New Mexico's chile crop is in serious danger. Drought, labor shortages, and competition from foreign countries with cheap labor and inferior chiles are all threatening to put our farmer's out of business. Read about it here. Imagine New Orleans without its signature Cajun or Creole dishes, Florida without its oranges, Philly without its cheese steaks, and that will give you an idea of what would happen to this state were we to lose our chile culture. It's everything to us, on all levels—economic, social, and psychological.
So if you're a chile afficionado, accept no substitutes. Call up my buddies at Bueno Foods and have them ship you the real thing. Ask your grocers to stock only certified New Mexico chile. And if you happen to find yourself out this way, take some time to drop by one of the esteemed restaurants on the official Green Chile Cheeseburger Trail 2011.
Click here to access the map above for the location nearest you.
21 comments:
I usually use the powdered stuff and it doesn't say where the ingredients come from.
Troll: Powdered is fine for red, not for green. But it should always be New Mexico. Order from Bueno Foods next time so I don't have to hurt you.
this already did happen ti Florida. Our competition is SOuth AMerica. and of course you have sunkist with there perfect skins, and gassed to the point of ni vitamin c. Florida oranges are smaller and have imperfect peels but they are nutritious. Im with you so much on the chiles.and will ask the grocer for them specifically.
*i sprained a few of my fingers tuesday -it is very difficult to type which is why I am scarce on the blogs. -but I am reading.
Just checked the Store.
I suspect NM Chili doesn't even attempt to reach the Florida market.
2 Products. No Bueno.
No Country of Origin listed. Packed at Doral, FL and Monroe, FL . I suspect that means grown in SoFla or imported from Carib Nations or Mexico.
I tried!
hmmn--ok, looky, Aunty has been on the hunt for a particular chile called "padron". Will ck the Bueno folks. I tried the La Tienda folks (import from Spain) but no go.
@ Troll --I visited a dang warehouse in Doral area whar' the place processed and pkg'ed herbs from SA and Israel, but mah friend, would ya believe that they was growin' THOUSANDS of pots of chile peppers and other herbs right thar' in the alleyways a'tween rows of loadin' docks? yep---on black nursery cloth wif' irrigation pipes--thousands. I'se shocked. thas' a whole new meanin' TO "URBAN GARDEN."
Moi--good fer ya'--stand up for yore state.
I'll check tonight. I won't buy strawberries in the winter that come from Mexico or beyond. I prefer to eat fresh in the summer only and then buy frozen from local growers during the rest of the year.
People don't care where their food comes from and they really, really should.
In Europe, there is a big push for locally sourced food items. I think the trend is gaining ground here. Not a chile eater but this does bring to mind something that was going around e-mail not so long ago ... where Diane Sawyer (or whoever) did a story on how much in the average American's home was actually "Made in America" ... and there was very little. The e-mail was making a case to go ahead and pay the few cents more for the American product. (Which is probably picked and canned by migrant farm workers) ... but still, I think the point does hit home.
@Aunty,
Yes, I believe it. We're talking about the same place.
Good afternoon Moi,
According to your Bueno Foods link, they don't serve the northeast. Should I find myself in need I will ask you to ship chiles to me.
Buying local, buying our own national products is the only way we're going to save our own economy. Aside from it being a good way to meet people. 90% of my beef and eggs come from a man that I shoot with. He has a freezer in his barn, sells most of this product at the local farmers market and his product quality is higher than you'll find in the supermarket.
One of the interesting points of their story is the water or lack thereof. Too many people taking up too many a resources.
Chickory: How the heck did you sprain your fingers? All that rewinding Olyphant :o)
Troll: No, not in Florida yet, but it's reached North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, so maybe soon. Ask them to stock. Or, order direct from Bueno.
Aunty: Padrons are from Galicia, Spain, and while they can be grown pretty much anywhere, I hear they're impossible to source in the states. Have you tried to grow your own?
Boxer: I try not to buy anything grown in Mexico. I'm surrounded by organic growers, so May to October, it's easy peasy to eat local. After that, I'll cough it up for CA, Texas, or FL.
Pam: I don't have a problem with migrant labor. My home town is half illegals, all of them hard working, just trying to keep their families afloat. I think we should have a work to earn program in this country that trades this labor over a certain amount of time for citizenship. Either that, or put all the Generation Yo! teenagers to the task.
Troll: And you would pitmaster the teens . . .
Karl: I'd be happy to ship to you. Just let me know. You're also right about the sociability aspect. Our closest farmer's market is held every Wednesday night in the village down the road. Everybody knows everybody and there's always something interesting to chat about.
Ruf loves chiles but they're too hot for my delicate constitution :)
Our one and only tomato processor is shutting shop, moving off shore to New Zealand who will be importing their tomatoes from China...
"Canned Chinese Tomatoes"
Thank you "Globull"isation...
So much for food security!
went to Whole Foods; everything is from freaking Mexico, including all of the chiles they sell. I needed cucumber and finally bought one produced in Canada. I had one option. At least they write on the description and price the country of orgin, but it's shocking.
P.S. is Karl 100% correct.
Yep, Galicia is whar' Padrons is best--though all of northern Spain serves them-- LOVe 'em! Not hot 19 of 20 peppers (Spanish Roulette) and perfect wif chilled Vino Verde.
Some chef that wuz interviewed in WSJ recently said she wuz gonna try to grow 'em here--hope she succeeds. I tried to bring home some seeds one trip, the customs fellas didn't think it a good idea. They also confiscated my jamon!! (uh huh--they partied in the break room on mah Spanish goodies).
@ Troll--wow, that is funny!
Moi, luvin' this whole local food thread--we's done it afore but, it seems to have new urgency--fer our health, fer the economy.
Joanna: Do even the mild ones bother you? Come chiles are very mild, but they all do seem to contain something that certain folks' tummies just can't tolerate, regardless of heat.
Princess: That darn China! It's going to be the cultural death of us all.
Aunty: I'm all for competition. Someone can do something faster, better, less expensively than someone else, great. And I'm not for gooberment regulations forcing us to buy local. What I'd like to see happen with local produce is what happens with local breweries. Take the German beer industry. Regulated and ruled to the hilt by the Deutsche Bund, to the point where it takes an act of God to start brewing and local is ALL you can buy and brewers can't export. Now, look at the American brewing industry. Dominated by a few giants, yes, but also by many, many thousands of local brewers, all free to produce what they want with whatever methods they deem fit, all free to export, all making good profits, which in the aggregate, make the American brewing industry one of the most productive and profitable in the world.
Boxer: Sorry, didn't mean to skip you. Talk about food for thought! Whole Foods' produce is all from Mexico? I knew there was a reason my gut tells me to stay away from that place.
A person came to our front door the other night and dropped off a card advertising fresh organic produce delivered to your door every week. What's in it? things that are actaully in season. After my trip to Whole Foods I'm calling them this morning. It's $30.00 a box and I know I spent more than that last night. Yes to Aunty that this is important for our health and I'm happy to support LOCAL farmers.
Boxer: That sounds like a good deal. One of the farms down the road is now doing CSA, so I'm thinking of signing up for that, although I remember La Diva saying that sometimes it's more than two people can use.
That's C's concern too. It doesn't last long either, so....the local farmer's market starts next weekend so I'm thinking I'll just start buying everything I can from the one here and on the Island.
Hi Moi, I had to come back to this post to look at it and read the comments. I'm about due for more chile powder, thanks for turning me on to them! I agree with you about the migrant/illegal workers. Going to check out the Bueno site now and if I have to order direct, so be it! :)
Post a Comment