“Red or green？ ” This is one of the most popular and famous questions you will hear in New Mexico. New Mexico is one of the only states where people love spicy food. There are a lot of Mexican and New Mexican dishes. Almost all families have red chile1 powder， green chile sauce and tortillas（玉米粉圓餅）in their homes. New Mexico is famous for its chile. Red or green， which one is better？ It is always a question that cannot be answered. This debate has existed since New Mexico became a state， and it will never end.

Every year， from the end of August to early October， its the season to roast2 green chile. And local people will buy fresh green chile in bags， so they can save it for the rest of the year. This is when summer is ending， but winter has not yet arrived， the sun is not blazing hot anymore but still warm. The whole state of New Mexico smells like the tasty chile. This is the best time to visit New Mexico. As a result， it is the peak3 season for tourism in New Mexico.

The climate， the air， the soil， the altitude4， cold nights， hot days， these are characteristics of New Mexico. It is the bright sunshine and dry air that provide the best environment for chile to grow. Red and green chiles can come from a single plant. Red chile peppers are more ripe5 than the green. So， New Mexicans usually roast green chile， then peel it and chop it. Green chile sauce can be added to breakfast eggs or meat soup. As for the ripe red chile， locals air dry it， add water to it and then blend it into sauce. They mix it into burritos（墨西哥玉米煎餅）or spread6 it on bacon（咸肉；培根）.

If you have a hard time choosing between red and green， then go for the middle one， “Christmas”. Its half green and half red. So you can try two at once.

As a chile state， New Mexico offers all kinds of chile products. Chile powders are dried， chile sauces are packed into jars， and there are other chile ingredients7 also. The packages can be simple or complicated. The tastes are all different. Its good to buy them for yourself or as gifts.

“紅還是綠？”這是新墨西哥州最著名也最常聽到的問題。新墨西哥州是美國唯一真正嗜辣的州。這里有豐富的墨西哥和新墨西哥菜。家家戶戶都存有紅辣椒粉、綠辣椒醬和自制的玉米粉圓餅。新墨西哥州因其辣椒而聞名。關于紅辣椒粉更好吃還是綠辣椒醬更好吃的爭論，從新墨西哥州存在那一天開始就沒完沒了。大家永遠得不出一個標準答案。

每年8月底至10月初是烘焙綠辣椒的時節(jié)，也是當地人成袋購買新鮮綠辣椒做一年儲存之用的季節(jié)。此時，夏季已近尾聲，冬季尚未開始，陽光不再炙熱卻依舊溫暖。整個州內美味辣椒飄香，是新墨西哥州最吸引人的時候。因此，8月至10月是新墨西哥州的旅游旺季。

氣候，空氣，土地，海拔，寒冷的夜晚，炙熱的白天，新墨西哥。新墨西哥州的燦爛陽光和干燥氣候為各種辣椒提供了絕佳的生長環(huán)境。無論是紅辣椒，還是綠辣椒，其實都來自同樣的植株，只是紅辣椒比綠辣椒更成熟。因此，新墨西哥人會烘烤綠辣椒，然后將其去皮，剁碎成醬，澆在早餐的雞蛋上，加到燉煮的肉湯中。完全成熟后的紅辣椒，他們將其風干浸泡，加水攪拌成末，挖一勺到卷餅中，或者淋灑在培根上。

如果在紅綠之間實在難以抉擇，你也可以折中選擇“圣誕色”，也就是紅綠各一半，一次吃到兩種口味。

作為辣椒大州，新墨西哥州有各種辣椒制品。從風干的辣椒粉到罐裝的辣椒醬和辣椒配料，包裝有簡有繁，味道各不相同。無論你是自用還是送人，都很不錯。

Tip

have a hard time choosing：短語have a hard time + doing…的意思是“做……不容易”“做……有困難”。例如：She had a hard time working out a solution to her problem. 她費了很大勁才想出解決問題的辦法。類似的用法還有：have a difficult time doing…意思是“做……很吃力”。