General Information
The Fresno Chili pepper is a medium-sized cultivar of Capsicum annuum. It should not be confused with the Fresno Bell pepper. It is often confused with the Jalapeño pepper but has thinner walls, often has milder heat, and takes less time to mature. It is however a New Mexico chile, which is genetically distinct from the Jalapeño and it grows point up, rather than point down as with the Jalapeño. The fruit starts out bright green changing to orange and red as fully matured. A mature Fresno pepper will be conical in shape, 2 inches long, and about 1 inch in diameter at the stem. The plants do well in warm to hot temperatures and dry climates with long sunny summer days and cool nights. They are very cold-sensitive, but disease resistant reaching a height of 24 to 30 inches.
History
Grown in California, the Southwest and Mexico, Clarence Brown named this chile pepper in honor of Fresno, California, in 1952. Today chilies are grown and prized around the globe for their sassy taste. Known for exceptional spicy cuisine, Mexico especially grows and consumes a tremendous amount of chilies. In the United States, New Mexico, California, Texas and Arizona are major producers along with Louisiana, a state famous for its Creole and Cajun specialties and hot sauces.
