expensive to order
but well worth the price:
Hatch green chile
NOTES
My time in New Mexico gave me a fondness for green chile, particularly green chile stew. So from time to time I order 10 pounds of green chile from The Hatch Chile Store. It’s pricy because shipping is not cheap, but well worth the cost.
If you haven’t tried roasted green chile, or if you’ve only tried it from a can (which is trash) or dried inside an over-salted soup mix, do yourself a favor and get some frozen from The Hatch Chile Store.
If you are unfamiliar with New Mexico green chile, you may want to start with medium or even mild.
Telling you that sparks a memory…
Albuquerque used to, and maybe still does, host the annual Fiery Foods Show.
(Okay, so I checked Google and see the 2025 Fiery Foods Show is at Sandia Casino, which is an excellent venue in Albuquerque. When I used to go to the Fiery Foods Show, it was in the downtown convention center.)
The Fiery Foods Show in Albuquerque features spicy food creators from all over the USA.
One year I signed a waiver so I could try an habanero hard candy. I stuck it into my mouth, and, hmmm, not bad. Then, about 5 seconds later, the burn hit me. That’s how I learned that habanero leaves a trail of burn. All the way down. But that’s not the point of why I brought up the Fiery Foods Show.
One year I met a guy from Idaho there. He had — I’m not sure what he was selling, now that I think about it, but it was probably a salsa or hot sauce of some kind. Anyway, he had mild, hot, and extra hot. He warned that I should be careful of the extra hot, so, of course, I tried it. And … I detected barely a spicy note, maybe “medium” at most. I tried the other versions and was able to tell there was a difference, with “mild” being at zero on my spice meter.
The guy’s salsas were tasty, but not spicy, and at the Fiery Foods Show, that’s a major faux pas. But, you know, in Idaho, I’d bet his “extra hot” kills people!
Now that I live in Maine, I have friends who’ve never been exposed to spicy food like my green chile stew. Heck, I made some black pepper cocoa cookies and took them to a pot luck. They mostly went back home with me — they’re my favorite, so no hard feelings there! — because when people saw “black pepper” they just said, “No.”
Anyway, as I said above, if you are not familiar with New Mexico green chile, test the waters before you get it too spicy, because what’s “extra hot” to you may very well be “mild” or “medium” in New Mexico!