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For green peppercorns, see Black pepper. BELL PEPPER is a cultivar group of the species Capsicum annuum, as are the jalapeño and pimento. The bell pepper refers to the actual fruit of the capsicum plant. Outside of the United States bell peppers are commonly called paprika in areas such as Scandinavia, Hungary and Indonesia; Piman in Japan; capsicum in India, Malaysia and Australia; and mangoes* (or mangos) in parts of the US around southern Ohio and northern Kentucky (and should not be confused with the tropical fruit known properly as a mango). In Russia it is commonly called болгарский перец (bolgarskiy perets), meaning Bulgarian pepper. In France, it is called poivron, with the same root as poivre (meaning black pepper). Bell peppers contain a recessive gene that eliminates the capsaicin in the fruit. The color can be green, red, yellow, orange and, more rarely, white, purple and brown depending on when they are harvested. Green peppers are unripe bell peppers, while the others are all ripe, with the color variation due to cultivar selection. Because they are unripe, green peppers are less sweet and slightly more bitter than yellow, orange, or red peppers, which all taste similar. The taste of ripe peppers can also vary with growing conditions and post-harvest storage treatment; the sweetest are fruit allowed to ripen fully on the plant in full sunshine, while fruit harvested green and after-ripened in storage are less sweet. Peppers were grown in Central and South America in pre-Columbian times. Pepper seeds were later carried to Spain in 1493 and from there spread to other European and Asian countries. Per 100g, has about 140mg of Vitamin C.
Trivia Though a member of the chile family, bell peppers received their name from Christopher Columbus to make money. Pepper of all types was a valued spice in 16th century Europe, mostly to flavor spoiled (if not rotten) meat. When Columbus brought the chiles back to Europe, he called them "pimientas" (peppers in Spanish) to increase their market value. Nutritional value See also: List of chili pepper cultivars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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