Anaheim pepper is one of the popular chili peppers that you find in United States grocery stores throughout the year. A versatile pepper that is excellent to use in almost every recipe like stuffing, stir frying, baking, and also good to eat them raw.
Here is more about that Anaheim peppers, the fun facts, its origin, how it tastes, it's Scoville scale, the best recipes made using them, and the possible ways of storing them for optimum results.
What is Anaheim pepper?
These peppers are also called long green peppers, california peppers. These are long for about 5 to 10 inches with shoulders measuring about 1-2 inches that narrows down at the end.
And its shape is conical and has a smooth, even, glossy, skin. Anaheim peppers belong to the capsicum annuum family, and are considered as a chili pepper with mild heat.
The stores usually carry them as rightly matured, hence in green color. The ripen peppers look deep red in color and have intense heat with a more sweet taste.
An intro to anaheim pepper
These are native to New Mexico state in the United States. Later a farmer took this variety to his town called Anaheim, California. And cultivated these peppers with less heat profile to suit his potential market.
It became very popular, and people started calling in the name of the location it was cultivated.
These peppers have a mild heat, mild sweet, and with luscious peppery flavors.
Anaheim pepper’s seeds are clustered to the rib that is present in the center. The seeds and the white membrane occupy almost 40% inside, which holds most of the heat.
What Does this taste like?
To make a comparison-its taste is similar to the green pepper that feels like little grassy and has a sweet note but with gentle heat. The heat is not as scorching but you feel the sensation.
To describe, this makes your palate feel the sweetness at first instance, then rich peppery flavor may dominate over secondly and finally, the heat starts spreading. The heat may present for a couple of moments and start to disappear slowly.
If you're comfortable in adding a little spice to your dishes, anaheim peppers is one of the mild chili pepper varieties that works as a great substitute for green pepper. Additionally these are inexpensive than the bell peppers.
Scoville units for anaheim pepper
500-2500 Shu Anaheim’s heat is about 50% milder than jalapeño.
What to do with anaheim peppers?
One of the easy to find peppers, Anaheim that never disappoints. It's complex flavors and the more open space inside, makes it more comfortable for any recipe that includes stuffing to simple shallow frying dishes.
You may swap Anaheim peppers in dishes that require green pepper. Make a note that Anaheim peppers have a thin wall structure and need less time to cook than green peppers.
This adds a beautiful aroma to dishes like, meat stir fry or scrambled eggs.
What to make with anaheim pepper
As raw. If you're a salad lover or if you want to add crunchiness to toast, chop them up and toss them into your salad or your cheese toast. And enjoy its outstanding results.
If you want to add a kick, simply chop them roughly and add to a dish(when cooking is nearing its completion).
Sit back and watch a more flavored dish happening in front of your eyes and flash a moment. They get cooked in less time but it blends beautifully with other ingredients in any dish.
Another excellent thing to do with anaheim pepper is grilling, the main reason anaheim peppers gained popularity.
As stuffed. For stuffing, I would advise you to roast the peppers until its skin blisters and afterwards stuff in the filling and then bake it.
How to store
Same as any other pepper this pepper anaheim pepper is good to store for a long time in different forms. We look into different methods of storing and it's possible duration of storing, so that you can use the anaheim peppers to the fullest extent.
This pepper is available in abundance during late summer. A visit to the local farmers market may make you return with a big bag of anaheim peppers for just a couple of dollars.
It's an intelligent idea to get them in bulk during its peak season and use them for the rest of the year. That saves our pocket.
Roasted peppers. A fabulous way that intensifies its flavor, choosing roasting in the oven or over the stove top. Drizzle a few drops of butter over the pepper and bake it for seven minutes at 450°F or until it starts blistering.
You may roast them over stove top on medium heat for about five minutes until it starts resting for the skin by stirring frequently. Allow them to cool down, and peel the skin. Later store in a freezer safe airtight container.
These roasted anaheim peppers stay good for a week in the refrigerator and for about 6 months when frozen.
As powder. Dehydrate the peppers by air drying, sun drying, or with a dehydrator, until the chilies become brittle. Further, make sure it does not have any moisture content. At this stage, the pepper wrinkles down to almost 30%.
Using a spice jar turned them to powder and used it for up to a year. Store it in the cold and dry place in a big container to retain the fresh flavors.
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