According to many accounts, cultivated chile peppers were introduced into what is now the United States by Capitan General Juan de Oñate, the founder of Sante Fe, in 1609. However, they may have been introduced to the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico by the Antonio Espejo expedition of 1582-83. According to one of the members of the expedition, Baltasar Obregón, "They have not chile, but the natives were given some seed to plant." By 1601, chiles were not on the list of Indian crops, according to colonist Francisco de Valverde, who also complained that mice were a pest that ate chile pods off the plants in the field.

After the Spanish began settlement, the cultivation of chile peppers exploded, and soon they were grown all over New Mexico. It is likely that many different varieties were cultivated, including early forms of jalapeños, serranos, anchos, and pasillas. But one variety that adapted particularly well to New Mexico was a long green chile that turned red in the fall. Formerly called "Anaheim" because of its transfer to the more settled California around 1900, the New Mexican chiles were cultivated for hundreds years in the region with such dedication that several distinct varieties developed. These varieties, or "land races," called 'Chimayó' and 'Española,' had adapted to particular environments and are still planted today in the same fields they were grown in centuries ago; they constitute a small but distinct part of the tons of pods produced each year in New Mexico.

New Mexican chiles are pod types of the annuum species. The plant has mostly a compact habit with an intermediate number of stems, and grows between twenty and thirty inches high. The leaves are ovate, medium green, fairly smooth, and about three inches long and two inches wide. The flower corollas are white with no spots. The pods are pendant, elongate, bluntly pointed, and measure between two and twelve inches. They are dark green, maturing to various shades of red. Some ornamentals are yellow or brown. Their heat ranges from quite mild to medium. More than 40,000 acres of New Mexican chiles are under cultivation in New Mexico, California, Arizona, and Texas. The growing period is about eighty days, and each plant produces between ten and twenty pods, depending on variety and cultural techniques.

Varieties of the New Mexican pod type are: 'Anaheim M' (eight inch pods, mild); 'Anaheim TMR 23' (eight-inch pods that are etch-resistant, mild); 'Chimayo' (a land race from northern New Mexico with thin-walled, six inch pods, medium-hot); 'Española Improved' (pods five to six inches, medium heat); ‘Fresno” (erect, two-inch pods, medium-hot); 'New Mexico No. 6-4' (the most commonly grown New Mexican Variety, pods are seven inches long, medium heat); 'NuMex Big Jim' (long pods, up to twelve inches, medium heat); 'NuMex Eclipse' (chocolate-brown, five inch pods, mild); 'NuMex Joe E. Parker' (improved 6-4 variety); 'NuMex Sunrise' (bright yellow, five inch pods, mild); 'NuMex Sunset' (orange, five inch pods, mild); 'NuMex R Naky' (pods are five to seven inches long, mild); and 'Sandia' (six-inch pods with thin walls, medium-hot).

This information and much more is provided by Dave DeWitt, The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia, see our Suggested Reading section.

Making and drying chile ristras

Chile harvesting in New Mexico

Capsicum annum varieties, provided by Paul Bosland

Chiles growing in the field