This year I devoted a small row in my garden to peppers – and I really don’t like peppers, but Nancy likes to can some hot peppers for our kids and some stuffed door-knob peppers which I actually do like.
So, I planted a couple of jalapeno pepper plants and 4 doorknob pepper plants, but one of them died. On a subsequent trip to the Corner Store Nursery in Ruckersvillle to pick up some seeds, I decided to buy a single pepper plant to replace the one that didn’t make it. I saw a plant that looked healthy and was described as a “hot pepper”, so I bought and planted it.
It turned out to be an Anaheim Pepper, and not all that hot. It’s actually quite mild and I like them. I sliced a few for sauteed peppers and onions for a Polish Sausage hoagie and they were delicious.
The Anaheim pepper is a versatile chili pepper named for Anaheim, California. It is mild in flavor and heat, measuring 500-2,500 Scoville Heat Units. In New Mexico, Anaheim peppers are referred as “New Mexico Chilies”, or often as the more well-known “Hatch Chili Pepper” when grown in New Mexico Hatch region.
According to the experts, Anaheim chile peppers are an excellent source of vitamins A and C, antioxidants, and they also contain vitamins B6 and K, potassium and fiber.
All I know is that my one single Anaheim Pepper plant has produced 40 or 50 peppers so far and the plant is still going strong. From now on, I’ll be sure to make room for a couple of these versatile, tasty and prolific peppers.