Chile?

OK guys - put me out of my misery. What is Chile other than a country in S.A. This is either something unknown in European cuisine or going under another name. It seems everything in NM is served with chile sauce - what am I letting myself in for?

Chile?

Not everything is served with chile, mainly dishes in New Mexican restaurants. Many other types of restaurants will have dishes which feature chile, but not all do. There are plenty of places to just get a basic steak, potato and salad. Of course, our McDonald%26#39;s and other fast food places do have chile on the menu, unlike anyplace else in the states, and there are probably some New Mexicans who put chile on everything.

Here%26#39;s a decent low down on our cuisine:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexican_Food

Chile?

Excellent question, Travguy! And it gave me quite a chuckle! I cannot wait to read everyone else%26#39;s answer!

Chile is a hot pepper. We New Mexicans take said pepper, roast it, peel and deseed it, chop it up, make it into a sauce, and put it on our mexican or new mexican food. Or we dry the pepper, then blend it with water to make it into a sauce. We make the sauce using the chiles, garlic, and meat. That%26#39;s the base: everyone makes their chile differently.

The pepper starts out green, but turns red as it ripens. If you make your chile while the pepper is still green, you get what we call green chile. If you make your chile with the dried red pepper, you get what we call red chile. Most restaurants will offer you a choice of which one you want. When you are first getting used to chile, you always answer: ';Both: but on the side, please.';

Chile is different everywhere you go. Some places it is mild, some places it is hot. Some places it is so hot it makes you sweat and creates extra nostrils in your nose. You can get it pretty much everywhere here: if a restaurant serves a burger, they%26#39;ve got green chile to put on it, including McDonald%26#39;s and Wendy%26#39;s. It%26#39;s also a pizza topping, and my hubby even puts it in macaroni and cheese, though I am personally against that.

If you look hard enough, you will find chile jelly, chile candy, chile popcorn, etc.

Chile is a source of pride for some people around here. My grandfather spent his entire life collecting the seeds of, and breeding, the hottest chile peppers he could find. When he made ';his'; chile, I couldn%26#39;t even be in the kitchen: the smell made my nose burn. I certainly never tasted it!

We New Mexicans also enjoy debating about which restaurant has the best chile. The debate rages on, so have some chile and let us know what you think!

BTW, when I go out of town for a week or more, I usually stop on the way home from the airport to get my chile fix. I simply crave it when I don%26#39;t have it. Apparently, it%26#39;s addicting.

I%26#39;m now on day 9 of 12 days away and the craving is there.

Thanks ABQ for the info info - guess this is what we call a chilli - (a small seed pod about 3 centimetres?) - think I only use dried red chilli in Indian dishes - but not a pepper because they are large - about the size of a grapefruit - red, green, orange or yellow and those are frequently eaten raw - do not know what you call them. Do not know whe no-one has yet written an American dictionary!

Everything anyone would want to know about the various chile peppers of New Mexico may be found here. Courtesy of New Mexico State University.

…nmsu.edu/pubs/research/horticulture/ctf8.pdf

The ';cantalope'; sized peppers you describe, are our ';Green Peppers'; here, usually about the size of a large apple, and they do come in green, red, yellow... They are not a variety of ';hot'; peppers however, nor a ';chile'; pepper.

For all the uses of chile in New Mexico, I believe it%26#39;s placement on many of New Mexico%26#39;s best pizzas was omitted.

Karmathecat is only a few days out from New Mexico, and she is already suffering from ';Chile-withdrawl'; LOL. I know where she%26#39;s coming from. On a recent trip to Kansas, I tried a so-called, Mexican restaurant in my home town. Everything was so bland, I may as well have been eating a chicken fried steak. ';Fried'; being the Kansas equivalent of chile in New Mexico.

You need to come to one of our ';chile'; festivals, where you can sample the numerous varieties. A few years of eating ';New Mexican,'; and you too could have a tongue the consistancy of leather. :-)

Hey Travguy, you%26#39;re welcome! Glad to help.

The red, yellow, and green peppers you%26#39;re describing are what I call bell peppers, and they%26#39;re not like NM chiles, in that they don%26#39;t have a hot spice to them.

Perhaps you%26#39;ve eaten Thai food? I believe they use small dried red chiles, but they have a sightly different spice to them. They can be just as hot, but I don%26#39;t think they smother their food in them like we do. I%26#39;ve also had some curry sauces that were as hot as our chiles. I miss our chile even when I go to Mexico, that%26#39;s how regional it is.

Karma--hang in there!! Only three more days! Lol!

We just finished our last bag of frozen green chile! We ate too many meals at home!

Yikes, now we have to buy from the store.

Travguy.. you will enjoy trying the different chile sauces both red and green at a variety of restaurants.

In Santa Fe try Tomasita%26#39;s, The Shed for NM food and have both sauces on the side. Also try Burt%26#39;s Burger Bowl for a green chile cheeseburger and possibly a green chile pizza at Pizza Etc.

If you find you like the heat...go to Horseman%26#39;s Haven south of town...some of the hottest green chile around!

Some tips for enjoying chile:

1. Many places (such as Tomasita%26#39;s in Santa Fe) will, if asked, offer you a small sample of their red and green chile sauces so that you can determine whether they are too hot for your taste. Until you get a feel for what it%26#39;s like, take them up on it-- because they usually won%26#39;t take back a meal because you find it to be too hot.

2. The chemicals that provide the %26#39;heat%26#39; in chile are fat-soluble, so if you find yourself overwhelmed, a glass of milk or some other fatty food or drink is the best way to cool the fires. Or just drink a lot of beer-- it doesn%26#39;t cut the heat much, but after a while, you won%26#39;t mind!

Don%26#39;t be scared off-- be adventurous and try some chile!

Forum: has anyone ever heard the joke that ends with the punchline: ';Come on, ice cream!';

hahahaha!

I%26#39;ve tried milk and lots of other stuff to kill the burn, and it%26#39;s never worked. I%26#39;ve soaked my hands in milk after peeling, and they still burned. I think I%26#39;m extra sensitive or something.

However, Mitch, you are SO right about the beer thing! What it doesn%26#39;t cure, it makes you forget.

In Thailand, there is usually palm or regular sugar on the table. That aleviates the burn pretty well. I guess those honey dipped sopa-things serve the same purpose.

The Thais use a variety of peppers - not just those dried ones. The smaller the pepper the hotter it is. They have hard to spot ones (that TA will hopefully let me call) ';rat turd'; peppers - watch out! Makes a habanero seem mild.