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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Many faces of chile
  • Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 08:31:22 -0600

http://dchieftain.com/news/72007-06-13-07.html

Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Many faces of chile

Argen Duncan El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

The desert sun isn't the only heat source in New Mexico.

The chile and its fiery kick have addicts around the state, but growers may
also raise it for other uses, including food coloring, dye in cosmetics or
pain-killing ointments with capsaicin, the heat-producing substance. Most
chile from the Socorro area goes to the fresh market, said San Antonio
grower Paula Sichler.

Paula Sichler's family grows what they can sell in their San Antonio and
Los Lunas produce stands, and to restaurants, but some producers market
their crop to grocery stores.

A good field will grow about 12 tons of chile per acre, said her husband,
Chris Sichler.

Paula Sichler said many people don't know that chile is a fruit, not a
vegetable. It grows from a flower, rather than being a part of the original
plant.

Also, red and green chile are the same thing.

"A red chile is just a ripe green chile," Paula Sichler explained.

The chile's heat changes with the variety and the amount of water it gets.
More rain means milder chiles.

Paula Sichler said the most commonly grown fresh-market chile variety would
probably be "Sandia," followed by "Big Jim."

Sandia plants produces hot chiles, while Big Jim chiles are medium or
medium hot. Farmers often grow "Joe Parker" chiles for mildness and
"Barkers Extra Hot," "Triple X" or "Lumbre" for extra-hot crops.

Eating it

Paula Sichler said produce-stand customers could probably choose among the
four levels of heat, but grocery stores likely offer only medium and hot.
She said grocery stores often sell packing chile from southern New Mexico.

Producers grow this type for high yield, but it has less flavor and a
thinner skin, she said. The thin skin means it doesn't roast as well and is
harder to peel afterward.

People must blister and peel chiles before using or preserving them.

Whether they use a roaster or an oven, Paula Sichler said, people should
allow the chiles to steam in a white or clear paper or plastic bag
afterwards. The steam makes the fruit easier to peel.

The bag must be white or clear for federal Food and Drug Administration
approval.

As for nutrition, Paul Bosland, New Mexico State University Chile Pepper
Institute director, said chiles are high in vitamin C until they begin to
turn red. Then they have carotenoids, which the human body turns into
vitamin A.

Chiles have more vitamin C than oranges and provide more vitamin A than
carrots, Bosland said.

"So they're very nutritious," he said.

Chiles also have fiber, and their heat kills microorganisms in the body.

On top of that, the fruit produces endorphins, which give a feeling of well
being, while people are eating it.

"And it appears it lowers your bad cholesterol," Bosland said of chile.

Chiles' heat comes from their membrane, or placental tissue, which holds
the seeds, according to the Chile Pepper Institute Web site.

The seeds don't produce capsaicin, but will absorb some of it during
processing.

According to the Web site, the best way to stop the burning sensation after
eating chiles is to consume dairy products.

People who get chile oil on their skin can put rubbing alcohol on the area
and then soak it in milk, but individuals who get chile in their eyes need
to repeatedly flush them with water or saline solution.

Growing it

The first chile planting usually happens in April.

"We plant by seed," Paula Sichler said.

Most New Mexico farmers do, but some use transplants.

The Sichlers typically plant at three separate times because the plants
produce fruit in stages, Paula Sichler said. This way, by the time they
finish the first harvest in every field, the plants are ready for the
second harvest.

In this area, the earliest plantings of green chile mature in early to
mid-August, Paula Sichler said.

Red chile usually becomes ready for harvest by the second week in
September. When the nights start getting cold, Paula Sichler said, the
plants produce red fruit.

The Sichlers harvest fresh red chile through October and then sun-dry the
rest on the plant until January.

"So it's kind of our winter harvest," Paula Sichler said.

Paula Sichler said her family has workers pick chile by hand because
machines are inefficient due to the fruit being at different stages of
maturity.

Growers may use machines when the chile is all red and earmarked for
cosmetics.

Traditionally, farmers flood irrigate their chile, but the Sichlers have
put one field on drip irrigation this year.

Small tubes carry water to the plants' roots, making water use more
efficient and providing several other benefits.

Chris Sichler said drip irrigation also increases production by 30 percent
to 40 percent because the plants always have the right amount of water.

The challenges of growing chile in New Mexico come from pests, viruses and
problematic weather, Paula Sichler said. However, the state's dry climate
produces hotter chile.

Claiming it

Chiles aren't native to New Mexico. The Spanish conquistadors who traveled
from Mexico probably brought them, Bosland said.

In the late 1800s, Fabian Garcia of NMSU crossed several types of chile to
produce a variety with the long pods many people are familiar with today.

The New Mexico pod type, also called the "Anaheim" chile, had a greater
yield and milder fruit so Anglos would eat it. The pod had more meat and
could be used for red or green chile.

The new chile started the state's Mexican food industry, Bosland said.
Chile processing began commercially in Hatch and spread as far as Arizona
and West Texas.

"So it's kind of like ripples in a pond, all the way up to Socorro and
Belen and Los Lunas," Bosland said.

Garcia's creation won't grow much farther north than Los Lunas. Different
chile varieties grow in Northern New Mexico, with its shorter growing
season.

aduncan@dchieftain.com






  • [Livingontheland] Many faces of chile, TradingPostPaul, 06/15/2007

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