A NOTE TO OUR READERS:
"Chile Time" is from the September 2007 issue of Southern Living.
Because prices, dates, and other specifics are subject to change, please check all
information to make sure it's still current before making your travel plans.
There's no mistaking the turn of season here. You see it in the
deepening blue of the sky and the way the sun glows on the gaunt Organ
Mountains. You feel it in gusts of cool wind riding the storms into Las
Cruces from the north. Most of all you smell it--the singular, almost
sweet aroma of chiles roasting. A smell all its own, each whiff, like
the scent of woodsmoke in our region, signals the return of fall.
Locals began harvesting New Mexico's signature green chiles back in
August, when summer gripped the Mesilla Valley and the fields all
around. The picking will continue until frost as the peppers, still
growing on the low, compact bushes, ripen to a jewel red.
New Mexico's Treasures
Las Cruces anchors the state's prime
agricultural area, fertile with pecans, onions, alfalfa, and cotton.
This land, though, draws its flavorful soul from the chile. True fans
consider New Mexican chiles a virtual fifth food group. The state is
recognized as the home of such sought-after selections as the 'NuMex Big
Jim' and 'NuMex Joe E. Parker.' Plus, New Mexico cayennes are a prime
ingredient in all Louisiana hot sauce, that slap of liquid flavor so
cherished by Southerners.
Why do peppers thrive here? Foremost, the long hours of sunlight.
"Peppers are suited to this high desert," says Danise Coon, program
coordinator of the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State
University. "We have very sandy soil and very arid, warm temperatures.
They just love the arid environment."
Danise handles the institute's day-to-day operations. She runs its
center in Gerald Thomas Hall, which houses a library of more than 800
chile-related books and magazines; contains educational displays; and
sells books, posters, and seeds. She also conducts prearranged tours of
the institute's demonstration garden.
