US (NM): Inside the world’s only chile pepper research institute

It’s hard to imagine New Mexico without its peppers, which in the region retain the Spanish spelling of chile. The long pods, whether green or red, are a tasty part of local life, where they’re essential ingredients, an artistic motif, and a $500 million annual industry. If farmers or pepper-lovers in the state (and beyond) have any questions about their colorful crop, there’s only one place to go: the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University, the only research institution in the world solely dedicated to chiles.