Why Spaghetti Is The Pasta Of Choice For Cincinnati Chili
No trip to Cincinnati would be complete without a sampling of the city's famous chili. For most chilis, the differences come down to what goes in the stew, and in this regard, Cincinnati chili stands apart. It combines a unique mix of spices like anise, celery salt, and cinnamon, among others, which gives it a unique flavor profile. The thing that catches most first-timers off guard isn't the flavor but how the chili is served.
There is no cornbread on the side in Cincinnati; instead, the chili is served on top of a pile of spaghetti a la bolognese sauce. Depending on how it's ordered, it can then be stacked high with cheese, beans, and onions for those that are willing to get the full five-way chili (though a mythical six-way with even more toppings does exist in some of Cincinnati's best chili parlors).
While there are plenty of ways for diners to make Cincinnati chili their own, one thing that never goes away is the spaghetti. No other pasta can stand in for the long noodles sticking out from underneath the mound of other ingredients, and it's all because of a very simple reason — it was the only option.
The history of Cincinnati chili
The legend goes that Cincinnati chili was first concocted by brothers Tom and John Kiradjieff. The two moved to Cincinnati from their native Macedonia and were likely following a meat sauce recipe from their homeland. They called it chili because it was a simple shorthand for their American customers to understand what they were ordering.
The restaurant was named Empress Chili. The meat sauce served there was served over hot dogs as often as plates of spaghetti. What is now referred to as two-way chili would have been known as "chili macaroni" at the time. This isn't because it was originally served over macaroni noodles but because pasta was considered a foreign food and was still gaining a foothold in the U.S. Because of this, all pasta was called macaroni, and spaghetti was chosen for the chili because it was the only style available at the time.
As Empress Chili employees would leave the parlor for their own culinary exploits, they would take this style of chili with them and eventually turn this oddball chili into an icon of the city and region.
Is there chocolate in this chili?
One of the great mysteries of Cincinnati chili is whether or not chocolate is really added in with the rest of the spices. While Cincinnati chilis often feature an eclectic spice mix and tend to lean a little sweet, does that mean that it really has an ingredient mostly reserved for desserts as well?
While there are plenty of recipes online and vocal Cincinnatians who will attest to the presence of cocoa powder in the city's chili, that seems to be a misconception. Katherine Nero of the Cincinnati Enquirer even took on the task of checking with some of the most popular chili parlors in the city, and not a single one attested to including cocoa powder in their chili. So, they're either keeping their proprietary blends close to the chest, or it's not as common as many people think.
One suspicion is that this falsehood originally appeared in The Joy of Cooking back in the 1970s. This book served as a culinary bible for many, so it makes sense that it would spread far and wide without a proper follow-up.