Bell Peppers
When Columbus landed in the New World, he and his immediate followers stuck an erroneous and confusing
moniker on one of the its vegetables. Columbus was looking for a shorter route to the countries of Asia
that produced valuable spices like black pepper, but he bumped into North and South America along the
way. It took about two centuries for botanists to figure out that sweet peppers belong to a totally
different botanical family than black peppers.
The familiar green bell pepper we know, is really an immature pepper that is mature for its stage; in
other words, it is fully developed, but not ripe. When a green pepper is left on the vine, it will
eventually turn red, orange, purple, or even brown, depending on the variety. The red bell pepper is
the most common mature pepper. (Yellow peppers can be found in immature and mature varieties.) As bell
peppers mature, their sugar content increases, so they become sweeter, and develop more nutrients,
primarily vitamins A and C.
California and Florida are the two largest bell pepper-producing states. Others include New Jersey,
North Carolina, and Texas. Peppers are also imported from Mexico and Holland.
Storage & Selection
Bell peppers should have smooth, firm, glossy skin with no soft spots or shriveling, and feel heavy for
their size. They like cool not cold temperatures, ideally about 45°F to 50°F with good humidity. Peppers
are ethylene sensitive, so they should not be stored near ethylene-producing food such as pears or
apples. Put peppers in plastic bags and they will keep up to five days in the refrigerator. Green
peppers will keep slightly longer than the other, more ripe, varieties.
Preparation
Wash before using, and if coated with wax, scrub well. When preparing raw sweet peppers, remove the
stem, seeds, and webbing or membrane before cutting into strips (and then diced, if desired,) or rings.
When roasted, the pepper flavor intensifies, and it will eliminate the skin, which some find
indigestible. One of the most frequently suggested methods to roast peppers is to hold them over gas
flames until the pepper blisters and blackens all over. This is tedious and time consuming, especially
if you want to do several peppers at one time. I suggest oven roasting, grilling, or broiling. Put
peppers on a sheet pan lined with foil, and roast in a hot (500°F) oven, under the broiler, or on the
grate of a barbecue grill. The more intense the heat, the more often you need to turn the peppers. They
should be blackened and blistered rather evenly when done. This can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes
depending on which method you use.
When done, put the peppers in a plastic bag or in a bowl covered with plastic wrap, and cool. When
cooled, remove the stems, slip off the skins, and scrape off the seeds. Don't do this under running
water, as water washes away flavorful oils and juices. Instead, periodically rinse your hands as you
work. The roasted peppers can be used immediately, put in olive oil with garlic or other seasonings,
or refrigerated to use in a number of dishes from pastas to frittatas. They also make a fine addition
to any antipasto table.
Bell peppers can be frozen once they have been roasted, skinned, and seeded. They can also be frozen
without any preparation, except seeding and slicing, but the texture will be a bit wimpy.
Tony's Tip
A green bell pepper that has some streaks of red will be slightly sweeter then one that's
totally green, but because it has been picked it won't get anymore red or sweeter.
Tony's Favorite Recipe
Scallops on a Ragout of Sweet Peppers
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Varieties
California Wonder is the most popular type of bell pepper. It has four lobes or rounded sections and is
about 4 inches high.
Early Cal-Wonder is a hybrid and a successor to the California Wonder. It is the second most widely
planted variety.
Le Rouge Royale is a large red bell pepper developed by Sun World in Southern California. It can grow up
to 10 inches long and weigh up to 2 pounds.
Other varieties include the Burlington, Yolo Wonder, Neopolitan, Chinese Giant, and Harris Early
Giant.
Italian sweets (frying pepper/banana/Cubanelles) are not a bell pepper or a chile pepper. It is normally
pale green but can also be orange to red. It is used almost exclusively in cooking, frequently fried or
roasted, rather than in raw presentations.
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