I have been growing sweet peppers for a long time and have never considered this ubiquitous fruit, yes it is a fruit since it has seeds, to be controversial. But, in conversations with friends, there is a widespread belief that all of the colors are different varieties. Well, the cover photo is one that I made today and shows my Bell peppers showing both red and green on the same plant. It is not Photoshopped or manipulated in any way. Click, click! While there are several varieties producing different colors, all of my sweet peppers go through green, yellow, red, and then a dark brown/black color as they ripen and go to over-ripe. But there are sites on the web that dispute what I have observed. Well, I am not averse to a good controversy, there really is no question that green becomes red as it ripens. An interesting capsule explanation comes from Food.com:
"In the U.S. the term sweet pepper covers a wide variety of mild peppers that, like the chile, belong to the capsicum family. The best known sweet peppers are bell peppers, named for their bell-like shape. They have a mild, sweet flavor and crisp juicy flesh. When young most bell peppers are a rich, bright green, but there are also yellow, orange, purple, red and brown bell peppers. Red bell peppers are green bell peppers that have ripened longer and are very sweet. The red heart-shaped pimiento is another popular sweet pepper. Pimientos are the familiar red stuffing found in green olives. Other sweet pepper varieties include cachucha, European sweet, bull horn (thin, curved and green); Cubanelle (long, tapered, yellow to red); and sweet banana pepper (long, yellow, banana-shaped)."
Pretty clear and concise. And why then do red peppers cost more than the green? Apparently, it is the fact that because they are completely ripe, spoilage rates are higher. But, why buy them when they are so easy to grow? In my research I found a really good site that goes into peppers in great depth. They particularly cover the nutritional value very well here. OK, now I can harvest my peppers and make some spaghetti sauce!
"In the U.S. the term sweet pepper covers a wide variety of mild peppers that, like the chile, belong to the capsicum family. The best known sweet peppers are bell peppers, named for their bell-like shape. They have a mild, sweet flavor and crisp juicy flesh. When young most bell peppers are a rich, bright green, but there are also yellow, orange, purple, red and brown bell peppers. Red bell peppers are green bell peppers that have ripened longer and are very sweet. The red heart-shaped pimiento is another popular sweet pepper. Pimientos are the familiar red stuffing found in green olives. Other sweet pepper varieties include cachucha, European sweet, bull horn (thin, curved and green); Cubanelle (long, tapered, yellow to red); and sweet banana pepper (long, yellow, banana-shaped)."
Pretty clear and concise. And why then do red peppers cost more than the green? Apparently, it is the fact that because they are completely ripe, spoilage rates are higher. But, why buy them when they are so easy to grow? In my research I found a really good site that goes into peppers in great depth. They particularly cover the nutritional value very well here. OK, now I can harvest my peppers and make some spaghetti sauce!
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