Peppers
Scientific Name: CAPSICUM ANNUUM
Native To: The sweet pepper is native to Central and South America as are most pepper varieties. Green bell peppers are an unripe version of the yellow, purple, orange or red sweet bells. The pepper plant produces only one color and the colored bell is the ripened product.
Flavor, aroma and taste: Sweet peppers have a recessive gene that eliminates the capsaicin (heat element). This causes sweet peppers to be mild unlike all of their other pepper relatives that have the capsaicin and range from mildly spicy to “you have to be crazy to eat ‘em” hot!
Brief history and culinary uses: Sweet bell peppers have a wide variety of culinary uses from adding flavor to giving texture, and they are now used widely throughout the world and in all types of cuisine. The red, yellow and orange peppers offer different levels of a mildly zesty flavor. The red are the zestiest and the orange are the sweetest. Differences in chlorophyll levels and other chemicals create the drastic difference in flavors.
Nutritional Info: Sweet peppers are extremely nutritious and healthy and are rich in Vitamins A and C. They contain a good amount of beta carotene, folic acid and are high in fiber. The red pepper contains lycopene.