Capsicumology: The Science and Culture of Chili Peppers

Dr. Paul Bosland, known worldwide as "Chili Man," has spent decades leading the Chili Breeding Program at New Mexico State University and directing the nonprofit Chili Pepper Institute. In a conversation recorded in Las Cruces, New Mexico—where temperatures hit 106°F that day—he explained that chili peppers actually prefer tropical rainforest conditions: 68–72°F with gentle rain every three days. The heat of New Mexico stresses the plants, which paradoxically makes the peppers hotter and more flavorful.

The Birth of the New Mexican Pod Type

The modern chili pepper industry traces back to 1888, when New Mexico State University hired a horticulturist named Fabian Garcia. Garcia, a Mexican American who was orphaned at age two and later became part of the university's first graduating class, noticed that chili peppers were only grown in home gardens and only eaten by Hispanic families. He set out to create a milder, more uniform pepper that might appeal to non-Hispanic eaters. By crossing three different chili types—Chili Pasilla, Chili Colorado, and Chili Negro—he created what became known as the New Mexican pod type. This six-inch, two-celled pepper could lay flat for canning and freezing, and it changed the pepper industry worldwide. The town of Hatch, New Mexico, became associated with this pepper not because it's