Regardless of whether or not your palette craves a spicy or perhaps even fiery burn, chili powders are crucial to getting the right balance of flavor going. No kitchen should be without an aromatic array of oh-so-hot chili powders.
The type of quality of chili powder purchased determines the heat level and purity of flavor. With this in mind, it should become clear why buying the best available should be a forerunning concern of every kitchen.
We’ll be taking you through a close look at two of the best brands out there, namely McCormick Chili Powder vs Dark Chili Powder so that you know exactly what suits your craving or taste best.
McCormick Chili Powder vs Dark Chili Powder Comparison
| McCormick Chili Powder | McCormick Dark Chili Powder | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mild Chili Spice Blend Featuring Earthy Herbs & Spices | Dark Hot Chili Spice Blend Featuring Earthy Herbs & Spices |
| Flavor | Mild But Prominent Chili Flavor With Lingering Burn, Subdued Sweetness Detectable In Aftertaste And Prominent Earthy Base | Dark Toasty Rich Fiery Hot Chili Flavor With Lingering Hot Savory Burn Free From Sweetness |
| Ingredients | Chili Peppers, Salt, Spices, Garlic, Silicon Dioxide | Chili Peppers, Salt, Spices, Garlic, Silicon Dioxide |
| Size | 22, 7.5, 4.5, 2.5-Ounce | 20, 13.5, 7.5-Ounce |
| Color | Vibrant Rich Red | Dark Deep Rich Reddish Brown |
| Best Uses | Spice For Mexican, Southwestern & Tex-Mex Cuisine | Spice For Mexican, Southwestern & Tex-Mex Cuisine |
| Affordability | $3.69 / 2.5-Ounce Shaker | $4.77-$5 / 7.5-Ounce Shaker |
| Advantages | Zero GMOs | Zero GMOs |
McCormick Chili Powder vs Dark Chili Powder
There are some cooks who won’t go without either of these tasty forms of chili seasoning powder, but ultimately, everyone will have a forerunning favorite. Diving straight into the details of each will help you decide. Let’s take a closer look.
McCormick Chili Powder
McCormick Chili Powder is the go-to choice for many when cooking up a delicious pot of chili or curry. It delivers a balance of flavor that seems to suit fans of both intense spicy cuisine and mildly burny dishes equally.
Let’s take a closer look at the individual characteristics of this excellent chili spice.
What Is McCormick Chili Powder?
McCormick Chili Powder is a chili spice brand sold in a shaker across two various sizes that aims to supply a fresh, spicy but mild burn that’s accentuated with a range of other complementary earthy herbs and spices.
What Does McCormick Chili Powder Taste Like?
McCormick Chili Powder is a mild but spicy chili powder that delivers moderate heat and a lingering burn while balancing out the spiciness with deep, prominent earth flavor and a subdued sweetness that is only faintly detectable as an aftertaste.
McCormick Chili Powder Ingredients
McCormick chili powder includes chili peppers, salt, spices, garlic, and silicon dioxide to ensure the powder retains a free-flowing texture.
The chili powder itself is made by toasting ripe peppers, which are then mixed with salt, oregano, garlic, and cumin to result in a unique flavor tone.
Size
There are 22, 7.5, 4.5, and 2.5-ounce spice shakers of McCormick’s Chili Powder available.
McCormick Chili Powder Color
McCormick Chili Powder comes in a vibrant red that enlivens any dish with color and the instantly detectable aroma of sweet but spicy capsicum. The hue is bold enough to overpower other naturally formed colors within the meal being cooked.
McCormick Chili Powder Best Uses
The distinctive blend of herbs, spices, and ground ripe peppers makes McCormick Chili powder one of the best choices out there for dishes from Mexican and Southwestern cuisine. It’s also a favored addition to Tex-Mex cooking.
In addition, McCormick chili powder is a perfect spice for rubs for chicken wings, pork ribs, and steak. Furthermore, it can be mixed with ground beef, garlic, and onions to cook a base for burgers, tacos, nachos, and even delicious sandwiches. There are few toppings that can compare.
Affordability
The 2.5-ounce shaker of McCormick Chili Powder sells for an average of $3.69 each, with considerable savings to be found when buying in quantities of two or more.
Advantages
Shoppers will be happy to know that McCormick’s relies on a non-GMO formulation which makes it one of the safest choices available.
Dark Chili Powder
This is another chili powder offered by McCormick. It’s just hotter, darker, and supplied in a bigger bottle. Here’s the breakdown.
What Is McCormick Dark Chili Powder?
McCormick Dark Chili Powder is a chili seasoning mix that delivers a dark, strong toasted chili taste that’s richer and hotter than its regular chili counterpart just with a fusion of tastes that meld the individual flavor notes into a single, flatter but bolder taste that’s perceptible as a unity rather than a spectrum of sensation.
What Does McCormick Dark Chili Powder Taste Like?
McCormick Dark Chili Powder boasts the smoky flavors with hints of mild sweetness. It has a rich and earthy mix of dark chili pepper, which adds a roasted taste that’s not there in its counterpart. The sweetness is also far more subdued.
McCormick Dark Chili Powder Ingredients
The only ingredients are chili peppers, unlisted spices, silicon dioxide and garlic
Just like the standard chili powder, the dark blend is made from premium chili peppers that are grown at McCormick’s farms but the peppers are roasted first to grant the blend its color and taste.
Size
The dark chili powder from McCormick comes in 20, 13.5, and 7.5-ounce shakers.
McCormick Dark Chili Powder Color
Although the chili powder itself also comes in a similar shade of red, closer inspection reveals that it is actually far darker with less general vibrancy. When added to a dish, it imparts rich red but almost dark-brown color.
The hue granted is far more similar to a standard stew than a red, red-hot chili.
McCormick Dark Chili Powder Best Uses
Just like its milder preceding counterpart, McCormick Dark Chili powder is an excellent spice For Mexican, Southwestern & Tex-Mex cuisine. It is just hotter.
Dark chili powder from McCormick is the perfect choice for spicing up marinades, stews, chili, soups, rubs, and even as an ingredient in spiced bread, making it one of the most versatile spices out there.
Affordability
The 7.5-ounce shaker of McCormick Dark Chili Powder retails for around $4.77 to $5, while the 20-ounce shaker sells for approximately $6.79 online to US shoppers.
Advantages
Other than the lingering nature of the sweetness, all of the tastes in McCormick Dark Chili Powder are richer and grant greater depth of flavor overall. It’s hotter – a number one factor, but the individual components are bolder too.
What Is The Difference Between McCormick Chili Powder And Dark Chili Powder?
Both these chili powders are offered by McCormick, and there is a significant difference in the flavor, aroma, and base ingredients.
The dark chili powder boasts a dark appearance because it has more chili pepper content and because these peppers are roasted for a longer time as compared to peppers used in the regular chili powder.
As a result, the dark chili powder has a smokier, earthier, spicier, and sweeter flavor as compared to the light chili powder.
What Is Dark Chili Powder Used For?
Dark chili powder is used in the exact same way you’d use any other chili powder, for example, as seasoning while grilling, roasting, or frying, but unlike regular chili powder, dark chili powders add a roasted, toasty flavor that isn’t there with other spices.
Which Is Best, McCormick Chili Powder vs Dark Chili Powder
Before deciding on a personal best between McCormick Chili Powder vs Dark Chili Powder, consider what the lightness of the original brand implies.
The chilis and spices are roasted for a limited period of time which means that the burn will be tasted stronger, but the fusion of flavor is more subtle in the ingredient’s individual strengths.
Some find the ability to taste the chili in the standard powder clearer, a characteristic that makes the seasoning more complex, whereas others associate the same complexity with the McCormick Dark Chili Powder due to the levels of richness it imparts to the palette.
