New Mexico Chile

New Mexico Chile
Useful information including preparation tips, recipes, and hot links!

Ah, New Mexico, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: The sunshine; the dry, light air; the cultural diversity; and, oh yes, THE CHILE!
Whether it's the delicious Green Chile of late Summer, or the rich Red Chile of Autumn, here in the heart of chile country, we lovers of New Mexico Red and Green are truly blessed!

Fruits of the harvest-New Mexico Style!

Chilepepper-related foods are Hot! From bottled hot sauces to salsas to all nature of recipes using peppers, the world has discovered what we've known all along...chile is habit-forming! In fact, purists like to call themselves "chile-heads", and their major objective seems to be to endure the hottest chile-seasoned foods they can find!

To me, the goodness of chile is much more than just heat. The best dishes really are those in which the rich pepper flavors are enhanced by a little spicy chile heat. Bottom line is, there are plenty of varieties of peppers and pepper dishes to satisfy any palate.

For our purposes here, we're not going to explore Jalapenos, Habaneros, Cayenne, or the multitude of other peppers preferred mainly for their heat. When we say "Chile", we'll be talking about the long New Mexico Green/Red types, with names like "Big Jim", "Rio Grande","Sandia", etc. In other parts of the country you'll see similar chile peppers called "Anaheim" peppers. In our neck of the woods, "Hatch" or "Mesilla Valley" chile pretty much says it all!

**Two Tasty Chiles...both from the same plant!**

The heat of a chile pepper comes from a substance called capsaicin, which is found in the membranes surrounding the seeds of the pepper and extending down the pod like "veins". The heat can be reduced somewhat by removing these membranes, along with the seeds. Chile is rich in nutritional value, as well as being delicious! These green beauties which we picked ourselves are ready for roasting and preparation. Late Summer is Chile roasting time! Go Here for instructions on Roasting Green Chile at home.	By Summer's end the green chiles are ripening and changing to a rich ,deep red color. The chile flavor is changing also, becoming sweet and mellow, with a completely different taste from the green pods. All over Southern New Mexico at this time of year you'll see colorful hanging ristras, or strings of red chiles. These are not just pretty to look at. After the chiles are dried, they are the starting point for the lovely red chile sauce which is the basis of a multitude of red chile dishes. Go here for detailed Instructions on how to use Dried Red Chile!

Southern New Mexico's "Chile Trail"
(Why not ? They've got their "Turquoise Trail" up north!)

Chile peppers are grown all over New Mexico, but the major commercial production is in the Southern part of the state, concentrated roughly along what we've dubbed "The Chile Trail" shown at right. Traveling from west to east, you pass through Hidalgo, Luna, and Dona Ana counties, the state's three largest chile producers. Make a jaunt up to Hatch, the "Chile Capital of the World". Heading east, enjoy the desert and mountain scenery from Las Cruces to Artesia, not much chile growing on that leg of the trip, then from Artesia eastward you'll pass through Eddy and Lea counties, two more fairly large producers. After that, you're in Texas, where it's strictly "Chili"...with an "i", a whole different story!

Okay, what's the difference between "Chile" (with an "e"), and "Chili" (with an "i")?
Order "chile" in New Mexico and the immediate response is usually "Red or Green?" Chile as we know it here is a variety of dishes where the major ingredient is either fresh green chile, or a sauce made from rehydrated dry red chile pods.

Chili, on the other hand, is more of a soup, made with meat and various other ingredients, seasoned with a mixture of powdered chile and other spices. Don't get us wrong...we occasionally enjoy a good bowl of Chili, but we've come to demand much more than ground beef, beans, and cheese of our Chile!

Need more information about New Mexico chile? Check out the following Hot Links:
The Chile Pepper Institute - Maintained by the New Mexico State University College of Agriculture & Home Economics, this site contains a lot of information about chile peppers.
The Hatch Chile Express - We're often contacted by folks needing a source of chile products. This website offers fresh green chile (in season), and a variety of dried chile products.
Sunny Conley's "Chile Knights" Article Archives - Sunny is Southern New Mexico's authority on "all things chile". These articles from her popular "Chile Knights" newspaper column contain a wealth of information and humor.