New Mexico (dried red)
Capsicum annuum 'New Mexico' · Chilli pepper
Top 10 pairings
The dried New Mexico chile — chile colorado, the "red" of red-or-green — is a long, tapering, leathery deep-red pod, the ripe New Mexico chile left to redden on the plant and then dried. Mild to gently hot (about 800–1,400 SHU), it carries a clean, earthy, sun-dried sweetness with cherry and toasted notes, and it is the pod behind red enchilada sauce, red chile con carne and the ristras strung on Southwestern doorways.
Picking a good onedrag
UnderripeOverripe
Red ripePeakIt's sweetest and hottest now. Roast it, make chilli oil or sauce, or string it to dry.
ColourFully turned, bright even red
The pressFirm, springs straight back
Cap and stalkCap green and tight, stalk firming
Smell at the capWarm and fruity over the green
These cues are Chilli's, and hold across its varieties; where this one differs, its own page says so.
What you get from one
73%
Edible part
45 g · fresh pod, stem and seeds out
62 g
Weight each
each one
Keeping ittap a temperature
Below 7 °C the skin pits and the cap moulds: in two weeks at 5 °C, in days at 0 °C.
90-95%
Humidity
Loosely bagged
Airflow