General Information
California Chiles or Dried Anaheim chiles are a large variety measuring between 12 and 15 centimeters long. They have a shiny yet leathery exterior in deep shades of red and maroon. When dried, their sweet fruit flavors become smoky and desiccated with only a hint of spice. Considered a mild chile, Dried Anaheims range on average from 500 and 2500 Scoville units on the Scoville heat scale.
History
Anaheim chiles were first produced in the early 1900s by Dr. Fabian Garcia, a famed New Mexican horticulturist. He was in search of developing a new pepper that was bigger, juicier, and softer than those varieties available to him. He worked with a farmer by the name of Emilio Ortega, who brought the seeds to Anaheim, California and began cultivating them. The chiles soon adopted the name of the growing region and are now commonly known as Anaheim chiles.
