How hot is Pueblo Chile?

Capsi’s sourced range is 5,000–20,000 SHU (Official breeder; typical 5,000). 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

How do I grow Pueblo Chile?

Pueblo Chile: about 75 days to maturity, semi-arid climate, full sun, hardiness zones 5-9.

Pueblo Chile (Mosco)

Also known as Mosco · Mosco chile · Pueblo Mirasol · Mira Sol · Pueblo green chile

Pueblo Chile is the roasting pepper of Pueblo County, Colorado, an upright Mira Sol type with thick walls. Growers pick it green for stew and sauce, or let it ripen red.

About 1/6.4 the typical heat of a Capsi Jalapeño (31,902 SHU).

Growing

~75 days to maturity

Fruit size

12–16 cm

Flavor & Use

Earthy and meaty after roasting, with a mild sweetness and a medium kick that is not the same from pod to pod.

earthysmokysweet

Culinary

Roasting and peelinggreen chile stewchile rellenossalsaand Pueblo’s slopperan open-faced cheeseburger smothered in green chile. Roasted pods are also frozen for winter and folded into local Italian-Pueblo cooking.

About

Pods are broad-shouldered and tapered, about 12 to 16 cm long, and they stand upright on a low, branching plant. The walls stay thick enough to roast and peel without falling apart. Flavor is earthy and a little sweet after a flame roast, with medium heat that can jump from one pod to the next. In Pueblo it goes into green chile stew, rellenos, and the slopper. Plants want full sun and regular water. About 75 days from transplant.

Backstory

Farm families on the St. Charles Mesa and along the Arkansas River have grown an upright Mira Sol chile since the early 1900s, saving seed year after year. Dr. Michael Bartolo of Colorado State University took that local stock and, after years of single-plant work, released the Mosco strain to seed producers in 2005. That strain is now what most Pueblo farms sell as Pueblo Chile. DNA work at New Mexico State in 2003 found the local type closest to a chile from Oaxaca. How it first reached Colorado is still unsettled.

Appearance

ShapeTapered

ColorGreen · Red

Size12–16 cm

WallThick

SkinSmooth

Growing

SunFull

WaterModerate

ClimateSemi-arid

Days to maturity75 days

Plant height60–76 cm

Soil pH6–6.8

Germination7–14 days

Spacing45 cm

HardinessZones 5-9

Heritage

Explore

Pueblo Chile is a selection of Pueblo Mira Sol.

Michael E. Bartolo / Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station · 2005

Parent

Sources

FAQ

How hot is Pueblo Chile?: Capsi’s sourced range is 5,000–20,000 SHU (Official breeder; typical 5,000). 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 Pueblo Chile taste like?: Earthy and meaty after roasting, with a mild sweetness and a medium kick that is not the same from pod to pod.
How do I grow Pueblo Chile?: Pueblo Chile: about 75 days to maturity, semi-arid climate, full sun, hardiness zones 5-9.
What can I substitute for Pueblo Chile?: Hatch, Anaheim