Chile Pepper Seeds
FAQs
Q. What is the most popular New Mexico Variety for Green Chile?
A. The NuMex Joe E. Parker is probably our most popular variety used for green chile production. It is widely used by local restaurants and by commercial green chile growers both in the United States and in Mexico.
Q. What is a "New Mexico Green Chile"?
A. Around 1888, Fabian Garcia, a horticulturist at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (NMSU today), began his first experiments on breeding a more standardized New Mexican chile. In 1896, Emilio Ortega (at the time, sheriff of Ventura County, CA), after visiting southern New Mexico, brought back chile seeds and planted them near Anaheim. They adapted well to the soil and climate, and this New Mexican chile adopted the name of Anaheim. This name has stuck with this particular pod type for many years. In 1907, Fabian Garcia was finally able to release his first standardized New Mexican pod type, after experimenting with many strains of pasilla, Colorado, and negro chiles, he released New Mexico No. 9. This was the granddaddy of all future standard New Mexico pod types, and became the standard New Mexican chile until 1950. In 1987, Anaheim became a variety under the New Mexican pod type category. Information provided by Dr. Paul Bosland.
Q. How many pounds of seed do you recommend planting for commercial growing?
A. We recommend planting at least a minimum of 6 to 7 pounds per acre. It is better to have a good stand and have plants to thin out than to not. If you start out with a weak stand than your production is hurt from the beginning. It is the cheapest insurance you can have.
Q. Can you store left over seed and plant it the following year?
A. Yes. Seed can last for years if it is stored properly. By storing the seed properly you can keep good germination and vigor. We recommend keeping seed in a cool, dry place. A rule of thumb is to keep the combined Temperature and Humidity at 100 or below. For example we store our seed at 55 degrees F while at the same time we do not let the humidity exceed 45 percent. The combined total between humidity and temperature should not exceed 100. Leaving the seed in a hot, humid place will drop the germination and decrease the vigor of the seed, sometimes rapidly.
Q. What varieties are used for rellenos?
A. The NuMex Joe E. Parker is the most popular variety grown for rellenos because of its size and its flavor. It is a thick fleshed chile with a desirable flavor. The NuMex Big Jim variety is also a good variety for rellenos. They are thick fleshed and large in size. Some people dislike the variation in heat level from one plant to the next which is common in the NuMex Big Jim variety. The New Mexico 6-4 is also used for rellenos but is not as popular. It has a medium thick flesh with a mild heat level and is a very popular variety grown here in New Mexico and in Mexico.
Q. Which variety is easiest to roast and peel?
A. In our experience the NuMex Joe E. Parker has been the easiest to roast and peel.
Q. Is it possible to Freeze the green chile harvested from our garden?
A. Yes, after roasting and peeling you can freeze them. It is better to freeze them in air tight containers, if not you could end up with freezer burn. They can be stored for up to six months and longer if in an air tight container.
Q. What is the hottest New Mexico variety of chile?
A. Barker's Hot is the hottest New Mexico variety. It matures from green to red. Pods are 5 to 7 inches in length to 1 to 2 inches in width. It has a heat level ranging from 15-30,000 scovilles and is used for stuffing, roasting, canning and processing.
Q. What is a Scoville Heat Unit?
A. Chile pepper heat is measured in Scoville Units. Developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912, a chemist who worked for Park Davis Pharmaceutical Company. Wilbur Scoville’s answer to the question of “How can you determine how hot a chili is?” was “The Scoville Organaleptic Test.” His test consisted of 5 people that sipped a mixture of pure ground chilies with a solution of water and sugar. These drinks were increasingly diluted to the point that the liquid mixtures no longer burned inside the mouth. One part of so called “chile heat” per one million drops of water was then rated at 1.5 Scoville Heat Units or SHU for short. Scoville units measure the chile pepper heat in units of 100, with the bell pepper at 0 scoville units, dry Milta jalapeno at 40-60,000 units, XX Hot at 60-70,000 units and the Habanero (which has been rated by the Guinness Book of World Records) at over 300,000 Scoville Units. A more technologically advanced test is an HPLC test, or High Performance Liquid Chromatography. An HPLC ‘sees’ the heat compounds and records the amount in parts per million (ppm). A quick conversion from HPLC to Scoville is to multiply the ppm by 15 to get the Scoville Heat Unit.
Q. Is the “Heat” in chile peppers found in the seed?
A. Contrary to popular belief, chiles’ seeds are not the source of their pungency (heat). Rather, the “heat” is caused by capsaicinoids, alkaloids found only in chiles. Capsaicinoids are found in blisterlike sacs at the junction of the fruits placenta and inner wall. These sacs can break through processing or being cut open and the capsaicinoids splash onto the seeds giving them heat. Capsaicinoids are the chemical compounds that give chile peppers their bite. You can tell how hot a chile will be simply by looking at it. Cut open the fruit and look at the walls. If the placenta is bright orange and there are many large sacs, the fruit will be very hot! If there is only a hint of color, the chile will be mild. Look at our Chile Anatomy page for more information.