ÓRALE!

Our Story

Historians believe that chile was indigenous to the central valley of Mexico, where it was cultivated by the Aztec and other Nahuatl speaking peoples. Many words still used in our modern day English and Spanish are derived from the Nahuatl language, ie., chocolate, mezcal, posole, tamale, and many more. Columbus discovered chiles in the Caribbean during his voyage of 1492, and the Spanish referred to it as “Chile Caribe.” In their explorations, the Spanish helped spread chile throughout the Americas and even into the Orient, where it continued to be cultivated and developed into a valuable and important spice used in trade.

It is believed that Coronado brought chiles with him during his expedition in 1540 to New Mexico. New Mexicans still refer to roasted and crushed, red chile pods as “Chile Caribe.” Today chile has become synonymous with New Mexico—the greatest producer of chile.  Our Chimayó Heritage chile is grown from heritage seed saved by our families over generations, with each family saving seeds according to their preference for heat level, from mild to extra hot. Because of its high elevation and short growing season, chile grown in Chimayó developed a complex, sweet and smokey flavor; unlike other chile, and is considered by many to be the best in the world.

In late summer, the aroma of green chile roasting perfumes the air all over New Mexico. This is the time that families gather young and old to roast and hand-peel the green chile, then freeze enough to last until the next crop. The green chile is used to make the delicious green chile sauce served on green enchiladas, and hearty green chile stew. Part of the harvest is left to continue to ripen and mature on the vines into the beautiful, much-loved red chile pods. Once they have reached their peak the red pods are harvested and can be strung into the beautiful chile ristras that are not only decorative, but used as a source of dried chile throughout the year to produce the rich, velvety, red chile sauce used in red enchiladas, posole, and carne adovada.  

Casa Chimayó Mercado was created due to popular demand from customers asking us to make our northern New Mexico chile products available online. Now, anyone can experience the famous 100% New Mexican chile, along with a collection of other items that reflect the history, culture, traditions, and the combined heritage of our Hispano, and Native American roots in northern New Mexico.