PUEBLO COUNTY — Pueblo's famous chiles are back!
At Musso Farms in Pueblo, they began planting this year's crop in March. The harvest followed starting in mid-July, and will continue through the farm's first freeze.
Third generation farmer Rocky Musso has been raising chiles and other produce his whole life.
Hot and dry weather this season may have affected other crops, but Musso told News 5 that Pueblo chiles have been thriving under the drought.
"Our yield is way up on chile. The weather really helped out with that. As far as the amount of heat that we've had, and the dryness, really made the chile a lot hotter," said Musso.
And trust me when I tell you, these chiles are hot! So where does the heat come from?
"The vein inside of the chile is where most of the oil is held and that's what holds the heat. As it roasts, the vein will break open and distribute the heat around the chile," explained Musso.
Musso said that people are coming from across state lines to enjoy this year's crop, adding to the great green debate about which chile is superior. Is it the hatch chile or the Pueblo chile?
Musso admits that New Mexico's hatch chile is good, but Pueblo's stands out above the rest. Quite simply, it roasts the competition!
"It's nice to see that people are finally coming from New Mexico to get our product to bring it back down there. We don't have to put billboards down there either for them to come," said Musso.
Now that's a good burn (pun intended)! But what makes Pueblo's green chile the best?
"Our soil. Our water. Our colder weather at night all make for a great chile, Musso said.
As a newbie to Southern Colorado, I had to give them a try, and let me tell you, this year's harvest is definitely hot and delicious.
Check out my video above to see my reaction!
