# My chili is a little sweet. What to do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 23, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560 "2011-10-23T18:50:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/1 "2011-10-23T18:50:18Z")
I have two huge pots of chili (seasoned with my new Chili 9000 from Penzey’s!). It’s good but because I use tomato soup in it, it’s a little too sweet for my taste. I don’t have any diced green chilis, which I thought might work. What are my other options? ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/2 "2011-10-23T19:07:20Z")
I’d add some red wine vinegar. You could try adding more onions as well. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/3 "2011-10-23T19:09:08Z")
More peppers, any kind. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/4 "2011-10-23T19:22:30Z")
Add vinegar and/or tabasco. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/5 "2011-10-23T19:28:15Z")
Always happy to add more onions! I have vinegar too, maybe I’ll give that a try. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/6 "2011-10-23T19:32:06Z")
I’d go with acid - lime juice is my favorite for chili, but vinegar (red/white/whatever) would work as well. Really, anything sour. Salt might also cut it some. When I’m trying to adjust seasoning like that, I’ll pull out spoonfuls and add a bit of whatever I’m thinking of, and taste it. Maybe add a bit more or less with a few spoonfuls until you get it the way you like, then try it with the whole batch. That way you can experiment without worrying if you’ll mess it all up. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/7 "2011-10-23T19:33:37Z")
Ooooh, lime juice sounds good. Maybe I’ll try THAT! ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/8 "2011-10-23T19:45:17Z")
The lime juice did it! Thankyou thankyou! (I added more pepper too.) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/9 "2011-10-23T22:04:37Z")
Are you sure it’s not the Chili 9000? I went with the Chili 3000 for just that reason. The 9000 was too sweet for my tastes. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/10 "2011-10-23T22:25:41Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Are you sure it’s not the Chili 9000? > I went with the Chili 3000 for just that reason. The 9000 was too sweet for my tastes. Looks like the original post indicated the 9000. So that might be the problem 🙂 Well, not ‘problem’, per se, but might explain the sweetness. ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2011, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-chili-is-a-little-sweet-what-to-do/600560/11 "2011-10-23T22:36:51Z")
Yeah, probably a combination of the 9000 and the tomato soup. I added a tablespoon of lime juice to each pot and it’s great now. I’ll have to try the 3000 next time, though, just for kicks.