Home Topics Chili PeppersMild Peppers

Mild Peppers

Mild peppers are just that: mild. They are neither sweet nor hot. They range from 1000 to 3000 Scoville Units and are the perfect chilies for diners being introduced to the world of chili peppers for the first time.

Ancho/Poblano Peppers

These are one of the most popular chili peppers in Mexican cooking, especially for chile rellenos (stuffed peppers) and molé. These peppers are called "poblano" when fresh and "ancho" when dried. Their 3-foot tall, bushy, ever-bearing plant produces fruits that dangle like pendants from their stems. The dark green chilies turn red when mature at 90-110 days. Fresh or dried, poblano chili peppers have a fruity-smoky flavor and measure in at 2500-3000 Scoville Units.

'Ancho San Luis' produces heart-shaped fruits of uniform size. Changing from green to red to mahogany when mature, this variety is excellent for stuffing.

Bermuda Hot Peppers

Bermuda hots are ideal container plants. They are compact, bushy, and highly productive, producing peppers that are 3 inches long and mature from green to red. They are among the most popular pickling peppers, as they stay firm in the jar for well over a year.

Ortega Chilies

The ortega is a variety of Anaheim chili pepper that is 6-7 inches long by about 2 inches wide. Ortegas are ready to be green-picked at about 70 days and red ripe at 95 days. Ortegas are good stuffing, grilling, roasting and pickling peppers. These are the mild green chilies you'll find canned in your grocer's condiment aisle. They are excellent on hamburgers or meatless patties and, when drained and chopped, add a tasty bite to a fluffy omelet.

Paprika Peppers

The paprika pepper is a broad elongated fruit that is a deep brilliant red when mature. This pepper typically takes about 55 days to the green picking stage and 80 days to fully mature.

The most familiar form of paprika is dried ground. It's a mainstay seasoning in Hungarian dishes and is also often used as a garnish. The flavor of ground paprika can range from mild to hot with the mild variety widely available in supermarkets. The more pungent varieties are typically available only in specialty ethnic markets. For best flavor keep ground paprika no longer than 6 months after purchase and store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.