Anaheim Pepper

The Anaheim Pepper belongs to the species Capsicum annuum, the same species as the jalapeño and bell pepper. The Anaheim is a variety of pepper that has been cultivated to be much larger and milder than many others in the species. Originally cultivated in New Mexico, the Anaheim was introduced to California by Emilio Ortega one hundred and ten years ago. Ortega began selling the chili through the company that bears his name. Since Ortega began selling the pepper out of Anaheim, California, it has become widely known as the Anaheim pepper, or Anaheim chile. Anaheims are typically found fire roasted and canned, but are also widely available fresh. There are several varieties of Anaheim, and the heat levels of them range from a mild 500 on the Scoville scale to about 5,000. In New Mexico, the Anaheim pepper is referred to as the New Mexico chile, and they are typically cultivated to be significantly hotter than the average Anaheim. Hatch chiles are Anaheims that are grown in or near the town of Hatch, New Mexico, and are popularly sold fire roasted throughout the Southwest United States. The Hatch variety of Anaheim peppers can range from very mild to being much spicier than jalapeños. There are several other aliases that Anaheim peppers go by including California chile, and Magdalena. Most Anaheims are sold green and immature. When Anaheims are fully mature and turn from green to dark red, they are commonly called chile colorado (named for the color, not the state.) Dried Anaheims are known as chile seco del norte.