500 varieties of chile peppers exist in the world, and about 50 varieties are used commercially. After salt, chile is the second most popular spice in the world! Chile peppers are popular because they are economical to add to food packs a ton of flavor and nutrients. Not to mention Heat, Capsaicin, the Heat! Who put the hot in hot-n-tot?
Growing chile is the process of nourishing peppers so they become the robust, delicious chiles appreciated by our customers across the country. Just as important as growing chile plants is how the peppers are sterilized and handled before they are shipped to our customers. (more…)
What do people love about chile at Christmas? While we typically associate turkey, ham and stuffing as typical Christmas fare, oftentimes, that kind of cooking can taste a bit bland for those who love spicy food.
Thankfully, The Chile Guy has everything you and your customers need to add spice to holiday dishes. Our home state, New Mexico, has more than 400 years of Christmas food traditions that involve the use of chile—here are a few peppers that truly add spice to holiday favorites.
Spiced Walnuts – Chipotle Chile Powder
Did you know that chipotle peppers are actually jalapeño peppers that ripen and dry on the vine before they are picked? The smoky flavor of chipotle is perfect for hot spiced walnuts—who wouldn’t like to warm up with some of those on a cold holiday night? At The Chile Guy, you can buy chipotle pepper flakes and chipotle chile peppers.
Mexican Spiced Hot Chocolate – Ancho Chile Powder
Ancho chile is used in a variety of dishes including mole sauce recipes, always a good addition to any meal! However, we recommend using it in Mexican spiced hot chocolate, a Christmas favorite. At The Chile Guy, you can order Ancho powder, dried whole pods and flakes. Ask about Mexican Chocolate. Or better yet, ask about Mexican Chocolate from Oaxaca! In Mexico the primary way Chocolate is ingested is by drinking and Mexican Chocolate is the most famous because it is made with a variety of spices including Cinnamon and nuts. (A note of caution, don’t drink it if you are allergic to nuts and peanuts.)
Red Chile Sauce – New Mexico Chile Powder
Chile sauce can be a spicy alternative to gravy on mashed potatoes or a different way to dress the turkey. To make red chile sauce, you need…red chile, of course! The Chile Guy sells a variety of bulk red chile pods and powders, but we recommend New Mexico red chile pods to get that authentic Southwest flavor.
Of course, the easiest way to make New Mexico red chili sauce is to use fresh dried pods. Rehydrate them, blend them with the water in which they were boiled and rehydrated, reheat to a slow boil and it is “Reddy!” Spice with salt, garlic or Mexican Oregano or leave it alone. You can also add pork or Chicos. There are many variations. Put it on your holiday Menudo or Posole and that is about as “authentic” as it gets anywhere!
Located in Bernalillo, New Mexico (near Albuquerque), The Chile Guy supplies bulk chile to restaurants, distributors and manufacturing companies. To learn how our chile can enhance your sales, contact us at 800-869-9218 or visit our bulk orders page!
In a previous blog, we discussed the fact that bulk dried chile is easier and cheaper to ship and store compared to fresh peppers. But how do you store the dried chile once you have it in stock? (more…)
The holiday season is a time that families and friends gather to celebrate their life and friendship over a meal. During this time of the year, consumers will be interested in making or purchasing dishes that add flavor to their holiday celebrations. Some of the more common types of chile and spices used in these holiday dishes include: (more…)
Every business is looking for ways to minimize costs while maximizing profits. One of the most common ways that businesses miss out on savings is on shipping and storage costs. When you’re in the restaurant or food distribution business, you can’t afford to pay to ship and store something you don’t need. Purchasing dry chile products is a way to eliminate these unnecessary costs because it is:
Let’s say that you were interested in purchasing 1,000 pounds of bulk fresh green chile. You’d not only be paying to purchase the fresh green chile, you’d also be paying for the water that is contained in the chile. And water is heavy and expensive to package and ship. Further, because it is “fresh” produce, you would need specially designed containers and refrigerated trucks to move the product from it southwestern source to somewhere in the U.S. The further the distance, the more expensive your load. You shouldn’t have to pay for what you don’t need. By purchasing dry chile products, you have the ability to ship only the product you need at a much more economical price.
If you took that same 1,000 pounds of fresh green chile and stored it, the space requirements to store the product properly (usually refrigerated or frozen) would be enormous. And fresh chile only stays good for a week, longer if refrigerated or frozen. Freezing chile, particularly roasted green chile from New Mexico is a recent development (less than 100 years).
If you are unable to use all of the chile before it goes bad, you’ve used up a large amount of perfectly good space for a product that cost more than you were able to make with it. Dry chile takes up much less room and has an indefinite shelf life that can be used whenever you need it until you need to order more. Nearly 90 percent of the fresh product is water. So your 1,000 pounds would translate to just over 100 pounds of it dry equivalent.
And whether you need 10 pounds of bulk dried chile powder or 10,000, The Chile Guy has hand selected product at wholesale prices. We can ship anywhere in the world! Check out our wide selection of dried bulk chile products online or call us at 1-866-768-7865 with questions about our product or the ordering process.
November is more than just a month to remember all that we are thankful for; it’s also important because of the celebration of the Day of the Dead. In the restaurant and food distribution industries, the Day of the Dead marks an important opportunity to celebrate culture through food.
Traditionally, the Day of the Dead has been a day reserved to honor relatives and friends who have passed away. Marigolds and sugar skulls line roads and honors built in memorial on November 1st and 2nd. This day is an important day of remembrance and family activities for people all over the world.
The Day of the Dead falls on October 31st, just like Halloween. Halloween is the eve of November 1, or All Saints Day, in the Catholic Church. Although they fall on the same day, the celebration of Day of the Dead had religious origins and pre-dates Halloween. The Day of the Dead is still a very important holiday in much of the world. Basically, Halloween is commercial version of Hallowed Eve!
The traditional Mexican dish, mole, is prepared regularly throughout the year, but consumption increases around the Day of the Dead due to increased cultural celebrations. In order to make mole, recipes always call for chile, such as:
Mulato
A traditional Mexican chile, the mulato is similar to the Ancho, but reddish brown in color. The Chile Guy offers mulatto in whole pods and powder.
Ancho
With its earthy flavor and mild heat, the ancho chile is often used as a base for the mole. The Chile Guy offers ancho in powder, dried whole pods and flakes.
Negro Pasilla
A mild to medium flavor adds a little heat to any mole or Mexican sauce. The Chile Guy offers negro pasilla chile in dried whole pods or powder.
In addition, the famous Chihuacles (particularly the Chihuacle Negro) and the Pasilla de Oaxaca are used in some mole recipes. Can’t get Chihuacle Negro? They are rare and expensive and not grown commercially. You can get them by buying ready-made mole from Oaxaca sold in small 8 oz. containers or food service 10 lb. buckets. You just add broth and some of your own flavor enhancers, more chile or nuts and you have a mole! You also might want to add Oaxacan Chocolate to your own mole recipe. All available from The Chile Guy!
To make authentic Mexican mole, you need a variety of chile that might be harder to find in some parts of the United States or world. That’s where The Chile Guy comes in.
The Chile Guy is your expert worldwide chile selector, provider and distributor. You can even repackage the chile and distribute our chile as you see fit. Whether you choose to put the chile directly into a menu item or distribute it to your food service partners, you can count on us to deliver the best quality product. Visit our shopping cart or call us for more information.
The ghost chile. The scorpion pepper. The bhut jokolia. Whatever you call it, the ghost chile is widely known as one of the hottest peppers in the world with a Scoville heat rating of approximately 1 million. To put that in perspective, the spicy Habanero fits on the scale from 150,000 to 300,000. If you want a pepper that will light up any dish or recipe, the ghost chile is sure to please. (more…)
Chile peppers are produced and consumed all over the world. But, for example, just because green chile can be grown in more places than New Mexico does not mean there isn’t a difference in quality and heat. Determining the quality and origin of the chile is a way to give authenticity to your product, which in turn increases its desirability to the end consumer. (more…)
Delivering a consistent, high-quality product directly to your home or business is always a priority. You should always receive your shipment, whether it consists of two or two hundred pounds, in great condition and ready to add to your recipe or production line.
A: Yes, we ship to P.O. boxes! As long as you have a zip code in the United States, we can ship to you as long as we use the Postal service for shipping. On larger orders larger carriers like UPS and Federal Express charge more for home delivery and will not deliver to post office boxes.
We try to get the best freight cost for each individual order. For most small amounts the Postal Service is generally the most economical shipping method. Frozen products cannot be shipped using the Postal Service.
A: Yes The Chile Guy does ship internationally, including Canada, however these orders must be phoned in or emailed to info@thechileguy.com. Shopping Cart orders from the The Chile Guy web page are for U.S. Domestic shipments only because freight calculations are based on U.S. domestic zip codes. International shipping rates vary from country to country and import regulations can preclude certain products from being imported. It is best to contact us to address the international requirements of each country.
A: The Chile Guy works with a number of different shipping and freight companies in order to get your order to your location as quickly, economically and safely as possible. On larger freight orders, LTL (less than a truckload) we use a variety of trusted trucking firms that have successfully delivered products for us before. We negotiate the best price for each order and do not uplift freight costs.
A: For large bulk orders, we always get multiple quotes from a variety of reputable trucking and freight companies to secure the lowest shipping prices for our customers. As a general policy, shipping prices are not marked up, meaning you only pay for the costs of the shipment.
For answers to any other questions about our shipping policies, both domestic and international that are not addressed on this page, please contact us for more information. We are happy to address any questions you might have!