why i insist on "real" hatch chiles
Let me be clear. There is no Hatch variety of chile peppers, although I admittedly abuse the term. "Hatch" actually refers to the town of Hatch, New Mexico - the Chile Capital of the World. Hatch is located about 40 miles north of Las Cruces, home to New Mexico State University. The university has the one and only Chile Pepper Institute, a nonprofit entity dedicated to education and research on capsicum, what we refer to as chile peppers.
Back to "why Hatch?" I'm going to get my chile geek on, so stay with me. Your palate will be glad you did.
Green chiles grown in and around Hatch benefit from the area's unique environmental and soil attributes. This, coupled with the centuries of love and toil by local farmers is what makes these little gems so special. However, due to the rising popularity of green chiles, farmers are challenged with meeting the increased demand due to the challenges associated with environmental perils - in particular, a shrinking reserve of ground water and depleting availability of irrigated water from the nearby Rio Grande River.
"But," you say, "I see Hatch chiles everywhere! They're all over store shelves in those little yellow cans. You're making this up!" Not so. According to the Santa Fe Reporter, the Hatch Chile Co. of Brunswick, Georgia, filed for and received a trademark on the word "Hatch" in 2008. So, many of the chile-related products in your supermarket are promoted as Hatch-grown, but actually come from Mexico and other areas. Understandably, this was and continues to be an unwelcome development for the farmers who actually grow products in and around Hatch. As of 2013, attempts to challenge this trademark have been unsuccessful. Luckily, there are standards for labeling chiles with the New Mexico name, thanks to the 2011 New Mexico Chile Advertising Act and the 2012 New Mexico Chile Labeling rule. UPDATE: In June, 2016, a federal appeals court sided with a growers' group from Hatch Valley, New Mexico, regarding what foods can use the "Hatch" label. Stay tuned!
Rest assured, all green chiles that pass through this household are the real deal. And none of them go to waste!
Back to "why Hatch?" I'm going to get my chile geek on, so stay with me. Your palate will be glad you did.
Green chiles grown in and around Hatch benefit from the area's unique environmental and soil attributes. This, coupled with the centuries of love and toil by local farmers is what makes these little gems so special. However, due to the rising popularity of green chiles, farmers are challenged with meeting the increased demand due to the challenges associated with environmental perils - in particular, a shrinking reserve of ground water and depleting availability of irrigated water from the nearby Rio Grande River.
"But," you say, "I see Hatch chiles everywhere! They're all over store shelves in those little yellow cans. You're making this up!" Not so. According to the Santa Fe Reporter, the Hatch Chile Co. of Brunswick, Georgia, filed for and received a trademark on the word "Hatch" in 2008. So, many of the chile-related products in your supermarket are promoted as Hatch-grown, but actually come from Mexico and other areas. Understandably, this was and continues to be an unwelcome development for the farmers who actually grow products in and around Hatch. As of 2013, attempts to challenge this trademark have been unsuccessful. Luckily, there are standards for labeling chiles with the New Mexico name, thanks to the 2011 New Mexico Chile Advertising Act and the 2012 New Mexico Chile Labeling rule. UPDATE: In June, 2016, a federal appeals court sided with a growers' group from Hatch Valley, New Mexico, regarding what foods can use the "Hatch" label. Stay tuned!
Rest assured, all green chiles that pass through this household are the real deal. And none of them go to waste!
