, salt and spices in addition to chili peppers…
… meanwhile there is one and only ingredient listed on the Coles ground chilli powder: chilli
An astonished Emily herself responded: ‘You’re 100 percent right. I’ve been making chilli for almost 20 years and had no idea that the chilli powder is a mix.’
Other Aussie shoppers offered that the ingredient most similar to what she was used to using would be sold in our supermarkets as a Mexican blend or taco seasoning.
However, it seems Emily was not the only one to have made this seemingly understandable mistake.
A huge number of Aussies poured into the replies of the video, explaining that this revelation about what chilli powder meant in North America ‘cleared up a few mysteries for me’.
‘I am Australian and made the same mistake when following American recipes,’ one person admitted.
‘Oh. My. Gosh. This answers so many questions I didn’t know I had until right now about American recipes,’ another home cook agreed.
‘I was today years old when I found out chilli powder in America/Canada is not the same as in Australia!’ another added. ‘Like just about everyone else, I just thought you all enjoyed a burning ring of fire by the amount of chilli powder being added.’
Another added: ‘Once I made an American chilli recipe and it called for two tablespoons of chilli powder and two jalapenos, so I did as the recipe said. That was the day I learned American chilli powder is very different to ours.’
Several Aussies replied to the @itsemilymidori video post to say that the discovery about the American version chili powder had been a revelation to them – offering an explanation for the huge amounts of chilli used in American recipes
Emily had made the seasoning ingredient mistake while making a Mexican burrito bowl dish (Picture: stock image)
Other Aussies were simply stunned, having always assumed North Americans just enjoyed things much spicier.
‘This whole time I thought Americans were full on into the hot chilli,’ one laughed.
‘I thought you all just had a way higher spice tolerance, even kids! No, your chilli is just different!’
‘I always thought Americans just really loved spicy food,’ another laughed. ‘Look at us learning something new!’
Emily replied to the helpful explanations: ‘This is all making sense… You’ve saved burrito bowl nights!’
