Anaheim

The gentle workhorse of the Southwest — mild, slightly sweet, and perfect when you want flavor without a fight.

Origin: New Mexico and California, United States / northern Mexico
Peak heat: 2,500
Heat band: Medium

A single fresh green Anaheim chili pepper, long mild tapered pod with stem, photographed against a dark charcoal background.

About the pepper

The Anaheim (and its dried form, the New Mexico chile) is a long green pod prized for roasting: blister the skin, peel it off, and you get mellow fruit and a soft warmth instead of sharp capsaicin bite.

On the Scoville Scale it lives in the same neighborhood as poblano and early Jalapeño — enough heat to notice in a salsa or chile relleno, but mild enough for guests who flinch at “spicy.” It is the right pepper when the recipe needs body and depth, not a stunt.

Also known as

California chili, New Mexico pepper

Good to know

Facts about the Anaheim.

Quick facts, trivia, and context worth knowing before you reach for the bottle.

Fact 1

Named for Anaheim, California, where commercial growing took off in the early 1900s.

Fact 2

The same cultivar line is the backbone of New Mexico’s official state vegetable: Hatch / New Mexico chile.

Fact 3

Dried red Anaheims are often strung into ristras for decoration and later use.

Keep exploring

More peppers on the scale.

Harmony grows and blends a wide range of cultivars — each brings a different place on the Scoville Scale and a different flavor to the bottle.

Medium · 2,500 – 8,000 SHU

Jalapeño

The world’s most familiar hot pepper — bright, snappy heat you can slice onto anything.

Medium · 2,500 – 10,000 SHU

Fresno

Jalapeño-shaped heat with a fruitier edge — red Fresnos bring color and capsaicin together.

Medium-Hot · 100,000 – 350,000 SHU

Scotch Bonnet

The most aromatic pepper in the Caribbean — stone-fruit aroma, floral finish, and real heat behind it.

Medium-Hot · 100,000 – 350,000 SHU

Habanero

The workhorse of the super-hot family — citrus-forward, clean heat, and endlessly versatile on the shelf.

Extreme · 800,000 – 1,041,427 SHU

Bhut Jolokia (Ghost Pepper)

The first chili certified above one million Scoville units — smoky, fruity, and genuinely ghostly in the back of the throat.

Extreme · 1,569,300 – 2,200,000 SHU

Carolina Reaper

The record-holder. Bred specifically for maximum Scoville, but with a genuinely fruity front note before the burn takes over.

Medium-Hot · 10,000 – 25,000 SHU

Serrano

Smaller and punchier than Jalapeño — five to ten times the kick in a thinner pod.

Medium-Hot · 30,000 – 50,000 SHU

Cayenne

The archetypal “red pepper” behind supermarket hot sauce and kitchen spice jars.

Medium-Hot · 30,000 – 50,000 SHU

Tabasco pepper

The namesake cultivar behind Louisiana-style vinegar pepper sauce — small, juicy, and high-yield.