Why Texans Can’t Get Enough Hatch Green Chiles—Only Once A Year

Come late summer, it’s a pepper palooza at Texas’ beloved grocery store chain, H-E-B.

Nothing is better than seeing your favorite seasonal fruit or vegetable finally show up at grocery stores or farm stands, whether it’s watermelon, fresh field peas, or peaches. For Texans, there isn’t a more exciting time of year than when the produce section is aburst in bright green, which means that Hatch chile season has finally arrived. Each August, Texas’ beloved grocery store chain, H-E-B, and its affiliated gourmet grocery store chain, Central Market, make a celebration out of the hyper-seasonal green pepper that is only available during August and September.

Known for having the perfect balance of smoky-and-sweet heat, Hatch chiles are grown in the Hatch Valley in New Mexico and get their name from the small village of Hatch, a town known for growing the large green peppers and hosting its own Hatch Chile Festival. So, how did the Hatch chile make its way to becoming so popular in the Lone Star State?

Around 20 years ago, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, with the goal of helping farmers expand into more markets, pitched the idea of selling fresh Hatch chiles in supermarkets in Texas. Central Market, a gourmet grocery store chain that is under the wing of H-E-B, first decided to carry the Hatch chiles and create a hyped-up Hatch chile festival that would take over the produce section each August. This year, it hosted its 28th Hatch Chile Festival, which has become a state-wide phenomenon looked forward to throughout the year.

During the month of August, H-E-B and Central Market fill their produce sections and prepared food sections with Hatch chiles and Hatch-inspired dishes you can take home. You can also catch special demonstrations on how to prepare and roast Hatch chile peppers, and outside the entrances of select Central Market locations, you can even watch as chefs roast Hatch chile peppers on-site that will then be available for purchase. The punchy displays make it tempting for shoppers to try something new, or stock up on products they wait for all year long.

Amongst the Hatch chile products you can only find at H-E-B and Central Market are dinner-ready dishes like Bourbon Hatch Burgers, Maryland-Style Hatch Crab Cakes, Hatch Chile Queso, Hatch Pepper Chicken Salad, and more. There are also creative uses of the abundant pepper, including Hatch chile-infused kettle chips, biscuits, cheeses, bacon, salsas, and even gelato flavors like Hatch-pepper-and-peach.

Basically, August in Texas means there’s plenty of Hatch to go around. And remember, if it doesn’t come from Hatch, New Mexico, it’s not a Hatch!

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