Hidalgo Serrano
Also known as Hidalgo · Hidalgo chili · chile Hidalgo · Serrano Hidalgo · TAM Hidalgo Serrano
Hidalgo Serrano is a Capsicum annuum backcross from Hidalgo, Mexico. Capsi’s sourced range is 17,500 SHU (Official breeder). Flavor is bright, fruity, grassy. Used for Fresh salsas, pico de gallo, guacamole, pickling, hot sauces. Heat is a range, not a single marketing number.
A prolific Hidalgo-highland serrano released by Texas A&M as a milder, virus-resistant open-pollinated strain. Light-green finger peppers ripen to bright scarlet and bring clean, fruity heat to salsa, pickles, and hot sauce.
Growing
~75 days to maturity
Fruit size
5.5–8 cm
Flavor & Use
Bright, fruity heat that lingers at the front of the mouth, with the clean grassy bite typical of a serrano. Slightly milder and fruitier than a standard supermarket serrano.
Culinary
About
Hidalgo Serrano is an open-pollinated Capsicum annuum serrano named for the mountainous Mexican state of Hidalgo. Texas A&M released ‘Hidalgo’ in 1984–86 as a compact, early selection with resistance to tobacco mosaic, tobacco etch, potato Y, and pepper mottle viruses and slightly lower heat than commercial serranos such as Pánuco, Altamira, and Tampiqueño. Plants are highly productive and typically pubescent, with fuzzy light-green leaves and stems and white flowers; height ranges from about 55 cm in pots to over a meter in the open garden. Fruits are chubby, blunt-tipped cylinders about 6–8 cm long and 1.3 cm wide, ripening from light green to bright scarlet, with thin walls and a long seed cavity. They are a natural fit for pico de gallo, salsa, pickles, and hot sauce, picked green for a crisp bite or ripened red for a sweeter cooked sauce.
Backstory
Serrano chiles take their name from the sierras of Hidalgo and Puebla, Mexico, where they have long been grown as a fresh salsa pepper. In 1984–86 Benigno Villalon at Texas A&M’s Weslaco station released an open-pollinated, multiple-virus-resistant large serrano named ‘Hidalgo’ (PI 342947 × Avelar, backcrossed to PI 342947; HortScience 21:540–541). Texas AgriLife still identifies garden-seed stock sold by Fedco and others as that TAM Hidalgo Serrano line. Catalog copy that says the pepper “originated in the mountainous regions of Hidalgo” refers to the namesake highlands and the Mexican serrano-type parent, not a separate landrace. Seed Savers Exchange first listed Hidalgo in 1991 (Donald C. Kellums, from Baxter Seed Co.).
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
Hidalgo Serrano is a backcross involving PI 342947 and Avelar.
Benigno Villalon · 1986
Parents
Villalon’s 1986 HortScience release and his 1992 TAM Veracruz paper both name PI 342947 crossed with the Brazilian sweet bell Avelar, then backcrossed to PI 342947. Shop listings only repeat the Hidalgo place-name.
Sources
Heat figures in Capsi are tied to a source and a trust tier. How we verify heat
- 17,500 SHU · Official breederBenigno Villalon (1986) HortScience10.21273/HORTSCI.21.3.540
- 3,000–17,000 SHU · Vendor ClaimFedco Seeds
- 6,000–17,000 SHU · Vendor ClaimSandia Seed Company
- 24,000 SHU · Vendor ClaimSea Spring Seeds
- 8,000–22,000 SHU · Vendor ClaimLone Star Nursery
- Villalon, B. 1986. ‘Hidalgo’ Serrano Pepper. HortScience 21(3):540–541. Cultivar release, pedigree, fruit metrics, and 17,500 SHU table value.journals.ashs.org
- Texas AgriLife Extension, 2019. Identifies Fedco garden seed as TAM Hidalgo Serrano, bred by Benigno Villalon and released 1984 via Arco Seed.texaslocalproduce.tamu.edu
- Fedco Seeds listing: origin in Hidalgo highlands, 75 days, 3–3½ ft plants, 2½–3 × ½ in thin-walled fruit, bright fruity flavor.fedcoseeds.com
- Hudson Valley Seed Co. organic listing with germination 7–14 days, 65 days from transplant, 24 in height, 18 in spacing, and culinary notes.hudsonvalleyseed.com
- Chili Pepper Madness variety page: 6,000–17,000 SHU, heirloom serrano type, pickling and salsa uses.chilipeppermadness.com
- Sandia Seed Co. Serrano Hidalgo: 6,000–17,000 SHU, 76 days from transplant, 3 ft plants, thin-walled 2½ in fruit, Hidalgo origin.sandiaseed.com
- Siskiyou Seeds: Mexican serrano type, 80–90 days, 24–36 in plants, fuzzy leaves and stems, white flowers, 6,000–20,000 SHU.siskiyouseeds.com
- PlantAnswers / Texas A&M extension note on TAM Hidalgo Serrano as Villalon’s milder 6,000–17,000 SHU virus-resistant serrano.plantanswers.com
- USDA FoodData Central FDC 169395, Peppers, serrano, raw. Generic serrano nutrition per 100 g used as the closest published proxy; no Hidalgo-specific panel exists.fdc.nal.usda.gov
Last updated 21 Sep 2026 at 09:01
FAQ
- How hot is Hidalgo Serrano?
- Capsi’s sourced range is 17,500 SHU (Official breeder). Capsi uses a sourced range and a trust tier, not a single marketing number. How we verify heat: https://web.thecapsi.app/learn/heat-and-capsaicin/how-we-measure-heat
- What does Hidalgo Serrano taste like?
- Bright, fruity heat that lingers at the front of the mouth, with the clean grassy bite typical of a serrano. Slightly milder and fruitier than a standard supermarket serrano.
- How do I grow Hidalgo Serrano?
- Hidalgo Serrano: about 75 days to maturity, subtropical climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.
- What can I substitute for Hidalgo Serrano?
- Serrano, Jalapeño