It’s that time of year: Hatch season. If you walk into any Central Market, you’re most likely to be greeted by a plethora of the peppers as you walk into the produce department. Winding your way through the store, you’re likely to see the pepper infused into anything your heart might desire. So…

What causes this yearly craze? As this one Austin resident put it in a piece done by KUT 90.5, “It’s the Shark Week of organic grocery stores.”

Where are all of the Hatch chiles coming from? Hatch Valley. But really it’s all thanks to New Mexico Department of Agriculture’s marketing team.

And most importantly, is it really that special? An instructor at one of Central Market’s cooking classes, April Gutierrez, said, “You can get peppers that are really similar, if you look for Anaheim peppers.”

Really, what the hatch? Thankfully, we can defer all further pondering thoughts to Kate McGee’s piece at KUT 90.5.