Hatch Chili Pepper

Photo: flickr user Cosmic Kitty

About

Hatch Chili Peppers are a variety of chili pepper grown in Hatch Valley, New Mexico, the area where they were first cultivated. As production expanded, growers moved to other sections of New Mexico, specifically the Mesilla Valley.

This pepper has a short season of only six weeks, harvested during late July and August. Some chili pepper experts consider the Hatch chili to be the best peppers grown in the United States. The fruit looks long and curvy like Anaheim chili peppers, but they are firmer and have a greater range of flavor, usually mild to medium. They have a wonderful smell in their raw state and are wonderful when roasted. Great for stuffing chili rellenos among other dishes.

Information

Other names: Hatch Chilies, Hatch Chili Pepper, Hatch Chile Pepper

Translations: Hatch čili pipari, ハッチチリペッパー, Liukų čili pipirai, هاتش الفلفل الحار, Hatch ardei chili, 해치 칠리 페퍼, האץ 'ילי פפר, Хатч Чили Пеппер, Chili Pepper Hatch, हैच मिर्च मिर्च, Hatch, Xile, Хатч Чилі Пеппер, 哈奇辣椒, Вратанца чили паприка, Hatch, chile, Hatch Чили пипер

Physical Description

Hatch chili is similar to Anaheim peppers, but has a much wider variety of flavors. Pods range from four inches all the way to eleven or twelve in some sub-varieties such as Big Jim. Slightly curved or crooked pods are common.

Colors: Green, Red, Blends of the two

Tasting Notes

Flavors: sweet, spicy

Mouthfeel: Crisp, Crunchy

Food complements: South western and mexican cuisine, Chili

Beverage complements: A good mexican beer like pacifico or sol goes well with these.

Substitutes: Anaheim chili pepper

Selecting and Buying

Seasonality: august, september

Peak: august

Choosing: Chose firm, plump, long pods. The heat is all in the vain inside the chile so don't listen to myths about it being in the skin or seeds. Especially hot peppers will have a dark yellow streak along the vain on the interior of the pod.

Buying: You can order hatch chili from several websites including the Hatch Green Chile Store website http://hatchnmgreenchile.com or at local grocery stores during certain times of year. They are available from early August to late September. Central Markets in TX carry these chilies and also roast them for 3 weeks in August.

Procuring: Chili seed can be purchased from multiple sources online. They are not native, but sometimes volunteer plants will grow along the edge of fields previously planted in chili.

Preparation and Use

The chiles can be purchased uncooked, roasted or dried. The uncooked chiles are best roasted, then peeled, and seeded. The roasted chiles are usually sold peeled and are ready for use and the dried chiles can be ground in to a powder or paste for use or reconstituted and used in soups, chilis or sauces.

Cleaning: Rinse the chiles under cool water. Roast them under a broiler, directly over an open flame or in a rotating roaster. The seeds can be eaten, but most people seed the chiles before eating them

Conserving and Storing

Roasted chiles can be stored in the freezer either whole or cut into strips. The chiles can be canned or jarred after roasting or made into a sauce that can be canned or frozen.

Social/Political

Hatch enjoys the distinction of being the home of "The World's Best chili pepper", according to a report by the BBC World News.[citation needed] Hatch chile is best prepared by roasting over an open flame. Each year during chile season, dozens of chile vendors can be found lining the streets of Hatch roasting the local chile. The chiles are said to get their distinctive flavor from a combination of the rich mineral content of the soil and the amount of sun and heat they get.

History: Hatch is widely known as the designer chile/chili headquarters because Mesilla Valley farmers are constantly developing new breeds and various tastes to satisfy a steady throng of new customers.

They tailor-make chilis, which are then introduced to the locals and consumers from all over the US and other countries