The Spread of Chile Peppers
When Christopher Columbus was looking for a new spice trade rout and bumped into the new world, he came across these new fruits
when the Western Natives offered him some chile pepper. When he ate the pods he felt the same “burn” or “heat” felt from black pepper
and he mistakenly called it “pepper” this is why today chile peppers are called peppers.
Columbus took the fiery pods back to Spain and they quickly spread across the Eastern hemisphere and are used in almost every
international cuisine around the world. Chile pepper plants are also grown in almost every country in the world. There are several stories
about how chile peppers came to New Mexico, some scientists believe that Onate brought them on his expedition of the Camino Real
and others believe they arrived in New Mexico through trade between the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest and the Toltec Indians of
Mexico. There is no archeological evidence to neither prove nor dispel either theory. But one thing is for sure, the Native Pueblo Indians
of the southwest were definitely growing chile peppers.
New Mexican Chile Peppers
Today many of these chile peppers that were grown for thousands of years are still being grown in small family oriented farms scattered
around Northern New Mexico. However these landrace chile peppers are dying out because there are more “robust” varieties that are
more desirable to the industry. Back at the turn of the 20th century, Fabian Garcia, a pioneer horticulturist at New Mexico State
University, realized the problems inherent with native landraces and introduced a new type of pod to the chile pepper industry: ‘New
Mexico No. 9'. This cultivar was a farmer's dream, with its regular size and shape and dependable heat.
It was a commercial success and kicked-off the Mexican food boom in America. Farmers, in particular in southern New Mexico where
the growing season is longer, eagerly swapped out their traditional landraces for the new cultivar and started turning out profitable crops.
On the other hand, the landraces that existed in the Southern part of the State have vanished and been replaced by more commercially
viable options.
Dr. Garcia breed several varieties of Mexican pasilla and chile pepper Colorado to come up with the hybrid now known as the New
Mexican pod type. Varieties of New Mexican pod types include NuMex Big Jim, NuMex Joe E. Parker, NuMex Sandia and NuMex
Española Improved. The publics demand for New Mexican chile pepper peppers started a little over 75 years ago. Any variety
developed at NMSU carries the precursor “NuMex.” NuMex Big Jim is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest chile
pepper ever grown at 13.5 inches long. New Mexico is the nation’s premier producer of hot chile peppers. Green chile pepper is
produced mainly for the fresh market with a small portion going to processing, almost all of the red chile pepper and cayenne produced is
processed. Paprika is used mostly for its coloring agent properties.
The three southern New Mexico counties account for 75 percent of all chile pepper acreage. Dona Ana, Luna, and Hidalgo. 20 percent
of the entire states harvest and almost the entire northern New Mexico crop is destined for the fresh market. New Mexico’s cash crop of
chile peppers, which includes; green and red New Mexican chile pepper peppers, jalapeños, cayennes and paprika, is worth $60 million
at harvest. After processing this value quadruples.
A Chile Pepper Institute publication, New Mexico State University © 2007
View the 2010 Vacation Guide online Click Here! opens in a new window.
When Christopher Columbus was looking for a new spice trade rout and bumped into the new world, he came across these new fruits
when the Western Natives offered him some chile pepper. When he ate the pods he felt the same “burn” or “heat” felt from black pepper
and he mistakenly called it “pepper” this is why today chile peppers are called peppers.
Columbus took the fiery pods back to Spain and they quickly spread across the Eastern hemisphere and are used in almost every
international cuisine around the world. Chile pepper plants are also grown in almost every country in the world. There are several stories
about how chile peppers came to New Mexico, some scientists believe that Onate brought them on his expedition of the Camino Real
and others believe they arrived in New Mexico through trade between the Pueblo Indians of the Southwest and the Toltec Indians of
Mexico. There is no archeological evidence to neither prove nor dispel either theory. But one thing is for sure, the Native Pueblo Indians
of the southwest were definitely growing chile peppers.
New Mexican Chile Peppers
Today many of these chile peppers that were grown for thousands of years are still being grown in small family oriented farms scattered
around Northern New Mexico. However these landrace chile peppers are dying out because there are more “robust” varieties that are
more desirable to the industry. Back at the turn of the 20th century, Fabian Garcia, a pioneer horticulturist at New Mexico State
University, realized the problems inherent with native landraces and introduced a new type of pod to the chile pepper industry: ‘New
Mexico No. 9'. This cultivar was a farmer's dream, with its regular size and shape and dependable heat.
It was a commercial success and kicked-off the Mexican food boom in America. Farmers, in particular in southern New Mexico where
the growing season is longer, eagerly swapped out their traditional landraces for the new cultivar and started turning out profitable crops.
On the other hand, the landraces that existed in the Southern part of the State have vanished and been replaced by more commercially
viable options.
Dr. Garcia breed several varieties of Mexican pasilla and chile pepper Colorado to come up with the hybrid now known as the New
Mexican pod type. Varieties of New Mexican pod types include NuMex Big Jim, NuMex Joe E. Parker, NuMex Sandia and NuMex
Española Improved. The publics demand for New Mexican chile pepper peppers started a little over 75 years ago. Any variety
developed at NMSU carries the precursor “NuMex.” NuMex Big Jim is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest chile
pepper ever grown at 13.5 inches long. New Mexico is the nation’s premier producer of hot chile peppers. Green chile pepper is
produced mainly for the fresh market with a small portion going to processing, almost all of the red chile pepper and cayenne produced is
processed. Paprika is used mostly for its coloring agent properties.
The three southern New Mexico counties account for 75 percent of all chile pepper acreage. Dona Ana, Luna, and Hidalgo. 20 percent
of the entire states harvest and almost the entire northern New Mexico crop is destined for the fresh market. New Mexico’s cash crop of
chile peppers, which includes; green and red New Mexican chile pepper peppers, jalapeños, cayennes and paprika, is worth $60 million
at harvest. After processing this value quadruples.
A Chile Pepper Institute publication, New Mexico State University © 2007
View the 2010 Vacation Guide online Click Here! opens in a new window.
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