What’s in season now: Pueblo Chiles

It’s time to stock up on fiery peppers from Colorado’s acclaimed chili-growing region. Pueblo chilies often take a back seat to their more familiar southern counterparts (if you look at you, Hatch), but there’s a lot to love about our local hotties. Some producers and consumers even argue that they are better on this side of the border. Why? We caught up with Dominic DiSanti, a fifth generation pueblo chili breeder at DiSanti Farms, to find out.

What Makes Pueblo Chiles So Delicious? (And what is a pueblo chile anyway?)
DiSanti says pueblo chilies include all varieties grown in and around pueblo, and the same goes for hatch chilies – there is no variety that falls under those umbrellas. Instead, the name refers to all of the peppers grown in the regions, including the Anaheims, Fresnos, Poblanos and more. The rivalry between hatch and pueblo chilies is not about a chilli, but about the region.

But we have something that Hatch doesn’t have. “One of the biggest and most obvious things that set us apart is the Mirasol pepper, the heirloom variety developed here that we have grown for generations,” says DiSanti. “It is by far our most popular pepper and on average a bit hotter than the new Mexican varieties. It has a slightly thicker meat and roasts really well. “

In Spanish, the name of the chilli means “looking at the sun” because the tips of the chillies grow towards the sky instead of pointing downwards. DiSanti says it contains a flavorful, meaty punch and is well roasted and frozen. DiSanti says the Mirasols are great for processing green chilli or spreading on a burger, roast or even pizza. The thick meat and great taste of the chilli are partly due to the climate of southern Colorado.

“We just think that our climate is an ideal paprika,” says DiSanti. “Not to say they aren’t doing a great job down there [in New Mexico], but I think our climate is ideal for chillies. “

DiSanti says it’s the region’s dramatic temperature swings between hot days and cool nights that define this flavor – as well as the clear mountain runoff that waters the plants. “The Pueblo chili growers have the slogan ‘grew with the Colorado sun and the water of the Rocky Mountain,’” says DiSanti. “Those are two really good ingredients.”

How to say how hot a Chile is
“It’s very difficult to determine without actually breaking the pepper,” says DiSanti. “But when you break it open, a vein runs along the pod from the seeds to the tip of the pepper, and it’s on those veins that the capsaicin is found. The warmer the pepper, the veins actually begin to change color. ”DiSanti explains that the veins appear almost white on a mild pepper. With a hot pepper, the capsaicin in the veins turns yellow or orange.

And how hot are the peppers this year?

“We find that the hotter, drier years generally make the peppers hotter,” says DiSanti. “There is certainly some science behind it, but that’s exactly what we’re seeing.” Pueblo has experienced a lot of rain this year, but also a hot, dry June. “My original thought at the beginning of the season was that they would be milder. But they are not, ”says DiSanti. “I would say the Mirasols are a bit hotter on average.”

Meet the breeder
DiSanti is a fifth generation breeder who was born and raised in Pueblo. He and his brother work on the production side of the DiSanti farm, while his sister works in marketing. DiSanti’s mother oversees the operation and makes it a family affair.

Together, DiSantis cultivates 60 to 70 hectares of their characteristic peppers – “everything from mild, medium, hot, super-hot to inedible hot,” says DiSanti – as well as other vegetables such as spring onions, radishes, summer squash, tomatoes and watermelon. At the end of the season, the family even harvests jack-o-lantern pumpkins and ships them across the state.

“We enjoy the lifestyle. We enjoy our work and have the best people ever, so it’s a lot of fun, ”says DiSanti. “We know it’s challenging, but getting consumers and grocery stores to look for this local product has kept us in business so this is definitely very important to us.”