Just 30 miles northwest of Las Cruces is the village of Hatch , known as the Chile Capital of World. Hatch cultivates over 30,000 acres of the succulent pod and celebrates the harvest each Labor Day Weekend with a festival that includes chile roasting, chile contests, chile parades, and traditional chile dishes. Year round these savory victuals are listed on menus at many area restaurants. To help you on your culinary excursion and to familiarize you with our chile lingo and lore, I offer the following brief guide. Debates on the correct spelling are heated.
Chile is the Spanish adaptation of chili, the Aztec name for the pod.
Chile powder vs. chili powder. Chile is usually served as a green or red sauce. Red sauce is also known as enchilada sauce since it's often found in that dish. Compared with green sauce, red sauce has a rich earthy flavor and adds an unusually sweet punch to most dishes. Green chiles that ripen on the vine turn red.