New Mexico No. 6 Chile Pepper Heirloom Variety- Eat, Enjoy or make your own Rista
You know about New Mexico's famed famed chile sauces (note the spelling, which is enshrined in the state constitution). New Mexico is the only state in the union to have an official question: ‘Red or green?’, referring to the colors of the two sauces liberally smothered over and infused into every New Mexican dish.
The US Department of Agriculture Agricultural Experimental Station in New Mexico began trials to standardize chile varieties. Working from chiles that belonged to the Pasilla family of peppers, they developed the first chile that would grow with a reliable size and hotness so that farmers would have something consistent to sell. They called this the New Mexico No. 9. This was grown as the standard chile until 1950, when New Mexico No. 6 was released: it was milder, and ready to pick earlier. Being milder, it could be more widely used by American consumers.
The New Mexico No. 6 variety was by far the biggest breakthrough in the chile breeding program. According to the late Dr. Roy Nakayama, who succeeded Harper as director of the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station, “The No. 6 variety changed the image of chile from a ball of fire that sent consumers rushing to the water jug to that of a multi-purpose vegetable with a pleasing flavor. Commercial production and marketing, especially of green chiles and sauces, have been growing steadily since people around the world have discovered the delicious taste of chile without the overpowering pungency.”
Today, Hatch chile is a label for New Mexico chile grown in the Hatch Valley, in and around Hatch, New Mexico, an area famous for its chile peppers.
New Mexico is famous for "ristas" made from peppers
Open-pollinated. Fleshy tapered pods average 7-8" long, about 4 oz at maturity. All-purpose chile, one of the mildest we offer. Best if used when green. A great introduction to chiles.
Days to maturity: 75-80
3-5,000 Scovilles