Hot enough for you? Well, it’s about to get hotter.
No, not the weather. It’s Hatch chile season, but you’d better get them fast.
These prized chiles, known for their unique combination of sweetness, heat and smokiness, are available for only a few short weeks between August and September.
What makes these chiles unique is where they’re grown.
“Hatch chiles, grown only in the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico, have a thick, meaty flesh because their growing fields are at high elevation – 4,000-foot altitude – where the days are hot, into the 100s, and the nights are cool, into the 60s, which creates a thicker chile,” explained Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa’s Produce.
Don’t like the heat? No worries. The Scoville Scale measures the relative heat of hot peppers, and although available hotter, most Hatch chiles score between 1,500 and 2,500 units — about the same level of heat as poblano or Anaheim peppers, making them ideal for all your Mexican favorites: chile rellenos, chile verde, chile con queso…the list is endless.
But don’t stop there, said Chef Ida Rodriguez, co-author with Sharon Hernandez, of “Melissa’s Hatch Chile Cookbook” (World Variety Produce).
“I want people to know you can use Hatch chiles in everything – Italian, Asian – not just Southwest,” she said.
Try Hatch chile pizza dough, Hatch pepper buttermilk biscuits, Hatch chile braciole, Hatch shrimp and Andouille sausage gumbo even Hatch chile chocolate chip cookies and Devil’s Food Cake.
So popular are these chiles that thousands converge on Hatch, New Mexico, for the annual Hatch Chile Festival, to be held this year Sept.1-3, over Labor Day Weekend. The festivities will include mariachi and Ballet Folklorico performances, a parade, a carnival with rides and, of course, a chili cook-off.
“We go to Hatch every year,” Rodriguez said. “You’d think, who’s going to buy a 35-pound case of chiles, but you bring them home,…
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