The New Mexico Chile Police are on the job

"A meal without chile is not a meal.’

Albuquerque Journal

In Texas there actually are no chili police making sure you don’t put beans in your chili but in New Mexico there are chile police making sure no one sells imposter Hatch chiles.

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This seems more like it’s about protecting local farmers than enforcing culinary correctness.

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When you come down to it, that’s true of all “DOPs”, isn’t it? The only difference here being that it’s defined and enforced by a relatively local jurisdiction-having-authority rather than a higher level one… But even at the higher levels, it’s at least as much, if not more, about marketing and lobbying efforts as it is about “objectively” definable characteristics. At least if one is to believe the complaints from producers outside the designated “protected” areas…:wink:

Does the designation create value? Or does the unique nature (supposedly)
deserve the designation? Only because when I lived in Scottsdale in the 80’s guys would show up at the flea markets and such with pickup loads, both fresh and already ground, roaster in tow or not. It was organic and natural.
Sometime between then and now it became an iconic must have and brand.
Just like all the sweet onion options…

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