Chile Pepper Nomenclature

Dave DeWitt Chile History, Chile Nomeclature Leave a Comment

By Dave DeWitt A great deal of discussion and controversy has erupted over the terminology of the Capsicum genus in English. There are hundreds if not thousands of common terms for the pods in languages from all over the world, so it is curious that the following ones have been debated with such passion. Ají. This word, from the Arawaks …

New Mexico’s Chile Kings: Fabián García and Roy Nakayama

Dave DeWitt Chile History Leave a Comment

By Rick Hendricks [Editor’s Note: This essay is excerpted with permission from Sunshine and Shadows in New Mexico’s Past: The Statehood Period 1912-Present, published by Rio Grande Books (www.RioGrandeBooks.com) in collaboration with the Historical Society of New Mexico.] New Mexico is the only state in the United States that boasts a state question: “red or green?” While such a question …

Carolina Reaper

Meet the Carolina Reaper

Dave DeWitt General Leave a Comment

We bring you the story of the hottest pepper on earth, the ‘Carolina Reaper’. This is a Canadian Broadcasting Company interview with Ed Currie, developer of the Reaper, Dr. Paul Bosland of New Mexico State University, and Dave DeWitt, chile expert. All three discuss various aspects of superhot chiles.   {enclose http://fiery-foods.com/mp3/cbcradio-current-12-17-14.mp3}            

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The Chile Cultivars of New Mexico State University Released from 1913 to 2007

Dave DeWitt Historical Gardening Leave a Comment

NMSU Research Report 763, November, 2008 By Danise Coon, Eric Votava, and Paul W. Bosland Photos by Paul W. Bosland, Dave DeWitt, and Harald Zoschke The New Mexican-type chile is an important ingredient in the Southwestern food industry. Chiles have grown from a regional food for tourists to an important international export. Improvement of New Mexican chile cultivars through breeding …

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New Mexico Chile Pepper History Through 1973

Dave DeWitt Historical Gardening Leave a Comment

By Tom Clevenger and David G. Kraenzel   Chile has been produced in the Rio Grande Valley for almost 400 years. The following excerpt from the Rio Abajo Press, February 2, 1863, indicates the importance of the crop more than 100 years ago: “Congress takes fifty thousand dollars out of the pockets of the people of the United States to …