Chipotle
Chipotle is a ripe jalapeño pepper smoke-dried in a wood-fired cocedor. Camargo, Chihuahua, documents a large-scale version of the process; its source accounts do not establish a complete home batch or validated safety endpoint.
Built structures · Drying kilns and dryers
CIMAV hybrid chipotle dryer
Horno solar híbrido para chile chipotle · CIMAV hybrid chipotle oven · Solar chipotle oven
A CIMAV industrial chipotle oven combines solar-heated water and recirculated air with auxiliary gas heat and a separate wood smoker. It differs from Camargo’s traditional open masonry cocedores; reports describe capacity differently.
A distinct industrial system
CIMAV’s hybrid chipotle oven is a later industrial system, separate from Camargo’s open brick-and-wood cocedores. CIMAV says its researchers designed and built a commercial oven for chipotle production and transferred it to the productive sector. The UNAM account names Forrajes Ocotillo as the first licensee, but does not give the installation address. Its structure is a drying chamber connected to recirculating air, not an open pepper bed with a wood fire directly below it.
Sources for this section
Solar heat, air and smoke
The UNAM report describes solar-heated water stored in a tank; warmed air circulates through the drying chamber. When stored solar heat is depleted, an auxiliary gas burner supplies heat. A separate wood-fired smoker contributes the smoke flavour associated with chipotle. CIMAV reports that the design reduced firewood use by more than 95 percent. That is an institutional performance claim, not a general guarantee for other equipment or operating conditions.
Sources for this section
Reported scale and measurements
UNAM reports food-grade stainless steel and approximate dimensions of 20 metres long, 2 metres wide and almost 2 metres high. It describes a fresh-chile load of 4–4.3 tonnes and roughly 540 kilograms of finished chipotle after about 60 hours. CIMAV’s institutional page describes industrial scaling to a 4.3-tonne chipotle production capacity. Because the accounts phrase capacity differently, this page preserves both reports instead of treating them as the same measured quantity. Neither source provides engineering drawings, component sizes or validated operating limits.
Sources for this section
Development context and limits
CIMAV places the oven within its renewable-energy and food-processing work. UNAM’s article was published in 2018 and identifies the first licensee, but does not date the invention or locate that company’s installation. The evidence supports a commercial hybrid dryer with solar water heating, recirculated air, auxiliary gas heat and a separate wood smoker. It does not provide a construction plan, fire clearances, fuel controls or a validated food-process schedule. This is a descriptive equipment record, not construction or operating guidance.
Sources for this section
History
CIMAV describes the industrial hybrid oven and its transfer to the productive sector; UNAM/Agencia Informativa Conacyt reported on it in 2018. These sources document the system by that date, not its invention date.
Site
SettingIndustrial food-processing installation; CIMAV developed and transferred the design to the productive sector.
FootprintUNAM reports approximate dimensions of 20 m × 2 m × almost 2 m.
NotesThe first licensee named by UNAM is Forrajes Ocotillo, but the article does not identify the installation address, foundation, clearances or site layout.
A build is made where it stands: moving it means building it again.
How it is built
Risks and precautions
Thermal, gas and wood-smoke systems
The reported system uses solar heat, an auxiliary gas burner and a wood-fired smoker; the sources provide no operating limits or fire-clearance design.
Hazard sourceDescriptive research record, not construction or operating instructions. The sources do not provide engineering drawings, fire separation, gas safety controls or validated process limits.
Materials
- Food-grade stainless steel — Reported as the oven construction material.
- Solar water-heating system and storage tank — Solar heat warms water stored in a tank for the drying-air circuit.
- Drying chamber and recirculating-air system — The chamber connects to a recirculation system that carries warmed air.
- Auxiliary gas burner and wood-fired smoker — Gas supplies auxiliary heat when solar heat is depleted; a separate wood smoker supplies smoke flavour.
- The reported oven uses a food-grade stainless-steel drying chamber connected to recirculating air.
- Solar-heated water stored in a tank contributes heat to the air used for dehydration.
- An auxiliary gas burner supplies heat when the stored solar heat is depleted, while a separate wood-fired smoker adds smoke.
- The UNAM account reports a fresh-chile load of 4–4.3 tonnes and about 540 kg of finished chipotle after roughly 60 hours; these are reported performance figures, not a validated operating specification.
Places
Chihuahua
Manufacture · Region evidenceCIMAV is identified as the designer/builder and its Chihuahua unit; the cited reports do not locate the first licensee’s installation.
Related
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Sources
UNAM Global / Agencia Informativa ConacytMethod · Materials · Dimensions · Capacity · History
Chile chipotle con mucha energíaCIMAV designed and built a solar-assisted chipotle oven; its reported system has a recirculating-air drying chamber, solar-heated water tank, auxiliary gas burner and wood-fired smoker.
The article reports food-grade stainless steel, approximate dimensions of 20 m × 2 m × almost 2 m, a 4–4.3 tonne fresh-chile charge and about 540 kg finished product per 60 hours.
The first licensee named was Forrajes Ocotillo; the article does not state that company’s installation location.
Cited in: A distinct industrial system; Solar heat, air and smoke; Reported scale and measurements; Development context and limits
Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados (CIMAV)Technology · Capacity · History · Geography
Cogeneración termosolarCIMAV says its researchers designed and built a commercial chipotle oven for export, reducing firewood consumption by more than 95 percent through solar energy.
CIMAV reports industrial scaling and a 4.3-tonne production capacity; this wording differs from UNAM’s report of a 4–4.3-tonne fresh-chile charge.
Cited in: A distinct industrial system; Solar heat, air and smoke; Reported scale and measurements; Development context and limits