New Mexico chile, most famously the Hatch chile grown in the Hatch Valley of southern New Mexico, is a chili pepper valued for a flavor that balances heat, sweetness, and a mild earthiness. Indigenous Pueblo communities grew chiles along the Rio Grande for centuries before Spanish colonization; the Hatch Valley's reputation as a distinct growing region developed later, with commercial cultivation beginning around 1917 and horticulturist Fabian Garcia's early-1900s breeding work at what's now New Mexico State University standardizing varieties such as Big Jim and Sandia that are still grown there today.
The peppers run from bright green to deep red as they ripen and are roasted, peeled, and used fresh, canned, or frozen in green chile stew, enchiladas, chiles rellenos, sauces, and marinades. 'Hatch chile' is a legally protected name in the U.S.: only peppers grown in the valley around Hatch can carry it, though similar New Mexico varieties grown elsewhere in the state are sold under related names.