Food & Drink

Wyoming News

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Chili cook-offs are already firing up across the country before fall even really starts

Chili season does not wait for the first cold front. This September, cooks across the country will haul propane burners and cast-iron pots into parks, fairgrounds and waterfront pavilions for competitive and community chili events, despite late-summer temperatures. The calendar, not the thermometer, decides when it begins. Photo credit: Depositphotos. Chili tends to be treated as cold-weather cooking, something to simmer after the temperature drops. The competitive calendar tells a different story. September is a busy month for organized chili cook-offs, with sanctioned competitions and community events taking place from Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to California, Colorado and West Virginia. The cooks who show up bring recipes developed and refined through the competitive season, competing for prizes, titles and advancement opportunities at events some communities have hosted for more than four decades. The competitive circuit most home cooks have never seen The International Chili Society and Chili Appreciation Society International sanction competitive chili cook-offs across the country. ICS sanctions cook-offs nationwide, while CASI says it sanctions nearly 400 domestic and international qualifying events each year. ICS competitions include Traditional Red, Homestyle, Chili Verde and Veggie. Traditional Red uses meat and red chile peppers and prohibits beans and non-vegetable fillers such as