The History, Development, and Importance of the New Mexican Pod‐Type Chile Pepper to the United States and World Food Industry

The New Mexican pod-type (Capsicum annuum L.) is an American original, and became the basis for the "Mexican" food industry in the United States. The New Mexican pod-type while originating in New Mexico, has spread around the globe. Its story is intriguing, fascinating, and interesting. Although all New Mexican pod-types share a similar pod shape and size, they can differ to great degree in color, flavor, heat level, nutritional properties, and uses as diverse as any vegetable/spice grown (Plates 6.1 and 6.2). Often thought of as a minor crop, chile peppers are a major world commodity due to their great versatility and wide range of uses. In the United States, chile pepper consumption has increased every year since 1996 to where in 2009 the average person in the United States consumed 7.4 kg per year (NASS 2012). Used not only as vegetables in their own right but they also find use as flavorings in food products, and ingredients in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. New Mexico State University (NMSU) has the longest continuous program of chile pepper improvement in the United States (Coon et al. 2008). All New Mexican pod-type chile peppers grown today gained their genetic base from cultivars first developed at NMSU (Coon et al. 2008). In New Mexico, processing of the New Mexican pod-type increases the $47 million farm-gate value to nearly $400 million (NASS 2012). In addition, the industry provides more than 2,000 full-time and greater than 10,000 part-time jobs to New Mexicans. The New Mexican pod-type is unique in being used as a vegetable, a spice, and an ornamental. In order to understand how this crop has come to be used so widely and in so many ways, we must begin with an understanding of its origins, and then its evolution to the mainstay of the chile pepper industry in the United States. The New Mexican pod-type is used more often and in greater quantity than any other chile pepper pod-type including the ubiquitous jalapeno. This chapter tells the story of the New Mexican chile pepper.