Anaheim pepper is one of the famous chili peppers found in United States grocery stores throughout the year. It is a versatile pepper that is excellent to use in almost every recipe, like stuffing, stir-frying, and baking, and it is also good to eat raw.
Here is more about that Anaheim peppers, the fun facts, their origin, their taste, its Scoville scale, the best recipes used, and the possible ways to store them for optimum results.
What is Anaheim pepper?
These peppers are also called long green peppers, or 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 smooth, even, glossy, skin. Anaheim peppers belong to the capsicum annuum family and are chili peppers with mild heat.
The stores usually carry them as rightly matured, hence in green color. The ripened peppers look deep red 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, 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, sweetness, and luscious peppery flavors.
Anaheim pepper seeds are clustered to the rib in the center. The seeds and the white membrane occupy almost 40% of the inside, which holds most of the heat.
What Does this taste like?
To make a comparison, the taste is similar to the green pepper, which feels a 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 adding a little spice to your dishes, anaheim peppers is one of the mild chili pepper varieties that is an excellent substitute for green pepper. Additionally, these are more inexpensive than 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 never disappoints. Its complex flavors and the more open space make it more comfortable for any recipe that includes stuffing to simple shallow frying dishes.
You may swap Anaheim peppers in dishes that require green peppers. 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 want to add crunchiness to toast, chop them up and toss them into your salad or cheese toast. And enjoy its outstanding results.
If you want to add a kick, chop them roughly and add them 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 their skin blisters and afterward, 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 various storage methods and their possible duration so 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 to intensify its flavor is to roast in the oven or over the stovetop. 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 the stovetop on medium heat for about five minutes until they start resting for the skin by stirring frequently. Allow them to cool down and peel the skin. Later, store in a freezer-safe airtight container.
When frozen, these roasted Anaheim peppers stay good for a week in the refrigerator and for about 6 months.
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, I turned them to powder and used it for up to a year. Store it in a cold and dry place in a big container to retain the fresh flavors.
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