Las Cruces, New Mexico, USA
August 13, 2009
 It’s
chile season in New Mexico, but not every pepper is created
equal. Researchers at New Mexico
State University’s Chile Pepper Institute and Las
Cruces-based Biad Chili
Products LLC have partnered to produce Biad’s Reserve NuMex
Heritage 6-4, a super-flavored chile bred to have five times the
flavor compounds and aroma of similar chiles grown today.
“I’d like for the public to get a good, quality chile pepper,”
said Chris Biad, president of Biad Chili. “Other peppers out
there are good, but this takes it to a new level.”
Paul Bosland, director of the Chile Pepper Institute, said
decades of breeding practices that emphasized the traits of
plant yield and disease resistance had caused several New Mexico
chile varieties to lose their signature taste and aroma. NuMex
Heritage 6-4 chiles, and other soon-to-be-released NuMex
Heritage varieties, are bred from seeds frozen from the original
plant strain. The new peppers still have beneficial traits for
farmers but also have 500 percent more flavor.
“Advances like this are important in keeping the chile industry
alive in New Mexico,” Biad said. “Plus, this gives us a chance
to give back to the university and support the work they do for
the industry.”
A portion of the sales from Biad’s Reserve will help the Chile
Pepper Institute in raising money for an endowed chair in chile
pepper research and to establish a new, expanded Chile Pepper
Institute facility.
Biad graduated from NMSU with a degree in agronomy and continues
to have a close relationship with the university. His
grandfather came to the United States from Italy in the late
1940s and began farming chile with his two sons in southern New
Mexico, originally using his roof to dry red chile after
harvesting.
“I think chile is right up there with water when it comes to
importance in New Mexico,” said Anna Emerick-Biad, marketing and
sales director for Biad Chili. “It’s a staple. It’s almost a
lifestyle.”
Frozen, one-pound boxes of NuMex Heritage 6-4 chile pods are
available through the Chile Pepper Institute by visiting
http://chilepepperinstitute.org or by calling (575) 646-3028.
Larger, 10-pound boxes are available through Biad’s Chili by
visiting their facility at 6060 S. Main St., Mesilla Park, N.M.,
by calling (575) 525-0034 or visiting http://biadchili.com.
Shipping is available anywhere in the country. Large quantities
of seeds from NuMex Heritage 6-4 and NuMex Heritage Big Jim are
also available through Biad Chili.
(Photo courtesy photo by Jesse Ramirez) |
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