Hatch Chiles Are Ready!

There’s a special kind of excitement that happens when the peppers are finally ready. Not “almost there,” not “give them another week,” but ready to pick, roast, cook down, and turn into something worth pouring over just about everything.

That’s where we are right now.

Caleb’s Sauce Box is proud to share that the hatch chile crop grown for our CSB (Not Verde) Hatch Chile Sauce is ready for harvest. Caleb and Bob Walchli recently checked the peppers in the field at Bob Walchli’s Hermiston Melon Company, and the verdict was simple: it’s time to get roasting.

For us, this sauce starts long before it reaches a bottle. It starts in the soil, with local growers, real relationships, and a shared commitment to keeping good food close to home.

Caleb and Bob evaluating the Hatch Chile crop

This batch starts with local peppers and real partnership

CSB Sauces are crafted in small batches, using locally sourced ingredients whenever possible. That matters to us because sauce is only as good as what goes into it.

For our chili peppers, we’re proud to collaborate with Bob Walchli’s Hermiston Melon Company. Bob and his family are an important part of the Hermiston agricultural community, and their work helps make our sauces what they are.

This isn’t a faraway supply chain where the ingredients pass through too many hands to count. This is closer. More personal. More connected.

The peppers used in our CSB sauce line are grown right here in the region by people who know the land, understand the crop, and care about quality. That local connection lets us build flavor from the field up, and it helps us keep production rooted in the place we call home.

Rows of Hatch Chiles ready to be harvested.

Why the field matters as much as the bottle

A good sauce doesn’t begin in the kitchen. It begins with the crop.

The growing season shapes the flavor before Caleb ever starts roasting. Sun, soil, timing, and harvest all play a part. When the peppers are grown with care, that care carries through into the finished sauce.

That’s especially true for Hatch Chiles, which are known for their deep roasted flavor, gentle heat, and the kind of savory character that can make a simple meal feel a little more special.

The CSB (Not Verde) Hatch Chile Sauce is built around that roasted chili character. It’s not trying to be like everything else on the shelf. It’s made to bring a bold, distinct flavor that still feels easy to use at home.

Try it with:

• Breakfast burritos and eggs

• Grilled chicken or pork

• Tacos, nachos, and quesadillas

• Roasted vegetables

• Burgers, sandwiches, and wraps

• A spoonful stirred into soups, beans, or chili

  
  

That’s the fun of a good sauce. It doesn’t need to be fussy. It just needs to make the next bite better.

She's a Beaut, Clark!

Small batches help keep the flavor personal

Caleb’s Sauce Box has always been about flavor with personality. Small-batch production gives us room to pay attention, adjust with care, and keep each sauce tasting like something made by real people, not pushed through a giant anonymous system.

That doesn’t mean every bottle is random. It means each batch gets the attention it deserves.

When the peppers come in, Caleb gets to work roasting. That step is huge for this sauce. Roasting brings out the deeper side of the chile, adding warmth, body, and that slightly smoky edge people look for in a great hatch chile sauce.

From there, the sauce comes together with the CSB approach: bold flavor, locally sourced ingredients whenever possible, and a focus on making something that stands out while still feeling right at home on the table.

Field to bottle isn’t just a nice phrase here. It’s how we think about the whole process.

Bob and Caleb

Keeping it local is part of the flavor

Working with regional growers is about more than convenience. It’s about community.

When we partner with farmers and producers close to home, more of the story stays here. The crop supports local agriculture. The sauce supports local makers. The finished bottle gives people a way to enjoy something that came from nearby fields and nearby hands.

Bob Walchli and his family have deep roots in the Hermiston farming community, and we’re grateful to be working with them. Their peppers help bring this sauce to life, and that kind of partnership is exactly what we want more of as Caleb’s Sauce Box grows.

Hatch Chilis in the bin!

CSB Hatch Chile Sauce Bottling is coming soon

Now that the peppers are ready, the next step is roasting and bottling. Caleb is excited to get started, and the CSB (Not Verde) Hatch Chile Sauce will be coming soon.

If you’ve been waiting for this one, keep checking in. We’ll have updates as bottling gets closer, and you’ll be able to find CSB Sauces at the Richland Farmers Market and other local retailers where our sauces are sold.

You can also take a look at the current sauce lineup here: see the CSB Sauces collection.

The harvest is here. The roaster is calling. And the next batch of CSB Hatch Chile Sauce is on its way.

CSB Sauces