[9] The flavor of New Mexico green chile has been described as lightly pungent, similar to an onion, or like garlic with a subtly sweet, spicy, crisp, and smoky taste.

[12] Various types of chile plants were first grown by the Puebloan peoples, who continue to grow their own strains, each with a distinct pungency, sweetness, taste, and heat.

When the Spanish arrived, they introduced European cultivation techniques to the chile plants, and eventually created cultivars in their towns.

These first commercially viable peppers were created to have a "larger, smoother, fleshier, more tapering and shoulderless pod for canning purposes".

Altitude, climate, soil, and acreage affects a crop's taste, making the New Mexican region, including the Rio Grande bosque, mountains, and high deserts, a favorable environment for plant propagation and growth.

To ensure that a variety's lineage remains disease-resistant and maintains optimal growth within its heritage region, seeds from specific plants are carefully selected.

An aspect of the New Mexico chile plants regards reintroducing seeds from their heritage soil, since each successive generation becomes susceptible to disease and loss of flavor.

The soil and growing conditions in the Hatch Valley create a unique terroir[26] which contributes to the flavor of chile grown there.

Most of the varieties of chile cultivated in the Hatch Valley have been developed at New Mexico State University over the last 130 years.

The Zia Pueblo chile develops a bitter-sweet flavor when it matures into its red color, and its heat is similar to the 'Heritage 6-4'.

On July 12, 2021, NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station started growing New Mexico chile from seeds packaged in soil on Earth, in the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH).

The peppers were grown aboard the spacecraft utilizing specially formulated fertilizers, with the fruit later evaluated for flavor, texture, and piquancy.

The most common uses are often served diced, or in sauces and is elemental to dishes such as enchiladas, burritos, burgers, french fries, or rice.

New Mexican-style chile rellenos follow the much more traditional Mexican technique of being covered with egg batter and fried, although variations and casseroles do exist.

The dried peppers are rehydrated by boiling in a pot, and then blended with various herbs and spices, such as onion, garlic, and occasionally Mexican oregano.

Red chile powder is usually simply blended with water, herbs, and spices; the addition of flour or other thickening agents is often considered to be non-traditional or non-purist.

[2] Ongoing drought, unpredictable weather, and environmental concerns have strained New Mexico's production of chile peppers, the state's primary agricultural produce.

[45] Because the plants are delicate and produce fruits continuously until the frost, and because the pods are easily damaged, machine harvesting of chile is especially difficult.

When the program was first introduced, it had garnered some criticism, especially in regard to restrictions on farmers who have been growing chile plants from seed lineages more than 400 years old.

Just as with the Zia sun symbol, the chile pepper and its shape, the red and green coloration, and even the silhouette of the fruit, has become a symbol of New Mexican cultural identity, and is featured prominently in both food and nonfood corporate logos, in public artworks, media, infrastructure (i.e. bridges, lamp posts, etc.)

To answer "Christmas" is to choose both red and green on the same dish, an option originally suggested by waitress Martha Rotuno at Tia Sophia's restaurant in Santa Fe.

[68] Many organizations, including farmers, breeders, consumers, and even the New Mexico Department of Tourism make efforts to educate the general public about the differences in spelling within the state, as using chili while referring to New Mexican chile may be taken as an insult to some locals.

[69] US Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico made this spelling official as chile for the fruit, by entering it into the Congressional Record.

[71][72] Retail establishments around the state, including national chains such as Albertsons and Walmart,[73] set up apparatuses called 'chile roasters' outside, and display signage advertising the availability of the fruit.

This process is the most popular method since it offers a physical display of the chile; it offers the sound of the chile crackling, and the sight of the blistering and falling skins, accompanied by the widely distributed smell of the roasting peppers which has become a staple during the early New Mexican autumn, as well as the state's official aroma.

[75][76] The skins of the roasted peppers are inedible, and peeling the chile to prepare them for freezer storage is a traditional family communal activity.

According to Taos academic and writer Larry Torres, green chile is referenced in an old New Mexico poem: "Roses are red.