Hatch Green Chile on the Cusp of Proliferation

Hatch green chiles are quickly making their way out of the Southwest and onto menus nationally. This smoky, not too spicy pepper currently maintains a massive following in the Southern and Western states. You can find Hatch chile festivals in Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and California, among others.In fact, Texas-based Central Market grocery stores celebrate Hatch green chiles with a month of Hatch infused products. You can find everything from salsa and sandwiches, to Hatch lemonade and cream cookies.That's all well and good for this segment of the country, but what does it mean for the rest of the states?

Hatch Some Love

According to Nation's Restaurant News and Datassential, Hatch chiles are currently in the Adoption stage on a national level. Therefore, the flavor is gaining popularity, but is still considered unique enough to be trendy. Independent casual dining and progressive fast casual restaurant tend to pick up the trends in this stage.This is best evidenced by the 97% increase in menu mentions nationally over the last 4 years. Taco Bueno capitalized on the trend last year with its Hatch green chile menu. Other restaurants like Habit Burger, BJ's Brewpub, and Chuy's Mexican Restaurants also maintain Hatch green chile builds on their menus regularly.

Time to Pepper in Some Flavor

While it's difficult to estimate the time between adoption and proliferation, it's safe to say that Hatch chiles will be in adoption soon, and if the current trends predict the future, ubiquity shortly after. It would be smart to jump on this train as soon as possible.There's no easier way than with a bright and smoky salsa or a Hatch chile concentrate for mixing into creams, aiolis, and other sauces. There's an endless amount of possibilities once you get your imagination rolling. Personally, I think a Hatch chile ice cream sounds pretty darn good, how about you?Comment below with your favorite Hatch recipes or questions about this blog.Cheers!