Most self-confessed 'chile heads' already know that the world capital of green chile pepper production is Southwestern New Mexico.
The famous Big Jim chiles - those long fleshy ones ideal for making rellenos - originated in neighboring eastern Arizona, and have been successfully grown and harvested throughout the region.
We are not talking about jalapeno peppers here, although southwestern New Mexico is also a leading processor of those.
We are speaking of los chiles verdes, the succulent and spicy fruit developed by indigenous farmers who inhabited the present-day Southwestern New Mexico region during the days of the Spanish occupation of Mexico.
Enough of history! If you really enjoy green chile dishes and your family thinks that you're a little weird because of your spare-time interests, remind them that yours is a relatively mild obsession to tolerate.
In this day and age, having a parent or two hooked on green chile can turn out to be a minor problem compared to greed, alcoholism, crack addiction, etc.
Besides, with a little forethought, you can get the whole family involved in your madness, turn the entire experience into Quality Time, and maybe even be thanked for it all when it's finished! GROWING For starters, green chile plants can be highly successfully home-sown and grown in this and other regions, and help in doing so is readily available.
Growers report that homegrown chiles naturally taste better, the same as do homegrown tomatoes.
The Chile Pepper Institute of the New Mexico State University at Las Cruces (no affiliation with this writer) offers books, scientific research results and a wide assortment of specialized seeds.
www.
chilepepperinstitute.
org Based on experience, it is worth mentioning to outdoor growers that New Mexico squirrels and other varmints seem to have a natural tolerance, and an actual preference, for young chile plants.
The plants are hardy and will try to re-grow, so if you see them chewed down to the nub day after day, build a chicken-wire enclosure for them.
HARVEST Come autumn, your chiles are ready for harvest, or if not, someone else's are.
If you had a crop failure or just decided not to grow your own chiles, you can still go out and buy some, at least around here.
That way you and your family can still enjoy the harvest season activities.
In the second part of this article we will discuss how to safely roast, peel and store your green chiles for consumption during the winter months.
In the meantime...
WHY DO WE LIKE THEM SO MUCH? Well, they taste great, and are a very rich source of Vitamin C.
This is a vitamin that the body is incapable of storing for long.
Most of us are chronically Vitamin C deficient, which causes us to crave foods that contain it without our knowing why.
Perhaps the most important reason we like green chiles, though, is that they perform a harmless but pleasant little trick on the brain.
Capsaicin - the chemical in chiles that produces that "hot" sensation - fools not only our tongues but our brain into thinking that we have been mildly burned.
The brain responds to this "injury" by releasing its own naturally produced pain relieving chemicals called endorphins.
These in turn cause a mild, temporary euphoria.
Stated in the simplest terms, eating green chiles makes you feel good!