A Chile Condiment I’ve Never Heard of Before

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You’d think, after three decades of writing about chiles, that I would know every chile condiment in the world.  Not so.  Nick Vroman writes from Tokyo about koregusu, hot Korean chile peppers soaked in awamori (the favorite firewater from Okinawa) used to enhance delectable island favorites.  Nick writes:  "The label on this one says shima togarashi, or ‘island pepper,’ another …

Christmas in Yucatán

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Nancy Gerlach, who retired and moved to Mexico last year, continues her story about adapting to life in Mexico (has she un-retired? We can always hope):  "It hardly seems possible that another holiday season is upon us, but it is. I’ve got to admit it’s hard to get into the spirit without cold temperatures and some snow, but here in …

The Myth of Hatch Chiles

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There is no such thing as a Hatch chile, despite all the hype about them.  It is not a chile variety, as many people think.  Yes, there are chiles grown in Hatch, usually the varieties ‘Barker’ and ‘NuMex 6-4’.  These grown-in-Hatch varieties are no better than those grown in the Mesilla Valley or in Deming.  There are simply not enough …

The Feast of St. Anthony

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On January 17, Italian Catholics celebrated the Feast of St. Anthony by, well, feasting.  My friend Marco Budinis traveled to Chiavari for its feast.  He writes: "In Italy Saint Anthony the Abbot is remembered for being the protector of domesticated animals.  In several towns in Italy (as it is in Chiavari in January) several celebrations are held run and there …

Jolokias in Florida

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Tony Kamenoff in Orange City, Florida, writes:  "These are pics from December.  I had about60 peppers on my two plants from 3 to 3.5 inches long. I keep them in pots to move in and out according to the weather.  The plants came up in March and and first one did not have pods until August and finally ripened in …