New Mexico chile
New Mexico chile or New Mexican chile, also known as Hatch chile, is a cultivar group of the chile pepper from the US state of New Mexico, first grown by Pueblo and Hispano communities throughout Santa Fe de Nuevo México. These landrace 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 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. Chile is one of New Mexico's state vegetables, and is referenced in the New Mexico state question "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 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. 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 and Southern Colorado. These first commercially viable peppers were created to have a "larger, smoother, fleshier, more tapering and shoulderless pod for canning purposes".
Paul Bosland, an expert on chile genetics, breeding, and germplasm evaluation, founded the Chile Pepper Institute 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, Australia, and Japan, 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 bosque, mountains, and high deserts, a favorable environment for plant propagation 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, 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; and in the Albuquerque metropolitan area from Albuquerque, Bosque, Corrales, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, and Bosque Farms.
Hatch chile
Hatch chile refers to varieties of species of the genus Capsicum 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. The soil and growing conditions in the Hatch Valley create a unique terroir 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 marked 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 of New Mexico for centuries. The Acoma Pueblo chile is mild, with a lightly flavorful pungency. The Isleta Pueblo 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, 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, area in 1894. The chile "heat" of 'Anaheim' chile varies from 500 to 2,500 on the Scoville scale.Colorado
In Colorado, '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 pepper variety was later named "Mosco".Outer space
On July 12, 2021, NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station grew New Mexico chile variety 'Numex Española Improved' from seeds in a soilless media with fertilizer. These were the first Capsicum plants grown off of Earth. Out of the 48 seeds planted, four were allowed to continue growing in a small unit. The chiles were harvested in October, and "space tacos" were prepared. A second harvest in December yielded 26 peppers, with 12 peppers returned to Earth for evaluation.Uses
Food
Green chile is served roasted and peeled, whole or diced, as a powder, and in various sauces. It is most 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 chile relleno. New Mexican-style chile rellenos follow the much more traditional Mexican technique of being covered with egg batter and fried, although variations and casseroles do exist.The red 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 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.| Year | Acres planted | Acres harvested |
| 2010 | 9,150 | 8,700 |
| 2011 | 10,000 | 9,500 |
| 2012 | 9,900 | 9,600 |
| 2013 | 9,000 | 8,600 |
| 2014 | 8,100 | 7,700 |
| 2015 | 8,300 | 7,700 |
| 2016 | 9,200 | 8,700 |
| 2017 | 8,100 | 7,600 |
| 2018 | 8,400 | 7,900 |
| 2019 | 9,100 | 8,700 |
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.