Dec. 25—When I hopped a one-way flight from Oregon to New Mexico in October to become the education reporter with the Albuquerque Journal, I could only wonder how my new life would unfold. But I could guess with certainty that it would involve at least one thing (with more than one variety): chiles — the stuff that puts the Land of Enchantment on the map.
As the Christmas season drew to a close and schools on my beat shut down for the holidays, I asked my editor if any of my assignments before the New Year could include a story about chiles. Once he gave me the green light (and red, for holiday cheer), I learned that in fact this staple is not only eaten year-round — it holds a special place in people’s hearts (and by extension, their heartburn?) during Christmas.
I looked no further than Chile Traditions, 6919 Montgomery NE, in Albuquerque. True to its name, Chile Traditions has roasters out front, but inside the store is another story. Everything you can think of that is chile-related is there, from cooking mittens to mugs and socks. With chile-patterned collars, there’s something for pets, too. Let’s not forget about sauces — Oh, the sauces! — covering everything from spicy ketchup (known as “Hatchup”) to your traditional hot sauce. If you’re not hungry and shopping with home decor in mind, just look up at the wall or the ceiling for a variety of ristras. With some in wreath form, they will look good on any door to greet your family over the holidays.
When I walked in, owner Kenneth DeWees greeted me with a smile and readily agreed to an interview when I asked him for a little perspective on chiles. DeWees began by telling me, plain and simple, that “New Mexico’s flavor is chile.” When people come from all corners of the world to visit the state, they want to try chile, in part because New Mexico is the “Chile Capital of the World,” he said.
This title is not without other contenders. Though DeWees didn’t mention it, New Mexico and Colorado have been engaged in a “battle” over who has the best chile, with New Mexico airing a television advertisement about it in 2019. During the commercial, a narrator asks, “Why is New Mexico green chile the only true green chile?” as a man in a Subaru bearing a Colorado license plate gathers up chiles.
Chiles are not only hot; they’re healthy, DeWees told me. They’re rich in Vitamin C, but more than that, capsaicin, the chemical compound that gives chiles their spicy taste, is used in medicines and cancer treatments. These qualities are enough to cause DeWees to dub chiles “the double-good” because “it tastes good and it’s good for you.”
So good, in fact, chiles are used by many families in their Christmas dinner. Popular dishes include posole, a Mexican stew and tamales (which my colleagues, Allison Carpenter and Nakayla McClelland wrote about). And, boy, I never would have guessed, but a gravy made with red chiles is also a hit at the dinner table for Christmas, according to DeWees.
“If you don’t have chile on your Christmas meal, that’s not Christmas,” he said.
Customers who shopped inside Chile Traditions seemed to agree. One gentleman told me his mother planned to make enchiladas and pozole on Christmas Eve before they would feast on a traditional holiday meal for Christmas Day. A woman shopping with her husband told me she bought chile jam to pour on top of cream cheese to use as a spread for crackers.
They may be right that when it comes to Christmas, chiles are here to stay, but I will only know when I travel up to Santa Fe on Dec. 25 to eat with my extended family. If you don’t see my byline for a few days afterward, you can bet it’s because of my indigestion. Cough! Cough!