Photo: Brax - Valley Publishing

Photo: Brax - Valley Publishing

While the harvest season has started to get into gear... the second crop of chiles have been taking advantage of the late Indian Summer and turning a bright deep red and burgundy.

There are a few areas in the Upper Valley that consistently grows a nice stand of chile. This is on fields that have been properly maintained and cared for without the growing of cotton which depletes the soil.

Not only is the chile used for making red chile sauce but the red chiles are picked for the use in ornaments called Ristras. Ristras are long strands of chile that have been used for centuries in the Southwest to allow chile to ripen and turn color. When it does it has a distinctive flavor. The ristras then became ornamental as they evolved from being in the kitchen to adorning the entrance to a home.

There are two primary types of chiles that are used for ristras. The long green and the “Chile del Arbol” or tree chile. Both are grown on plants... to be sure, and the Chile del Arbol is a much smaller and pointed looking chile which makes for great detail in small ristras or to add ornamentation to the large chile ristras.

Send feedback to:

Editor, Upper Valley Beacon

© Copyright 2004-2005 Valley Publishing Company:
All Rights Reserved.
For questions or comments concerning this site, contact: webmaster@valleypublishinginc.biz