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Landrace Chiles of Northern New Mexico

windchicken

windchicken

The thread a few days ago about everyone's fave New Mexico pod types got me reading up on the history of New Mexico chile culture. This is some real interesting stuff to me: Before the "industrialization" of chile farming in southern New Mexico most peppers were grown on small family farms that descended from the original Spanish settlers. The varieties they grew were "landrace" types that had evolved over hundreds of years of cultivation. These landrace chiles were wiped out in the early 20th century by the rapid adoption of newer, more productive, more consistent varieties developed at New Mexico State University, such as "Big Jim" and "6-4." However, some of the older, smaller farms still survive around Santa Fe and Taos, growing the old landrace chiles. This topic may have all been covered before in this forum...I haven't checked. But I would be interested to hear if anyone on the THP boards is into all this. It's ironic that now the folks at NMSU are the very ones most interested in preserving the ancestral chile types...

Google for "Northern New Mexico Landrace Chiles" to read some great info.

On a related, equally interesting note, since I live in Louisiana, look into "Perique tobacco of St. James Parish..." Now that is a trip!
 
Ya, cool stuff. I've done a lot of research on the Chimayo pepper as well as some other Mexican landrace varieties, I just wish they grew better in my climate :(
 
POTAWIE said:
Ya, cool stuff. I've done a lot of research on the Chimayo pepper as well as some other Mexican landrace varieties, I just wish they grew better in my climate :(
Click to expand...

The weather here is way more humid than northern New Mexico, but I had to try one of these peppers anyway. We've got 6 plants of NuMex Española Improved, growing really well, in the "large pod" row of our work garden. It's sandy and really hot down there, with 6 or so hours of full sun each day. Maybe that's close enough to the New Mexico climate to be okay. I'll report back with photos as so as there's something to show...
 
When I moved to Albuquerque in 1980, I discovered these chiles by visiting some of the local roadside stands in Espanola and Taos. From what I remembered they were smaller and extremely flavorful. We used green chiles primarily for chiles rellenos and dicing to put in other dishes. These chiles were more difficult to peel when we roasted them in the oven or bbq pit because they were so thin skinned. If you had them roasted in the big roadside roasters, they were usually over-cooked and it was impossible to use them for rellenos. I did not have the appreciation for the history of these chiles back then like I do now and went back to the Hatch chiles because of how much more thick walled they were and because they were easier to peel. I will try to get some landrace chiles on my New Mexico chile run this year if I can. My brother is a Taos resident of 40 years. These would be great for drying the pods whole and using them for enchilada sauce. Thanks for bringing up this topic. I just received a copy of The Chile Chronicles: Tales of a New Mexico Harvest yesterday. It has fantastic info and photos on the history of chile growing in New Mexico. It may cover landrace chiles. I have not had a chance to read it yet. This looks like a must read if you are interested in NM chile history. Cheers
 
chileaddict said:
When I moved to Albuquerque in 1980, I discovered these chiles by visiting some of the local roadside stands in Espanola and Taos. From what I remembered they were smaller and extremely flavorful. We used green chiles primarily for chiles rellenos and dicing to put in other dishes. These chiles were more difficult to peel when we roasted them in the oven or bbq pit because they were so thin skinned. If you had them roasted in the big roadside roasters, they were usually over-cooked and it was impossible to use them for rellenos. I did not have the appreciation for the history of these chiles back then like I do now and went back to the Hatch chiles because of how much more thick walled they were and because they were easier to peel. I will try to get some landrace chiles on my New Mexico chile run this year if I can. My brother is a Taos resident of 40 years. These would be great for drying the pods whole and using them for enchilada sauce. Thanks for bringing up this topic. I just received a copy of The Chile Chronicles: Tales of a New Mexico Harvest yesterday. It has fantastic info and photos on the history of chile growing in New Mexico. It may cover landrace chiles. I have not had a chance to read it yet. This looks like a must read if you are interested in NM chile history. Cheers
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks! Damn, that sounds good. Now I want them even more!

Anyone know the names of some these cultivars? All I can come up with is Española and Chimayo...
 
Here's a great old article
http://www.fiery-foods.com/chiles-around-the-world/83-usa/1970-embudo-nm-saving-the-native-new-mexican-chiles

Numex landrace varieties
•‘Alcalde’
•‘Chimayó’
•‘Cochiti’
•‘Dixon’
•‘Escondida’
•‘Española’
•‘Isleta’
•‘Jarales’
•‘Jemez’
•‘Nambé Supreme’
•‘San Felipe’
•‘San Juan’
•‘Santo Domingo’
•‘Velarde’
•‘Zia’
 
Wow. That was an excellent article Potowie. When I was young, my mother always tried to drill into my head that Chimayo chiles were the best. She would never make enchilada sauce with anything else. Some of the small hole in the wall restaurants from Espanola to Taos must still use these chiles, because they make New Mexican food that is so good it is not worth trying to explain to others. It has to be experienced first hand. It and the flavor in the air cannot be duplicated. I believe it can only be fully understood by those who are privileged to be part of its culture.
 
Chileadict....I'm assuming that since they're thin walled, she's making a red sauce? Hmmm thin walled would dry ok and make a great powder, and if they have a great flavor, I may have to devote the rest of the year to obtaining some of these seeds for next year. Great. More varieties to add.
 
awww man!

as a soon to be chef and a person who wants to commit to preserving heirloom varieties.... i NEED to get seeds of these. lol.

now to look for seeds and to come up with the cash for buying them. can't buy from nmsu though, they keep telling me to get a license and i just don't have the time to do it yet. (culinary school takes A LOT of my time).
 
I am going to research how to obtain land race chiles and seeds, if it is even possible. I still have relatives and friends in NM who may be able to help. Thank you windchicken for starting this thread. The history of land race chiles in NM is covered pretty well in the book I mentioned in the previous post. I am not kidding, this is a must-get book. The history, info, and photos are amazing. I got it for about $8 including shipping.

JustinNC. You could dry the red pod and grind it to powder, but in my opinion, that would be such a shame if you are intending on using it for red enchilada sauce. When I get a chance I will explain a way that is a thousand times better and hopefully I can include photos.
 
I have no clue on red sauce... wife has only done green for me thus far. I can't wait for photos...will also see what I can find out. Doubt any of my NM connections could get them.
 
I found this to be a very intersting article on issues with "Hatch" and Chimayo chiles
"The fact that the Hatch and Chimayo chiles have unique history and provenance has not
gone unnoticed by chile industry leaders, and the industry and government are struggling
to determine the best means of capitalizing on the state’s signature foods. In the case of
both the Hatch and Chimayo chiles, there have been attempts to “place brand” them
through trademarking and certification marking with the United State Patent and
Trademark Office. Unfortunately, the results thus far have led to consternation and
conflict.
In the case of Hatch, a single company applied for and received a trademark for use of the
word “Hatch” in March 2008 (US Reg. No. 3391024). It is unclear why the USPTO gave
this company exclusive rights even though the worldwide recognition of Hatch chiles has
clearly put it in the public domain for most of the last century..."

http://www.newleafnet.com/docs/New_Leaf_Brief003_Case_Study_NM_Chile_Cert_Marks.pdf
 
Great article Potawie. Every year I get my chiles and visit with Mrs. Lytle, her greatest frustration seems to come from the effects the "imposters" are having on the local farms in the Hatch area. They bring in many large truckloads of chiles grown in Mexico and other places and bag and label them as Hatch chiles. So far, they have been legally allowed to do this. The local farmers cannot compete with these inferior and less expensive knock off chiles. In the Southwest during the fall you see the Hatch label everywhere. The street chile roasters, grocery stores, everywhere. Many people think they are getting the "cream of the crop" chiles when they see the label and have no clue they have been duped. So how does one really know what they are buying? When I lived in Albuquerque, I got tired of getting burned by the scammers. Some places out there really do sell Hatch chiles, but many are just scammers selling the name for a big profit. Why do I make such a big deal out of it? Come to Hatch in the fall and find out for yourself. Spend some time with a local farmer. I am not a wine drinker, but I suspect the comparison can be similar to the quality of a french wine straight from their winery and that of a knock off sold in my local grocery store for $10. The real chile afficionado knows.

Getting back to the topic of this thread. I suspect this is what is going on in Chimayo, Espanola, and other northern NM towns. These people are trying to preserve a part of their heritage by saving the land race chiles. Make no mistake, the chile to a native New Mexican is as essential as the grape is to a Frenchman. I used to see Chimayo powder sold everywhere. I think I have even seen it in the grocery stores here in Seattle. There is no way the tiny farmers in northern New Mexico could mass produce this much powder. The more I learn about this issue, the more I realize how important it is that these farmers and their culture should be recognized protected before they become extinct.
 
Very intersting stuff there Windchicken...thank you for sharing. I'm thinking I may try and grow some Chimayo next year. I've always said that flavor was important to me. Don't get me wrong, I like the superhots for the sheer value of heat provided but flavor has to be there for food ;)
 
I have been growing New Mexico chiles for years, but never really kept track of what varieties and the nuances between them. Since I started a seed business this year, I labeled and separated each variety and have been tasting them as I harvest the seeds. I recently tasted my first Chimayo chile, and was very pleasantly surprised at both the heat and the flavor. The heat (at least in the pod I tasted) rivals a jalapeno, but the pod had a great chile flavor too. I was also somewhat surprised at their small size. I thought all NM chiles grew to about 6" or so, but my Chimayos are only about 3.5 - 4" and are not elongated like most NM chile. They look like a big Jalapeno more so than a NM chile. I have some Espanola improved growing too, but have not gotten any ripe pods yet. Their shape and size is similar to the Chimayo but a little more elongated. After tasting the one pod, I agree that these land race varieties need to be preserved and grown everywhere, if possible!
 
I absolutely love the flavor of the chimayo chile but they always grow very poorly for me, even after trying 4 different seed sources, so I'm guessing its to do with climate, geography, or other environmental factors

Here's my best Chimayo plant(front) from last year which became more of a hanging basket
3808320935_78fabb177f.jpg
 
Thanks for the great response, guys! The more I learn about this whole subject, the more compelling it becomes to me. Watching the video I was entranced when the growers talked about the spirit of those chiles being a part of their lives going back for generation upon generation. Thank God those people are still around! It makes me wonder what else besides chiles do people anywhere grow that way, for hundreds of years, using the same seed, until the spirit of the plants and the fruit are inextricably woven into the fabric of the land, the climate, and the people? Probably apples in Japan, or hops in Bavaria and Bohemia...maybe olives in Italy and Spain...

How does one establish a new landrace plant? Must a landrace chile be a certain pod type? Probably the closest thing to a landrace chile in Louisiana would be the Tabasco...If one were to save seeds from each successive generation of his Tabasco garden, protecting the seed plants from cross-pollination, would the plants and fruit eventually develop a character unique to the local area? How long would that take?
 
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