New Mexico chile or New Mexican chile (Scientific name: ''Capsicum annuum'' 'New Mexico Group
'; ,
)
is a
cultivar group
A Group (previously cultivar-groupInternational Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, 4th edition (1969), 5th edition (1980) and 6th edition (1995)) is a formal category in the '' International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants'' (' ...
of the
chile pepper from the US state of
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, first grown by
Pueblo
Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...
and
Hispano
The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term.
The term commonly applie ...
communities throughout
Santa Fe de Nuevo México
Santa Fe de Nuevo México (; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a province of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The first capital was San Juan d ...
.
These
landrace
A landrace is a Domestication, domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural Environment (biophysical), environment of agric ...
chile plants were used to develop the modern New Mexico chile peppers by horticulturist
Fabián García and his students, including Roy Nakayama, at what is now
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...
in 1894.
New Mexico chile, which typically grows from a green to a ripened red, is popular in the
cuisines of the Southwestern United States, including Sonoran and Arizonan cuisine, and it is an integral staple of
New Mexican cuisine. It is also sometimes featured in broader
Mexican cuisine
Mexican cuisine consists of the cuisines and associated traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican Cuisine, Mesoamerican cuisine. Mexican cuisine's ingredients and methods arise from the area's first agr ...
. Chile is one of New Mexico's state vegetables, and is referenced in the
New Mexico state question
New Mexico chile or New Mexican chile (Scientific name: ''Capsicum annuum'' 'New Mexico Group'; , ) is a cultivar group of the chile pepper from the US state of New Mexico, first grown by Puebloan peoples, Pueblo and Hispanos of New Mexico, Hispa ...
"Red or Green?".
The flavor of New Mexico green chile has been described as lightly pungent, similar to an onion, or like garlic with a subtly sweet, spicy, crisp, and smoky taste. The ripened red chile retains this flavor, but adds an earthiness and bite.
The spiciness depends on the variety.
History
Various types of chile plants were first grown by the
Puebloan
The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Among the currently inhabited Pueblos, Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are some of the ...
peoples, who continue to grow their own strains, each with a distinct pungency, sweetness, taste, and heat. For example, the Zia Pueblo chile has a bitter-sweet flavor when it matures into its red color. When the Spanish arrived, they introduced European cultivation techniques to the chile plants, and eventually created cultivars in their towns.
The New Mexican type cultivars were developed by the horticulturist Fabián García,
whose major release was the '
New Mexico No. 9' chile pepper in 1913.
Earlier work was done by Emelio Ortega (see section "Anaheim Pepper" below). These cultivars are "hotter" than others to suit the tastes of New Mexicans in their traditional foods. Selective breeding began with 14 lineages of
'Pasilla', 'Colorado', and 'Negro' cultivars, from throughout
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
and Southern
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. These first commercially viable peppers were created to have a "larger, smoother, fleshier, more tapering and shoulderless pod for canning purposes".
[Fabian Garcia as quoted in ]
Paul Bosland, an expert on chile genetics, breeding, and germplasm evaluation, founded the
Chile Pepper Institute
The Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico, is an international research-based and non-profit organization specializing in research, education and archiving information related to ''Capsicum'' or chile pe ...
in 1992 at New Mexico State University to study New Mexico's state vegetable and peppers from around the world.
New Mexico chile is exported worldwide to
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, and
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, among other places.
Cultivation
Fruits of New Mexico chile plants are grown from seeds – and each individual strain is specifically bred and grown to be disease-resistant and provide consistent and healthy plants within their specific regions. Altitude, climate, soil, and acreage affects a crop's taste, making the New Mexican region, including the
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...
bosque
A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of streams, river banks, and lakes. It derives its name from the Spanish word for "forest", pronounced .
Setting
In the predominantly arid or semiari ...
,
mountains
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
, and
high deserts, a favorable environment for plant
propagation
Propagation can refer to:
*Chain propagation in a chemical reaction mechanism
*Crack propagation, the growth of a crack during the fracture of materials
*Propaganda, non-objective information used to further an agenda
*Reproduction, and other forms ...
and growth. To ensure that a variety's lineage remains disease-resistant and maintains optimal growth within its heritage region, seeds from specific plants are carefully selected. An example of a New Mexican chile grown outside the state is the 'Anaheim' pepper which is extremely resilient in multiple altitudes. An aspect of the New Mexico chile plants regards reintroducing seeds from their heritage soil, since each successive generation becomes susceptible to disease and loss of flavor. Therefore, local chile farmers usually order seeds from their heritage soils, every few generations, to reinvigorate their crop. This allows New Mexico chile growers to perpetuate successful productions.
Grown in New Mexico

New Mexico chile plants grown in New Mexico are valued for their flavor, texture, and hardiness due to their growing environment. The plants were originally grown by the Puebloans, and each of their distinct Pueblo plants grows best in its heritage soil. This same trend has continued with other New Mexico chile varietals grown by Spanish, Mexican, and American settlers. Among New Mexico-grown chile, the ones with the most accolades are grown along the Rio Grande, especially along the Hatch Valley.
Multiple other locations in the
Rio Grande Valley
Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...
, outside of the Hatch Valley, also grow award-winning chile.
Towns and cities across New Mexico have strong chile traditions, including
Hatch,
Chimayó,
Española,
Lemitar, and
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
; and in the
Albuquerque metropolitan area
The Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area, sometimes referred to as Tiguex (named after the Southern Tiwa), is a metropolitan area in central New Mexico centered on the city of Albuquerque. The metro comprises four counties: Bernalillo, Sa ...
from
Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
,
Bosque
A bosque ( ) is a type of gallery forest habitat found along the riparian flood plains of streams, river banks, and lakes. It derives its name from the Spanish word for "forest", pronounced .
Setting
In the predominantly arid or semiari ...
,
Corrales,
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque
Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, also known simply as "Los Ranchos", is a village in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The population was 6,024 at the time of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 Census.
Description
Part of ...
, and
Bosque Farms.
Hatch chile
Hatch chile refers to varieties of species of the genus ''
Capsicum
''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their edible fruit, which are generally known as "peppers" or "capsicum". Chili peppers grow on five s ...
'' which are grown in the Hatch Valley, an area stretching north and south along the Rio Grande from
Arrey, New Mexico, in the north to
Tonuco Mountain to the southeast of
Hatch, New Mexico
Hatch is a village in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,648 at the 2010 census. The town is experiencing moderate growth, along with its outliers of Salem, Arrey, Derry, and Rincon. Hatch is widely known as th ...
. The soil and growing conditions in the Hatch Valley create a unique
terroir
(; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...
which contributes to the flavor of chile grown there. Most of the varieties of chile cultivated in the Hatch Valley have been developed at New Mexico State University over the last 130 years.
Hatch chile can be purchased locally in many parts of the Southwest. Some distributors use the "Hatch" name, but do not actually grow and process their chile in the Hatch Valley. To protect Hatch and other New Mexican growers, state legislators passed a 2012 law prohibiting the sale in New Mexico of chile described as "New Mexican" unless grown in New Mexico or came with a prominent "Not grown in New Mexico" disclaimer. Chile grown around the town are marketed under the name of the town, and are often sold fresh-roasted in New Mexico and nationwide in late summer and early autumn.
Pueblo chile
Pueblo chile plants have been cultivated by the
Puebloan peoples
The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Among the currently inhabited Pueblos, Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are some of the ...
of New Mexico for centuries. The
Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo ( , ) is a Native American pueblo approximately west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States.
Four communities make up the village of Acoma Pueblo: Sky City (Old Acoma), Acomita, Anzac, and McCartys. These communities ...
chile is mild, with a lightly flavorful pungency.
The
Isleta Pueblo
Pueblo of Isleta ( , ; ) is an unincorporated community and Tanoan pueblo in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, originally established in the . The Southern Tiwa name of the pueblo is (Shee-eh-whíb-bak) meaning "a knife lai ...
chile develops a fruity sweet flavor as it grows into its red chile state. The
Zia Pueblo chile develops a bitter-sweet flavor when it matures into its red color, and its heat is similar to the 'Heritage 6-4'.
These ancient Pueblo varieties should not be confused with a chile grown in
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality in Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The ...
, also called "Pueblo chile", which is the green Numex Mirasol chile, another cultivar of the .
Outside of New Mexico
California
The Anaheim pepper is a mild variety of the cultivar 'New Mexico No. 9' and commonly grown outside of New Mexico. It is related to the 'New Mexico No. 6 and 9', but when grown out of state they have a higher variability rate. The name 'Anaheim' derives from Emilio Ortega, a farmer who brought the seeds from New Mexico to the
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...
, area in 1894.
The chile "heat" of 'Anaheim' chile varies from 500 to 2,500 on the
Scoville scale
The Scoville scale is a measurement of spiciness of chili peppers and other substances, recorded in Scoville heat units (SHU). It is based on the concentration of capsaicinoids, among which capsaicin is the predominant component.
The scale ...
.
Colorado
In
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, 'Numex Mirasol' chile peppers are grown near the city of Pueblo, where they are known as "Pueblo chile". These should not be confused with the ancient chile varieties grown by the
Puebloan peoples
The Pueblo peoples are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Among the currently inhabited Pueblos, Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi are some of the ...
.
Outer space

On July 12, 2021,
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
astronauts aboard the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
started growing New Mexico chile from seeds packaged in soil on Earth, in the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH). 'Numex Española Improved' was chosen from more than two dozen varieties for its performance in testing environments. The peppers were grown aboard the spacecraft utilizing specially formulated fertilizers, with the fruit later evaluated for flavor, texture, and piquancy. These were the first ''Capsicum'' plants grown off of Earth.
In October, after tending and pollinating the plants for three months, the astronauts harvested the chile and prepared "space tacos".
Uses
Food

Green chile is served roasted and peeled, whole or diced, as a powder, and in various sauces. The most common uses are often served diced, or in sauces and is elemental to dishes such as enchiladas, burritos, burgers, french fries, or rice. Chile is also served whole raw, fried, or baked . New Mexican-style follow the much more traditional Mexican technique of being covered with egg batter and fried, although variations and casseroles do exist.
The red chile (the matured green chile) is frequently dried and ground to a powder. These dried or powdered fruits are turned into a red chile sauce. The dried peppers are rehydrated by boiling in a pot, and then blended with various herbs and spices, such as onion, garlic, and occasionally Mexican oregano. Red chile powder is usually simply blended with water, herbs, and spices; the addition of flour or other thickening agents is often considered to be non-traditional or non-purist.
Serving both red and green chile on a dish is sometimes referred to as "Christmas" style. Both green and red chile can be dried and turned into a powder, though this is more common with red chile.
Vernacular art
Chile is used in the state to construct both decorative and functional
ristras (arrangements of drying pepper pods) and chile wreaths. Some varieties have colorful fruit and are used as ornamental plants.
Industry
Some chile varieties such as 'NuMex Garnet' are used as a pigment stock to produce red dye.
Economy
Ongoing drought, unpredictable weather, and environmental concerns have strained New Mexico's production of chile peppers, the state's primary agricultural produce.
In 2019 average chile sales price was $793 per ton, and accounted for $50M in sales within New Mexico. Of the of peppers produced in the United States in 2019, were produced in New Mexico, or about 77% of US chile pepper production.
Harvest
Chile is planted in New Mexico in March and April, and harvested between July and October for green chile, and between October and December for red chile.
Harvest is done by both local farmhands and hired help; and in the Mesilla Valley by seasonal Mexican farmworkers who harvest the chile, and then travel back into Mexico. Because the plants are delicate and produce fruits continuously until the frost, and because the pods are easily damaged, machine harvesting of chile is especially difficult. Currently, development, breeding, and engineering is being done to produce a successful chile harvester and machine-harvestable breeds.
This puts a limit on the amount of chile that can be economically harvested in New Mexico even if water were unlimited.
Of of chile crops planted in 2019, 8,700 were harvested; were harvested as "all red". In 2019, New Mexico led the nation in chile production with harvested.
New Mexico Certified Chile
A certification program was started in 2014, New Mexico Certified Chile, which certifies the growing and sale of New Mexican chile; restaurants and other vendors may display a "New Mexico Certified Chile" placard or window sticker.
The program protects New Mexico chile consumers from falsely labeled products, while protecting farmers from potential diminished demand, which allows larger amounts of New Mexico chile to be grown within the state. When the program was first introduced, it had garnered some criticism, especially in regard to restrictions on farmers who have been growing chile plants from seed lineages more than 400 years old.
Cultural impact
New Mexico chile has had a significant impact on New Mexico's
cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...
, art, cultures, and even its legislature. Just as with the
Zia sun symbol, the chile pepper and its shape, the red and green coloration, and even the silhouette of the fruit, has become a symbol of
New Mexican cultural identity, and is featured prominently in both food and nonfood corporate logos, in public artworks, media, infrastructure (i.e. bridges, lamp posts, etc.) and traditions around the state.
New Mexico is the only state with an official
State Question: "Red or green?" and a
State Answer: "Red and green" or "Christmas". "Red or green?" refers to the choices of chile sauce typically offered at local restaurants and is usually asked as quoted. To answer "Christmas" is to choose both red and green on the same dish, an option originally suggested by waitress Martha Rotuno at Tia Sophia's restaurant in Santa Fe.
Chile is also one of the official
state vegetables of New Mexico and the scent of "roasting green chile" is the official
state aroma. One of the official license plate designs in New Mexico, the
Chile Plate, features red and green chile, and the tagline "Chile Capital of the World" in yellow type.
The lamp posts on
Elephant Butte Dam's crest road were lit red and green, a reference to the dam and
its reservoir being the source of irrigation and electricity for the chile-growing Hatch region.
The
New Mexico Department of Game and Fish's "Special Trout Waters" fishing water designations are listed as "Red Chile Waters", "Green Chile Waters", or "Xmas Chile Waters", depending on the restrictions in place at the trout fishing location.
The village of
Hatch, New Mexico
Hatch is a village in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,648 at the 2010 census. The town is experiencing moderate growth, along with its outliers of Salem, Arrey, Derry, and Rincon. Hatch is widely known as th ...
, in the Hatch Valley is the center of chile farming in the southwest, and bills itself as the "Chile Capital of the World".
The village has hosted an annual "Chile Festival" every summer since 1971.
A
ristra is an arrangement of drying chile pods. It is a popular decorative design in the state of New Mexico, and in media nationwide as symbol of New Mexican culture. Some households still use ristras as a means to dry and procure red chile.
In addition to local restaurants, many national food chains such as
Applebee's
Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads, ...
,
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc., commonly referred to as Domino's, is an American multinational pizza restaurant chain founded in 1960 and led by CEO Russell Weiner. The corporation is Delaware General Corporation Law, Delaware-domiciled and headquartered ...
,
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
, and
Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant chain founded on February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast of t ...
operating in New Mexico offer green chile on many of their menu items, bowing to local demand.
"Chile" versus "chili"
In modern everyday
English in most of the world, ''chile'', ''chili'', and ''chilli'' all refer to the fruit of ''
C. annuum''; in Spanish, (chee-le), from Nahuatl , is used for the pepper. In
New Mexican English, however, ''chile'' (chill-ee) refers to the fruit, while ''chili'' refers only to a meat-based dish known as Texas
chili con carne
Chili con carne ( ), often shortened to chili, is a spicy stew of Mexican origin containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), tomatoes, and often pinto beans or kidney beans. Other seasonings may includ ...
. "Green chile chili" is chili con carne made with green chile. The word ''chile'', as used in "green chile", "red chile", or by itself, is also used in lay terms to refer specifically to the New Mexico variety, while other varieties are referred to as ''peppers'' (e.g. jalapeño pepper, ghost pepper).
Many organizations, including farmers, breeders, consumers, and even the New Mexico Department of Tourism make efforts to educate the general public about the differences in spelling within the state, as using ''chili'' while referring to New Mexican chile may be taken as an insult to some locals.
US Senator
Pete Domenici
Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici ( ; May 7, 1932 – September 13, 2017) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States Senator from New Mexico from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he served six terms in ...
of New Mexico made this spelling official as ''chile'' for the fruit, by entering it into the ''
Congressional Record
The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Ind ...
''.
None of these spellings should be confused with the nation of
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
(pronounced: CHEE-lay), which has a separate, unrelated etymology. (See:
Etymology of Chile)
Roasting season

The first crop of chile of the year usually arrives at retail in New Mexico and surrounding areas by August, which signals the start of "roasting season".
Retail establishments around the state, including national chains such as
Albertsons
Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-large ...
and
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
,
set up apparatuses called 'chile roasters' outside, and display signage advertising the availability of the fruit. A chile roaster consists of a drum with the long side of heavy gauge steel diamond mesh and the ends of thick plate steel discs, mounted horizontally on a frame over powerful propane burners. A shaft usually runs through the center of the drum to act as an axle, a design pioneered by Emilio Ortega while in California.
A customer's chile purchase (usually a standard-size produce box-full) is loaded into the cylinder by the retailer, who usually assumes a role also called a "chile roaster", via a hatch in the mesh side. The drum is then turned, either by motor or hand crank, and the chile tumbles within over the flames, ensuring the chile pods are heated on every side as they shed their skins; this ensures the chile skins blister appropriately to allow for easier peeling of the chile. Skins, seeds, and other debris falls through the bottom of the drum. This process is the most popular method since it offers a physical display of the chile; it offers the sound of the chile crackling, and the sight of the blistering and falling skins, accompanied by the widely distributed smell of the roasting peppers which has become a staple during the early New Mexican autumn, as well as the state's official aroma.
The skins of the roasted peppers are inedible, and peeling the chile to prepare them for freezer storage is a traditional family communal activity. Some people eat the fresh roasted chile as a snack, but the Chile Pepper Institute recommends cooking them to before consuming to reduce the risk of
foodborne pathogens.
-roasting chile, while done less often, is a more traditional method. A more common method is simply roasting over an open flame on gas stove-tops and grills.
The chile roasting season in New Mexico lasts until the first freeze of the year, which usually occurs in late October. Sacks of green chile often contain many red chiles as it gets later in the season. This mixed chile is called autumn roast, or ''chile pintado'' in Spanish, and is a local favorite for many people.
Cultivars and landraces
Though most New Mexico type peppers are long pod-type peppers, that ripen from green to red, the multitude of New Mexico type cultivars have a slight variance in taste, and widely varying appearances and heat levels.
Some varieties may turn yellow, orange, or brown.
The most common New Mexico chile plants are the 'New Mexico 6-4', 'Big Jim', 'Sandia', 'No. 6', and 'No. 9' cultivars. The improved 'Heritage 6-4', 'Heritage Big Jim', and 'Sandia Select' cultivars provide a better yield and uniformity. Peppers like the '
Chimayó', 'Velarde', 'Jemez', 'Escondida', 'Alcalde', 'San Felipe', 'Española', and several others, represent what is known as New Mexico's unique landrace chile, which provide their own unique tastes and usually command a higher price.
In popular culture
According to Taos academic and writer
Larry Torres, green chile is referenced in an old
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
poem: "Roses are red. Chile is green. Our love will never vanish, just like tortillas and beans."
References
External links
The Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University
{{Authority control
Capsicum cultivars
Chili peppers
Crops originating from North America
Fruit vegetables
Mexican cuisine
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
New Mexico culture
Spices