Chile Pepper Institute facts for kids
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| Founded | 1992 |
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| Purpose | To research, teach, and archive information related to chile peppers |
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The Chile Pepper Institute is a special place at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. It's a non-profit group that studies, teaches, and collects information about Capsicum, which are also known as chile peppers. This institute started in 1992. It works to learn more about chile peppers and share that knowledge with everyone. Their main research center is named after Fabián García. He was a Mexican-American plant expert called "the father of the U.S. chile pepper industry." He started making different types of chile peppers the same way back in 1888.
All About Chile Peppers
The Chile Pepper Institute is the only group in the world focused on studying, sharing, and teaching about chile peppers. It helps promote the famous state vegetable of New Mexico. The institute is located on the campus of New Mexico State University. Their research happens at the Fabian Garcia Horticultural Center. Here, you can see 100 to 200 different kinds of chile peppers from all over the world!
Paul W. Bosland is the current director and a co-founder of the institute. He is also a professor at New Mexico State University. He leads the team that works on growing new kinds of chile peppers and understanding their genes.
Amazing Chile Pepper Discoveries
The Chile Pepper Institute has made some exciting discoveries about chile peppers. For example, they found the Bhut Jolokia, which was once the hottest chile pepper in the world! Paul W. Bosland led this discovery, and it was confirmed by the Guinness World Records in 2006.
They also found the world's largest chile pepper, called the Numex Big Jim. This huge pepper was first grown at NMSU in 1976. More recently, they released a new pepper called NuMex Heritage 6-4. This pepper has five times more flavor than a regular green chile!
The institute also holds many events and conferences. These include:
- The Annual New Mexico Chile Conference
- The International Pepper Conference
- The Chile Pepper Institute Teaching Garden
Colorful Chile Pepper Types
The Chile Pepper Institute creates many unique types of peppers. These peppers come in unusual colors and shapes. One example is the NuMex Twilight. This pepper is a mix based on the Thai Ornamental pepper. The peppers on a NuMex Twilight plant start out white. Then they turn purple, yellow, and orange. Finally, they become red when they are fully ripe. This creates a beautiful rainbow look on the green plant!
Other types, like the NuMex Centennial and NuMex Easter, also change through different colors. The NuMex April Fools pepper has bunches of purple peppers that point upwards. They look a lot like a jester hat!
