bell pepper

File:Colorful Bell Peppers.JPG

File:November 15, 2012, The Right Cut (8223639251).jpg

The name pepper was given by Europeans when Christopher Columbus brought the plant back to Europe. At that time, black pepper (peppercorns), from the unrelated plant Piper nigrum originating from India, was a highly prized condiment. The name pepper was applied in Europe to all known spices with a hot and pungent taste and was therefore extended to genus Capsicum when it was introduced from the Americas. The most commonly used name of the plant family chile is of Mexican origin, from the Nahuatl word chilli.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

The terms bell pepper (US, Canada, Philippines), pepper or sweet pepper (UK, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Zimbabwe), and capsicum (Australia, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) are often used for any of the large bell-shaped peppers, regardless of their color. The fruit is simply referred to as a "pepper", or additionally by color ("green pepper" or red, yellow, orange, purple, brown, black).{{cite web |title=Bell and Chili Peppers |url=https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/vegetables/bell-and-chili-peppers |publisher=Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, US Department of Agriculture |access-date=25 August 2018 |date=October 2017}} In the Midland region of the U.S., bell peppers, either fresh or when stuffed and pickled, are sometimes called mangoes.{{cite web|title=Dictionary of American Regional English|url=https://www.daredictionary.com/view/dare/ID_00036809|access-date=15 March 2018}}{{cite news |last1=Hollandbeck |first1=Andy |title=In a Word: When Is a Mango Not a Mango |url=https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2024/06/in-a-word-when-is-a-mango-not-a-mango/ |access-date=5 February 2025 |work=The Saturday Evening Post |date=6 June 2024}}

In some languages, the term paprika, which has its roots in the word for pepper, is used for both the spice and the fruit – sometimes referred to by their color (for example groene paprika, gele paprika, in Dutch, which are green and yellow, respectively). The bell pepper is called "パプリカ" (papurika) or "ピーマン" (pīman, from French piment pronounced with a silent 't') in Japan.{{cite book|author1=Azhar Ali Farooqi|author2=B. S. Sreeramu|author3=K. N. Srinivasappa|title=Cultivation of Spice Crops|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7KPUlXxOYZAC&pg=PA336|year=2005|publisher=Universities Press|isbn=978-81-7371-521-1|page=336}} In Switzerland, the fruit is mostly called peperone, which is the Italian name of the fruit. In France, it is called poivron, with the same root as poivre (meaning "pepper") or piment. In Spain it is called pimiento morrón, the masculine form of the traditional spice, pimienta and "morrón" (snouted) referring to its general shape. In South Korea, the word "피망" (pimang from the French piment) refers to green bell peppers, whereas "파프리카" (papeurika, from paprika) refers to bell peppers of other colors. In Sri Lanka, both the bell pepper and the banana pepper are referred to as a "capsicum" since the bell pepper has no Sinhalese translation. In Argentina and Chile, it is called "morrón".{{cn|date=October 2024}}

{{Infobox nutritional value

| name=Peppers, sweet, red, raw

| kcal=27

| water=92 g

| protein=0.9 g

| fat=0.13 g

| carbs=4.64 g

| fiber=1.8 g

| sugars=2.4 g

| calcium_mg=6

| iron_mg=0.35

| magnesium_mg=11

| phosphorus_mg=27

| potassium_mg=213

| sodium_mg=3

| zinc_mg=0.2

| manganese_mg=0.122

| vitC_mg=142

| thiamin_mg=0.055

| riboflavin_mg=0.142

| niacin_mg=1

| pantothenic_mg=0.317

| vitB6_mg=0.3

| folate_ug=47

| vitA_ug=157

| betacarotene_ug=1624

| lutein_ug=341

| vitE_mg=1.58

| vitK_ug=7.4

| source_usda = 1

| note=[https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/2258590/nutrients Link to USDA Database entry]

}}

The most common colors of bell peppers are green, yellow, orange and red. Other colors include brown, white, lavender, and dark purple, depending on the variety. Most typically, unripe fruits are green or, less commonly, pale yellow or purple. Red bell peppers are simply ripened green peppers,{{cite web|title=Vegetable of the Month: Bell Pepper |url=https://www.cdc.gov/NCCDPHP/DNPA/5ADay/month/bell_pepper.htm |work=CDC Fruit & Vegetable of the Month |access-date=9 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030103193545/http://www.cdc.gov/NCCDPHP/DNPA/5ADay/month/bell_pepper.htm |archive-date=3 January 2003 }} although the Permagreen variety maintains its green color even when fully ripe. Therefore, mixed colored peppers also exist during parts of the ripening process.{{cn|date=October 2024}}

Like the tomato, bell peppers are botanical fruits and culinary vegetables. Pieces of bell pepper are commonly used in garden salads and as toppings on pizza. There are many varieties of stuffed peppers prepared using hollowed or halved bell peppers. Bell peppers (and other cultivars of Capsicum annuum) may be used in the production of the spice paprika.

A raw red bell pepper is 94% water, 5% carbohydrates, 1% protein, and contains negligible fat. A 100 gram (3.5 ounce) reference amount supplies 26 calories, and is a rich source of vitamin C {{ndash}} containing 158% of the Daily Value (DV) {{ndash}} vitamin A (20%), and vitamin B6 (23% DV), with moderate contents of riboflavin (12%), folate (12% DV), and vitamin E (11% DV). A red bell pepper supplies twice the vitamin C and eight times the vitamin A content of a green bell pepper.{{cite web |url=http://www.udc.edu/docs/causes/online/Pepper%2010.pdf |title=Peppers |author=University of the District of Columbia |publisher=Center for Nutrition, Diet and Health |access-date=13 March 2013}}

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. Bell peppers are thus scored in the lowest level of the Scoville scale, meaning that they are not spicy. 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. This recessive gene is overwritten in the Mexibelle pepper, a hybrid variety of bell pepper that produces small amounts of capsaicin (and is thus mildly pungent). Conversely, a mutant strain of habanero has been bred to create a heatless version called the 'Habanada'. Sweet pepper cultivars produce non-pungent capsaicinoids.{{Cite journal|title = Non-pungent capsaicinoids from sweet pepper|journal = European Journal of Nutrition|date = 2003-02-01|issn = 1436-6207|pages = 2–9|volume = 42|issue = 1|doi = 10.1007/s00394-003-0394-6|pmid = 12594536|language = en|first1 = Antonio|last1 = Macho|first2 = Concepción|last2 = Lucena|first3 = Rocio|last3 = Sancho|first4 = Nives|last4 = Daddario|first5 = Alberto|last5 = Minassi|first6 = Eduardo|last6 = Muñoz|first7 = Giovanni|last7 = Appendino|s2cid = 25276690}}

In 2020, global production of bell peppers was 36 million tonnes, led by China with 46% of the total, and secondary production by Mexico, Indonesia, and Turkey.{{cite web|title=Bell pepper production|url=https://www.tridge.com/intelligences/bell-pepper/production|publisher=Tridge|access-date=5 August 2022|date=2020}} The United States ranks 5th in total production, as it produces approximately 1.6 billion pounds annually.

{{cite web

| url = https://fsi.colostate.edu/bell-peppers/

| title = Bell Peppers

| publisher = Colorado School of Public Health

| accessdate = 2022-11-19}}

{{Commons category}}

{{Cookbook|Bell Pepper}}

• List of Capsicum cultivars
• Habanada

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{{Capsicum Cultivars}}

Category:Chili peppers

Category:Crops originating from the Americas

Category:Capsicum cultivars

Category:Crops