It’s Hatch chile season! What to know, plus SoCal fresh roasting spots. Recipes too!

There really is nothing like the intoxicating smell of freshly roasted green chiles on a crisp and cold autumn morning in the Hatch Valley in southern New Mexico. The sweet and smoky perfume is so distinct that the very smell of Hatch green chiles is now the state’s official aroma.

In the last decade, the green chile harvest has started earlier and earlier. This season, it began in June and will continue into October, if the conditions stay favorable. But what exactly is a Hatch chile?

First off, there is no variety named Hatch. And though the Hatch chile is the official state vegetable of New Mexico, the seeded part we eat is botanically classified as a fruit.

Chiles from the Hatch Valley are actually several varieties of long green peppers that belong to the Capsicum annuum family. Hatch is the name of the town in southern New Mexico where many of the chiles are grown. Similar chile peppers grow in nearby Deming, Las Cruces, Las Lunas and Belén too. But the town of Hatch has become the most popular.

Harvested acreage of New Mexico chiles — a New World crop traceable in the state back at least to the 1500s — has declined in recent years. The New Mexico Chile Assn. says the crop has dropped from 35,000 acres farmed during 1992 to about 8,500 in 2023.

Drought and increasing competition from Mexico, China and India have hit New Mexico chile farmers hard. Also labor shortages have become more of an issue because, for now and the foreseeable future, green chiles can only be handpicked. I wrote about these challenges during a visit to the region 10 years ago. The obstacles remain.

Though there have been efforts to mechanize the green chile harvest, they haven’t been successful, says Kelly Urig, a native New Mexican who wrote “New Mexico Chiles: History, Legend And Lore,” which explores four centuries of chile agriculture in New Mexico. Chiles can only be mechanically harvested when they turn red; at that stage it’s OK to have some damage to the fruit, she says, due to it being ground down anyway. The red chile season lasts about only a month after the green chile season.

Last year’s harvest was poor, severely affected by a record-breaking heat wave, which, Urig says, made the crop more susceptible to disease.

The outcome of this year’s green chile harvest won’t be clear until fall, but Urig and other industry observers are already predicting a very good year.

“This year is going great,” says Urig, whose family once farmed chile in Hatch and now helps process it. “All signs say this harvest season is going to be a very good crop as far as taste and as far as commercial viability.”

Urig, who now lives in San Diego but has much of her family in New Mexico, says she has a plentiful supply in her freezer but still gets excited when she can get freshly roasted chiles. She often buys from her cousins, who operate the Hatch Chile Store.

Urig urges New Mexico chile lovers to avoid getting duped by pepper counterfeiters and support New Mexico farmers by looking for the “New Mexico certified chile” mark on the chile pepper package.

In an effort to protect their peppers from fraudsters trying to cash in on the reputation of New Mexico chiles, the state launched the certification program about a decade ago. It’s similar to other well-known product labels, such as “100% pure Florida” and “California olive oil.”

Making a pilgrimage to New Mexico is the ideal way to experience Hatch chiles. Especially if you take the time to eat them in the many restaurants that feature the chile. In 2016, my husband, Michael Mello, had the tough assignment of eating for this paper along New Mexico’s famed green chile cheeseburger trail, which currently includes 52 restaurants.

If you can’t make the trek, Urig points out that you can buy Hatch green chile directly from Melissa’s Produce and Freida’s, which also sponsor on-site roasting at several supermarkets in Southern California, starting this weekend through the first week of September. Check these links for local roasting schedules from Melissa’s Produce, Freida’s, Gelson’s, Stater Bros. and #iHatchChile.

As for the taste, in 2009, former Times food editor Russ Parsons described it this way: “If you’ve never had a real New Mexican green chile before, probably the closest parallel would be imagining a poblano with the heat ramped up by a factor of about 10. There’s that same sweet green pepper flavor but paired with a kick that’ll make your head sweat.”

Hatch chiles freeze well, but these recipes can help you make the most of your freshly roasted green chiles.

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Green Chile Mac and Cheese

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Chile and cheese? You can’t go wrong with this spiced-up comfort food recipe by Parsons. The green chile’s heat and sweetness melds beautifully with the sharp cheddar and goat cheese. You can use frozen or fresh green chiles for this recipe. But, hey, if you have some freshly roasted peppers, you might as well throw those in.

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Cook time: 1 hour and 10 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

Instant Pot Hatch Chile Pork Tacos With Kohlrabi Mango Slaw

(Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times)

My mouth waters just looking at this recipe from former L.A. Times cooking editor Genevieve Ko. Chile and pork always make a perfect pairing. The green chile cuts nicely through the decadence of the pork. Also, you don’t have to heat up the kitchen, which is a real plus on these hot summer days. You can use an instant pot or a pressure cooker.

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Cook time: 45 minutes. Serves 8.

Zucchini, Corn and Green Chile (Calabacitas)

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

This hits just right on a hot day. The sweetness of the corn and earthiness of the squash provides a nice balance to the green chile’s heat. The recipe by Parsons is relatively easy to put together and you can have it as a side or just on its own.

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Cook time: 25 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.

Green Chile, Corn and Zucchini Frittata

(Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

That same wonderful combination — green chile, zucchini and corn — also shows up in this simple frittata from Parsons.

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Cook time: 4 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.