This episode is all about Chile Peppers! I traveled to southern New Mexico to the Chile Pepper institute at New Mexico State University. I talk with Danise Coon and Dr. Dennis Lozada who are two researchers with the institute. In the episode we discuss the origins of Chile Peppers, the factors that affect Chile pepper production, the Scoville scale to measure the heat of peppers, mechanization of agricultural functions, multi omics, methods to improve pepper yields and the best dishes that go with Chile peppers. I hope you enjoy!

VIDEO:

Pepper X: Sean Evans, Chili Klaus & Smokin' Ed Currie Eat the New World's Hottest Pepper | Hot Ones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUYtDA7j19c

PAPERS:

Diversification of chiles (Capsicum, Solanaceae) through time and space: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9622771/

Chile Consumers and Their Preferences Toward Region of Production-Certified Chile Peppers: https://pubs.nmsu.edu/research/economics/RR790/

Chile Pepper (Capsicum) Breeding and Improvement in the "Multi-Omics" Era: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35592583/

ARTICLES:Scoville scale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scaleNMSU investigates how peppers get their punch: https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/education/nmsu/2016/01/31/nmsu-investigates-how-peppers-get-their-punch/79607342/

RESTAURANTS:

Chope's Bar & Cafe in La Mesa, NM

La Posta De Mesilla in Mesilla, NM

Andele Restaurant Mesilla, NM

Si Señor Restaurant in Las Cruces, NM

El Parasol in Española, NM

El Paragua Restaurant in Española, NM

Tomasita's Santa Fe New Mexican Restaurant in Santa Fe, NM

Owl Cafe in Albuquerque, NM

CONNECT:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-dolinay-frm-96a289106/

GitHub: https://github.com/ad17171717

X: https://twitter.com/DolinayG

Odysee: https://odysee.com/@adriandolinay:0

Medium: https://medium.com/@adriandolinay

PODCAST:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-aspiring-stem-geek/id1765996824

Audible: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Aspiring-STEM-Geek/B0DC73S9SN

iHeart Radio: https://iheart.com/podcast/202676097/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/60dPNJbDPaPw7ru8g5btxV

|-Video Chapters-|

0:00 – Intro

1:08 – What are Chile Peppers and where do they come from

2:24 – Ideal climate to grow Chile Peppers

6:20 – Disease affecting Chile Peppers

7:22 – Why has there been a drop in Chile Pepper production

8:42 – Measuring the spiciness of Chile Peppers

13:37 – How to cool off from a hot Pepper

15:34 – Does Pepper X have potential competition from New Mexico?

18:05 – Green vs. Red

20:43 – NuMex Twilight Ornamental Chile

21:44 – Ristra

25:01 – The best times to visit the Chile Pepper Institute

27:35 – The International Pepper Conference

29:54 – The Chile Pepper Institute’s global partners

31:52 – Defining Capsicum

32:17 – Multi-Omics

36:08 – The phenotyping bottleneck

38:06 – Speed Breeding

38:59 – Robots in the Pepper fields

42:40 – Chile vs Chili

44:26 – Favorite food to add Chile too

46:50 – Hottest Chile Pepper Danise has tried

49:28 – Best New Mexican dishes with Chile Pepper

50:38 – New Mexico restaurant recommendations

54:43 – The natural beauty of New Mexico