Local Obsessions is a MUNCHIES show that explores how regional specialties impact the economy, culture, and diet of specifc communities.

In this episode of Local Obsessions, Hashim Aslami, a successful saffron producer and Afghanistan’s top advisor in the saffron sector, Hashim talks about the world’s most expensive spice, known as “red gold.”

Every region has a food they are obsessed with. In Hatch, New Mexico, that something is the NuMex Chile Pepper. Chiles in New Mexico are as prevalent as salt or pepper, and now have an important stronghold on the state’s diet, culture and economy.