Fresno peppers

Fresno peppers have a fabulous, intense color and a flattering shape. The skin of this chili pepper looks glossy, plump, and smooth. Besides that, the luscious green colored stem gives a contrasting look that makes them irresistible. 

These Fresno peppers are considered moderately hot chili peppers. It tastes and looks similar to jalapeño but greatly differs in the heat profile. Meaning, that Fresno peppers serve as a wonderful substitute for the jalapeno but with added heat.

The Scoville heat unit of Fresno pepper

On the Scoville scale, these fresno peppers usually range between 2500-10,000 SHU. A rich source of Vitamin B and Vitamin C.

To make a comparison the Scoville scale unit of jalapeno is , and the serrano pepper stands between,

What is fresno pepper?

The matured Fresno pepper is about 3 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide at the shoulder. Its body is slightly curved and tapers at the end with a pointed tip.

Its flesh is firm, thick, and succulent, and great to use as fresh in salad, sauce, or chutney. The matured pepper looks bright green and turns red when completely ripened. The ripe Fresno peppers have intense heat and smoky flavors and taste mildly sweeter when cooked.

An intro to fresno pepper

This chili pepper developed and was introduced in the mid-1950’s in California. Later it gained popularity, and now it is one of the popular varieties available in the markets of the United States.

Belongs to the ‘capsicum annuum’ family of wax short pepper type(where banana pepper belongs to the long wax type pepper).

The seeds are the main source of heat, and are clustered at the center attached to a white membrane. 

These Fresno peppers are often canned and named as hot chili peppers in recent decades.

How does it taste?

Fresno peppers taste earthy that’s similar to jalapeno, and ripened Fresno peppers are often confused with ripened jalapeno peppers, because of their look-alike color and shape.

The red Fresno peppers have intense heat and flavor and have a mild fruity flavor when compared to the unripe ones. This makes them a remarkable ingredient and has been adopted by renowned chefs to flavor up their signature dishes.

What is a substitute for Fresno peppers?

We have discussed considerably the jalapeno and Fresno pepper. That being said, jalapeno peppers are the closest substitute. And then comes the ‘'Santa Fe Grande pepper, and serrano pepper. 

What are Fresno peppers used for?

• Fresno peppers are used to spice up and to enhance the flavors.
• The green, unripe Fresno peppers are great to use in stir-fries, grilling, and in recipes like salsa and chives. And ripe ones are great for making sauce, chili, roasting, grilling, and more.
• Another popular way of using them is topping cocktails for an extra punch. 
• In recipes. Same as jalapeno, these are best to use in any recipe to increase the heat, like salsa, dip, sauce, pizza, or burger. Add them as slices for the concentrated heat.
• Roast and add them to the salsa and sauce for uniform heat. Since its flesh is moist, generally, it’s used as fresh pepper in the recipes rather than preserved as dried or pickled.