How much fact do you know about peppers? Peppers, both sweet and hot, originated in Central and South America. According to U.S. Group of Agriculture records, industrial bell peppers were first produced in the southern United States in 1925.
You can flexibly use peppers in roughly any food combinations, be it barbecue, baking, steaming, stir-frying with any vegetables, nuts, seeds or legumes. You can even eat them raw as snacks or in salads. It's no wonder they become the favorites of the vegetarians and vegans.
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Peppers come from the colorful Capsicum family which splits into two main categories - sweet bell peppers and the spicy chilies, such as jalapenos. The inequity arises from the proximity of capsaicin in chilies but not in sweet bell peppers.
Sweet bell peppers are also known as capsicums, sweet peppers or green / red peppers. You can't differentiate the sweet bell peppers varieties when they're still young because they all look green. As they ripen, they'll turn color. Depending on the stage of ripeness and their variety, their colors range from orange, yellow, red, purple, brown, black, ivory or green, and so do their sweetness.
But green bell peppers remain green throughout the ripening process. Thus, you may find it enchanting to differentiate the other bell peppers from the green range before they ripen.
Facts about Peppers - health Benefits of Chili Peppers
All peppers provide rich estimate of vitamin C. But chili peppers include an supplementary substance, called capsaicin which provides some health benefits such as:
- productive treatment and natural pain relief for inflammation such as arthritis, psoriasis, diabetic neuropathy.
- reduce risk of heart assault and stroke as it helps to reduce cholesterol levels and formation of blood clots.
- Clear blocked nose and congested lungs.
- prevent stomach ulcers by killing bacteria in the stomach and stimulate more protective stomach juices, etc.
This red chili comes in distinct sizes, shapes and degrees of hotness or spiciness. The more mature the pepper, the hotter it will be. A sweet bell pepper measures 0 Shu while a habaneros or scotch bonnet, one of the hottest known chili peppers, records at around 300,000 Shu. Not hot enough? Then try naga jolokia, the hottest chili in the world which holds 1.04 million Shu.
More Facts about Peppers - choosing Peppers
Peppers are not seasonal fruits, meaning you can find them in supermarkets any day while the year. Choose well-shaped, firm and slick peppers which feel heavy for their size. Look out for unhealthy peppers with soft or wrinkled areas, cracks, slashes or black spots. Except for jalapeno which you'll see some tiny cracks at the end of their stems, fresh chili peppers should not have any cracks at all.
It's best to wrap the peppers in paper bags or paper towels and store in the refrigerator to keep their freshness - up to 5 days for bell peppers and up to 3 weeks for chili peppers. Remember to wash the peppers before cooking so as to take off the wax on their surfaces.
Facts About Peppers