Is chili a soup?

[UVaAmbassador]

I was in a dumb argument about this the other day and thought I'd submit it to the board where no subject is to bizarre.

Is chili a soup?

Its usually listed under the "Soup and Salad" portion of the menu, but its typically with the beans, not the soups, in grocery stores and unlike soup, which is traditionally an appetizer, chili often constitutes its own meal. On the other hand, the same can be said of beef stew and a seafood chowder. Now I'm rambling. Thoughts?

[Fish80]

If chili is a soup, then it was made wrong.

Do you put soup on your hotdog? Or your burger? Q.E.D.

[ohioguy2]

It is liquid food--very good liquid food--I, therefore, believe it is a soup. We are having white bean chicken chili tonight--my wife is not only lovely, but one heck of a soup maker. I will review the beer I am having with the soup on the beer thread.

[Turk]

Chili is stew, not soup. However, most restaurants do not have enough offerings to devote an entire section of the menu to stews (alas). So the term "soup" on a menu actually means "hot food that comes in a bowl but is not an entree".

Cheers,
Mr. Language Person

[bjornolf]

Kind of depends on the chili, IMHO.

[Fish80]

It is liquid food--very good liquid food--I, therefore, believe it is a soup. We are having white bean chicken chili tonight--my wife is not only lovely, but one heck of a soup maker. I will review the beer I am having with the soup on the beer thread.

You are sadly mistaken, my friend. Not all liquids are created equal. Is water a soup? Is O.J. a soup? I think not. This proves, by induction, that not all liquids are soups.

[DukieInKansas]

It is liquid food--very good liquid food--I, therefore, believe it is a soup. We are having white bean chicken chili tonight--my wife is not only lovely, but one heck of a soup maker. I will review the beer I am having with the soup on the beer thread.

Rather than the beer review, please ask Mrs. ohioguy2 to add the recipe to the recipe thread.

I went with no on the poll - it is a stew.

eta - Webster's defines it as a sauce.

[juise]

It's chili. Do you refer to it as chili soup? Do you refer to it as chili stew? Do you refer to it as chili chowder? No, no, no. Chili.

[Fish80]

It's chili. Do you refer to it as chili soup? Do you refer to it as chili stew? Do you refer to it as chili chowder? No, no, no. Chili.

Chili tonight, hot tamale!

[DukieInKansas]

Chili tonight, hot tamale!

Yes - I knew I could count on you, my partner in puns.

Congrats on Gene Banks status.

[Turk]

Rather than the beer review, please ask Mrs. ohioguy2 to add the recipe to the recipe thread.

I went with no on the poll - it is a stew.

eta - Webster's defines it as a sauce.

Yeah, but chili sauce is usually one of the ingredients, as is chili powder, as are actual chilis themselves, meaning some variety of pepper.

So, juise, I think the term "chili" is not quite precise enough in this context.

[juise]

Webster calls it a sauce.

[2535Miles]

Chili is most definitely NOT a soup. Soups use stock/broth/water as a base, to which other little yummy bits are added. The base for chili is meat and that meat is simmered in a liquid (some like more, some like less). That my friends is the definition of a stew.

[2535Miles]

Webster calls it a sauce.

Webster's is correct but I think the application is too literal here. The chili most of us love and adore is actually chili con carne. We shorten it to chili.

[ohioguy2]

You are sadly mistaken, my friend. Not all liquids are created equal. Is water a soup? Is O.J. a soup? I think not. This proves, by induction, that not all liquids are soups.

I then say (with a smile on my face), if you put the water or juice in a bowl and ate it with a spoon, it would be a soup. If you put the chili on a hot dog, it is a condiment. In a bowl, chili is a soup.

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

chili is not a soup.

thats like saying Sarah Palin is qualified to be president just because she wears presidential cloths (as in comparison to chili being served in a bowl)

[2535Miles]

I then say (with a smile on my face), if you put the water or juice in a bowl and ate it with a spoon, it would be a soup. If you put the chili on a hot dog, it is a condiment. In a bowl, chili is a soup.

In a bowl, chili is a stew.
Poured on the floor, chili is a stew.
On top of a hot dog, chili is a stew used as a condiment.

[DukeUsul]

chili is definitley a stew

[ohioguy2]

chili is definitley a stew

This is fun--stew=thick soup.

[2535Miles]

This is fun--stew=thick soup.

That doesn't account for the quantity and size of ingredients. Try again.