Know your Anaheim Pepper

An Anaheim pepper is a mild variety of chile pepper.

The name "Anaheim" derives from a farmer named Emilio Ortega who brought the seeds to the Anaheim, California area in the early 1900s.

They are also called California chile or Magdalena, and dried as chile seco del norte.

While the Anaheim pepper usually has a Scoville Heat Index around 1,000, some varieties can have a rating as high as 5,000, which is not very hot.

As these peppers mature they turn from green to red.

They can be used for cooking at any stage but are most often used when still green.

Choose fresh chiles with deep colors, avoiding those that look wrinkled or soft.