The Bell of Peppers, sweet bells

Have you ever notice just how beautiful sweet bell peppers are? They can be a deep green, a vibrant red, and bright orange, a velvety yellow and even pale white or eggplant purple. Likely the most common are green, red, orange and yellow. Most of the differences in the color of bell peppers depends on the degree of ripening. The green bell peppers are essentially unripe, being picked before any other color appears. If the peppers are allowed to ripen, they usually turn yellow/orange and then red. However, some growers have used cultivars that encourage peppers to be a certain color. Cultivars are a particular variety of plant selected for specific characteristics. But regardless of the color, they all come from one species of plant, namely, Capsicum annuum. 

So what's really the difference between the different colored bell peppers? To begin with, the taste is different. Green bells have a very distinct taste that is more bitter than the others. The reds are the sweetest. Another difference is the nutritional benefits. Greens have an abundance of chlorophyll. Yellows have more lutein and carotenoids. Orange peppers have more alpha, beta, and gamme-carotene. Reds have more lycopene, beta carotene and astaxanthin. But no matter which color you eat, nothing beats the bell pepper as a source of Vitamin C. Green peppers alone have twice the amount of Vitamen C by weight than citrus fruits. Red bells have three times as much as the green peppers. These bell shaped power houses also contain Vitamin A, and B complex. They are low in calories and contain minerals such as iron, copper, zinc, potassium, manganese, magnesium and selenium, not to mention fiber.

While bell peppers are really good for your nutrition, as a pepper causing any kind of heat they just can't measure up. The Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) measures the level of heat produce in peppers. Currently the hottest peppers are the Caroline Reapers with a SHU of 1,600,000 - 2,000,000. To put this in perspective, a jalapeño pepper has a SHU of 3,000 - 10,000. And our gentle bell pepper has a SHU of zeri. 

The small but deadly Caroline Reaper

But not to worry, the beautiful and nutritious fruit known as a sweet bell......wait a minute. Yes, I said fruit. The bell pepper is considered a fruit. The general rule of thumb when defining fruits and vegetables is if there are seeds and the seeds are surrounded by the flesh of the plant, it's a fruit. Of course the strawberry is the exception to the rule. (I know. There's one in every crowd.) 

Originating in the Central American regions, peppers were spread to the rest of the world by the Spanish and Portuguese explorers during the 16th and 17th centuries. And today they are considered an important commercial crop grown in many parts of the world.

You can readily find many of the beautiful colored bell peppers in your local grocery and your local farmers' market. When picking out your peppers make sure the flesh is firm and not wrinkly. There should be no spots at all and the color must be vibrant. It should have a good weight in your hand. 

When you get ready to use the bell peppers in your cooking, you will want to follow the instructions on how to cut them. I've included a video for your convenience. 

Now that you know more about the sweet bell pepper, I want to introduce you to the mini bell pepper, which will be part of today's recipe.  

Mini Bell Peppers

These little sweeties are grown for the specific size, flavor and look.  They come in red, yellow and orange.  They are about three inches in length and have a crisp texture.  They have very few seeds and have a thinner skin than their larger counter parts.  They are good for eating raw, grilled, and cooked in your favorite recipes.

I will be stuffing the mini bells and serving them as appetizers.  So let's get to the recipe.

What you need:

10-12 mini bell peppers

1/4 cup cream cheese

1/4 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons pesto

1/3 cup frozen peas, thawed

salt and pepper to taste

What you need to do:***

Cut the end of the peppers (the end with the stem) and take the seeds out.  Set aside. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a medium size bowl.  Make sure everything is well blended.  Filled each pepper with the cheese mixture.

***You can either serve these as a cold or hot appetizers.  If you choose hot, then place the filled peppers on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can't miss when eating bell peppers.  Their beauty, versatility, and nutrition make them necessary in your culinary experience.

Now, go out and make something good.