Fresh Hatch Green Chiles Are Arriving. Yay. Mostly.
Posted by Billy on August 21st, 2007
I popped into my local Albertsons yesterday for some produce. Taco salad was on the menu. First thing I noticed was a display and bin of fresh Hatch New Mexico green chiles. The aroma shouted “get your fresh chile pods right here!”
The problem is I don’t think the produce buyer for this store knows from good Hatch New Mexico. What I found in the bin was mostly the kind of pods the experts tell you to avoid. Small, curly, bruised and such. I went through the batch and hand picked a few decent pods but if I had wanted to knock out a couple dozen chile rellenos I’d be out of luck.
They sort the chiles out in Hatch as they are being harvested and I get the feeling that pods that don’t make the “A” list end up in some stores here in the Dallas area where the produce people and most customers for that matter don’t know the difference.
The good news is we have several Central Market locations here with folks who do know and sell good produce and I’m sure they will have some better Hatch chile pods.
In the meantime the New Mexico chile I picked up yesterday will be great for basic chopped green chile so I should stop whining about the selection and go do some roasting and peeling.