– Colors:
– Most common colors are green, yellow, orange, red
– Other colors include brown, white, lavender, dark purple
– Unripe fruits are typically green, yellow, or purple
– Red bell peppers are ripened green peppers
– Mixed colored peppers exist during ripening process
– Uses:
– Culinary use in salads and as pizza toppings
– Stuffed peppers prepared with hollowed bell peppers
– Bell peppers used in paprika production
– Botanical fruits but culinary vegetables
– Varieties of stuffed peppers available
– Nutrition:
– Raw red bell pepper is 94% water
– Contains vitamin C (158% DV), vitamin A (20% DV)
– Moderate contents of riboflavin, folate, vitamin E
– Red bell pepper has twice vitamin C of green bell pepper
– Bell pepper does not produce capsaicin
– Production:
– Global production in 2020 was 36 million tonnes
– China leads with 46% of total production
– Secondary production by Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey
– US ranks 5th with about 1.6 billion pounds annually
– References:
– Wells, John C. (2008)
– Heichelbech, Rose. The Reason Why Midwesterners Call Bell Peppers Mangoes
– Capsicum annuum (bell pepper). CABI
– Growing Peppers: The Important Facts. GardenersGardening.com
– Vegetable of the Month: Bell Pepper
The bell pepper (also known as sweet pepper, pepper, capsicum /ˈkæpsɪkəm/ or in some places, mangoes) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species Capsicum annuum. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange, green, white, chocolate, candy cane striped, and purple. Bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent chili varieties as "sweet peppers". While they are botanically fruits—classified as berries—they are commonly used as a vegetable ingredient or side dish. Other varieties of the genus Capsicum are categorized as chili peppers when they are cultivated for their pungency, including some varieties of Capsicum annuum.
| Bell pepper | |
|---|---|
 Green, yellow, and red bell peppers | |
| Species | Capsicum annuum |
| Heat | None |
| Scoville scale | 0 SHU |
Peppers are native to Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. Pepper seeds were imported to Spain in 1493 and then spread through Europe and Asia. The mild bell pepper cultivar was developed in the 1920s, in Szeged, Hungary. Preferred growing conditions for bell peppers include warm, moist soil in a temperature range of 21 to 29 °C (70 to 84 °F).