The Anaheim pepper is a popular mild chile named after the California city that brought it to fame. Popular in Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisines, Anaheim is beloved for its long, slender, glossy-skinned peppers which feature a unique smoky, sweet and tangy flavor that is enhanced by roasting. They also boast a hint of spiciness (500 to 2500 on the Scoville scale) that adds a touch of excitement without lingering too long on the tongue. In the garden, Anaheim is a delight to grow with robust plants that bear heavy yields of 8-inch-long peppers in ceaseless abundance from mid-summer until the first frosts of fall. The history of the Anaheim pepper dates back to 1890's when Emilio Ortega brought some seeds of a popular New Mexico chile to Anaheim California and began growing the peppers the garden of his adobe home. Ortego discovered that if the peppers were harvested young and then roasted and peeled, they could be canned and stored for later use. Beginning with glass jars and a home cookstove, Emilio and his wife worked out a way to preserve the peppers in metal cans and a new business was born. By 1901, their second year of business, Ortega was selling 24,000 cans annually and was looking to expand. Over a hundred years later, we all still recognize the Ortega name and still carry a certain fascination for this beloved California pepper. Commonly used today for making green chile sauces to serve on burritos, enchiladas, and tacos, the Anaheim chili has found a whole host of new uses; from pork stews to green chile frittata. Dried Anaheim peppers, known as "California chilis" or "chile seco del Norte" have also become popular for spice blends and rubs. With their ease of growth and multitude of uses, there's no doubt that Anaheim chiles deserve a try in any garden, and our premium Anaheim pepper seeds are sure to get you off to a great start. Anaheim peppers mature roughly 80 days from transplant. Each packet contains a minimum of 25 seeds.
