Chili con carne origin
As with many other dishes, chili con carne is a hot topic. There are arguments about the right ingredients, the actual origin and even the spelling. In which region exactly the chilli was first prepared, no one can prove with certainty today. The U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas claim that Chili con Carne originally came from them. There are also numerous stories about the first recipe, the dish is said to have been prepared for the first time by the US Army. Other stories attribute the discovery of chili con carne to the Native Americans, immigrants from Spain, Ireland, Greece and even the land of China.
Originally the chili con carne is said to have been a poor people's meal. Here, hot chillies were simply cut into small pieces and added to the meat stew. The stew had to cook for hours to soften the meat. The spiciness of the chilli could even cover the whole taste, because often the meat was not completely fresh. Since the chillies also have a germicidal effect, the dish could even be eaten a day longer.
