The beautiful variety of peppers is truly a joy to behold. At least for me. I love working in the pepper area at BlueMoon’s booth at the market because it is the most colorful and appealing section. Seeing the brilliant reds, greens, yellows, chartreuses, purples, blacks, and oranges is almost mesmerizing. There is just so much color. The displays of peppers at farmers markets are quintessentially summer and just make me happy. Only 7-8 more months until the 2020 pepper season!

Now, today we’ll be covering some basics for peppers so that you’re prepared to tackle all sorts of varieties come next summer. All you’ll want to practice because once peppers start coming to market next year, they will be coming with a vengeance and you’ll want to be ready. First, we should clear one major thing up — there are sweet peppers (typically called bell peppers) and there are hot peppers (typically called chiles). For the sake of this blog, we will call them sweet peppers and hot peppers. This will allow you to use the information for peppers that straddle the distinction, like Anaheim peppers which are a chile but taste like a bell pepper and can range from sweet to hot depending on the variety. Or Carmen peppers which look like a chile but are actually a sweet pepper (and one of my absolute favorite peppers).

So, let’s get to this peck of peppers!

SWEET PEPPERS

Did you know…

Sweet peppers (and hot peppers) are technically a fruit — botanically they are a berry — and are only considered a vegetable in the culinary context. While most people think of bell peppers as being the only sweet peppers, there are other varieties that are narrower and longer and more resemble chiles. Typically these varieties are red. The mild bell pepper cultivar was developed in Hungary in the 1920s. Peppers, both sweet and hot, are native to Mexico, Central America, and South America. They spread throughout Europe and Asia after being imported to Spain in 1493.

The bell pepper is the only member of the genus Capsicum that does not produce capsaicin, a lipophilic chemical that can cause a strong burning sensation when it comes in contact with mucous membranes. This absence of capsaicin is due to a recessive form of a gene that eliminates the compound and, consequently, the “hot” taste usually associated with the rest of the genus Capsicum.

Nutritional Information

Sweet peppers are a rich source of vitamin C. Though, certain varieties of sweet pepper have more vitamin C than others (e.g. red sweet peppers have more vitamin C than green sweet peppers). Sweet peppers are also a good source of vitamin B6 but don’t provide any significant amounts of other micronutrients.

Buying & Storing

When shopping for peppers you’ll want to look for firm peppers without soft spots or wrinkled skin. Make sure to check the bottoms of the peppers as this is oftentimes where they will begin to deteriorate. No matter how careful you are though, you will eventually get a pepper with some dark seeds, bad core, or what looks like mold inside it. This is what happens when you have a hollow vegetable out in a field in the sun. You can always remove the bad parts or wash and then cook as normal. Any peppers with heavy mold inside will have to be tossed, unfortunately.

Store fresh, unwashed peppers in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper towels, for 1-2 weeks. For longer-term storage, peppers may be frozen. Wash and dry peppers, remove the core, seeds, and ribs, cut into bite-size pieces, and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Peppers will soften when thawed, so take out only the amount you need and replace the rest in the freezer. You can also dry most peppers whole, though it is typically only done with hot peppers/chiles.

Preparation

Rinse the peppers under cold running water to remove any dirt and dry them with a towel or let them air-dry. How you cut your pepper will depend on how you’re cooking it, but you will always want to remove the stem, core, seeds, and ribs. If you are roasting whole peppers on the grill, you can remove everything after they are roasted.

So, take a small knife and cut around the stem at the top and remove the stem and core of the pepper. If you’re stuffing whole peppers you can then remove the top 1/2- to 1-inch of the pepper and then scoop out the seeds and ribs with a spoon. For most other preparations, once you have removed the stem and core you can cut the pepper in half from top to bottom and then scoop or cut out the ribs and seeds. Sometimes rinsing the seeds out is easiest.

Cooking

See “Cooking” section below. The techniques for both sweet and hot peppers are the same so we have combined them.

HOT PEPPERS (CHILES)

Did you know…

The compound known as capsaicin is what actually makes peppers hot. The compound is concentrated on the seeds and the ribs of the pepper making those 10-16x hotter than the rest of the pepper. Chile peppers are only hot to mammals. Birds from South America eat them as a part of their daily diet and aren’t bothered by the capsaicin. Hot peppers are generally hotter the smaller they are, though this is not an infallible truth. So, if you want a small amount of spice look for the bigger chiles instead of the small ones. Also, chile peppers grow hotter as they ripen, so the longer they remain on the plant, the hotter they will be.

Nutritional Information

Hot peppers are a rich source of vitamins C and B6 and are also a good source of beta-carotene, though the levels will vary between varieties.

Buying & Storing

When shopping for hot peppers you’ll want to look for firm peppers without soft or black spots. Many hot peppers, especially jalapeños, can develop “cracked” skin which some people take as a sign that they are hotter. The “cracked” skin doesn’t mean anything is wrong with the pepper, just that it received irregular irrigation or rain. As with sweet peppers, make sure to check the bottoms of the peppers as this is oftentimes where they will begin to deteriorate.

Store fresh, unwashed peppers in the refrigerator, wrapped in paper towels, for 1-2 weeks. For longer-term storage, peppers may be frozen. Wash and dry peppers, remove the core, seeds, and ribs, cut into bite-size pieces, and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. Peppers will soften when thawed, so take out only the amount you need and replace the rest in the freezer. You can also dry hot peppers/chiles in wreaths (ristras) or swags in an outbuilding or cool, dry place for several weeks. Sometimes you might just find a magically dried chile on your counter because a serrano or ancho chile fell behind your toaster. Weirder things have happened.

Preparation

So, take a small knife and cut around the stem at the top and remove the stem and core of the pepper. For many small hot peppers, it is oftentimes easiest to cut the stem off, cut the pepper in half, then scoop out the seeds and ribs. Be careful when preparing hot peppers of any kind. For greatest safety wear rubber gloves while chopping and handling. DO NOT touch eyes, nose, mouth, or other places. Wash hands thoroughly when finished.

Cooking

Raw: serve sliced sweet peppers with dips or add either kind to soups, stews, nachos, tacos, omelets, quiches, casseroles, and stir-fries.

Charring/Roasting: place whole peppers under the broiler, on the grill, or over an open flame. Char them, turning often until the skin is blackened evenly. Place peppers in a brown paper bag and close the top, or, in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to steam 10-15 minutes. The skin will peel off easily with the aid of a paring knife. After peeling, remove the stem, core, and seeds. You can also roast pieces of pepper under a broiler, just place them on a rimmed baking sheet and make sure that the skin side is facing upwards.

Stuffing: there are many ways to stuff peppers. For hot peppers, cut a slit in the pepper from top to bottom or cut them in half from top to bottom, carefully scrape out the seeds and ribs, stuff the pepper with filling, and grill or broil until the skin starts to blister and the pepper is tender. For sweet peppers, remove the top 1/2-inch or cut the peppers in half from top to bottom and then remove the core, seeds, and ribs. Place the peppers in a baking dish, make sure they stay upright, fill the peppers, and bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes until the filling is hot and the peppers have become tender.

Steaming: cut peppers into pieces, place in a pot with a steamer basket above an inch of boiling water, and steam for 5-8 minutes until the peppers are tender. Be careful not to overcook.

Sautéing: cut peppers into strips, rings, or dices and sauté in a skillet or sauté pan with some oil over high heat until the peppers begin to soften (approximately 4-6 minutes). Toss with other veggies, rice, noodles, or protein/meat and season as desired.