 Bell peppers, the benign members of the Capsicum family, make up in nutrition and versatility what they lack in heat and intensity.
Like their fiery siblings, they are native to Central and South America. Christopher Columbus brought a variety of peppers back to Europe but only the hot peppers caught on since spices were the obsession of the age.
Bell peppers languished in obscurity until the beginning of the 20th century when an increased desire for vegetable variety made their versatility in the kitchen known. And versatile they are. Capsicum means "box," an especially appropriate name since bell peppers are conveniently designed for stuffing. They add their lovely color — ranging from green to yellow, orange, red and sometimes purple-black — to recipes. Their texture is also a discernible premium in everything from sandwiches to pizza. In fact, an astonishing array of dishes, from condiments to ratatouille, benefit from their inclusion. They are especially complementary to chicken, ham, tuna, eggs and rice. The pimento in stuffed olives comes from mature red bell peppers and Hungarian paprika is created from a mildly warm variety known as Anaheim. And, of course, they are an indispensable part of that trinity of sautéed vegetables, onions, garlic and chopped peppers, that serves as a "starter" for so many delicious meals. Roasted peppers add a delicious smoky flavor to many recipes.
Health Benefits: Bell peppers, also called sweet peppers, belong to the nightshade family of plants, which includes potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant. They are an excellent source of vitamins C, A and K, a good source of vitamin B6 and are low in calories.
What To Look For: Look for peppers that are deeply colored, heavy for their size and free of wrinkles, soft spots or other indications of age or decay. Shape or size is not usually an indicator of quality. Most bell peppers have 3 or 4 bulbous lobes but some varieties are tapered with no conspicuous lobes. Size can range from two to five inches in diameter and up to six inches long. Sweet banana peppers are an exception with their elongated shape reminiscent of their namesake. All bell peppers are green when young, changing colors as they mature. All are edible, regardless of color, though more mature peppers are sweeter.
Use: Bell peppers will keep, unwashed, in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator for up to a week, though ideally they should be used within two or three days. For fresh use, wash well and cut off the top. If you are going to leave them whole for stuffing, cut a circle around the stem, leaving a slight inward lip or rim around the edge; pull off the stem and top to which the core and most of the seeds are attached, then shake out remaining seeds and remove as much of the ribs as possible. If you wish, you may slice them into rings at this point. If slicing into strips or dicing, cut the pepper in half before removing the ribs and cut as desired. Bell peppers freeze very well, with no blanching required. Simply wash well, cut off the top and remove the ribs, core and seeds. Slice or chop to desired size, freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet and transfer to an appropriate freezer container, eliminating as much air as possible from the container to minimize freezer burn. Frozen vegetables should be used within eight months.
 Very sweet and colorful tiny bell peppers with few seeds. Delicious and adorable.
 In a short four hundred years, chili peppers have become the world's most highly consumed spice thanks to a single gene, the fiery, to-be-respected capsaicin. It's a lack of this gene that keeps sweet peppers cool.
Capsaicin is the bitter, acrid, oily alkaloid found in chili peppers that may literally burn the skin, especially the eyes, nose, lips, and even the gastrointestinal tract. Nearly 90 percent of the capsaicin is concentrated in the white tissues to which the seeds are attached. Depending upon the chili heat you desire, exclude or include these membranes in your cooking.
Although chilies are most famous for their heat, behind that heat is their range of earthy sweet flavors. Chiles are popularly believed to be a mood enhancer because they increase the production of endorphins. This proposition lacks clinical data; if you eat a hot chili, however, you'll experience moments of heightened awareness.
Health Benefits: Green chilies are a superior source of vitamins C and red chilies a good source of vitamin A. Both also contain potassium and folic acid. They also contain fiber and iron. They are extremely low in calories.
Use: Wear rubber gloves when you handle chilies, fresh, or dried. Some people with less sensitive skin may handle chilies directly. If you are one, immediately wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water afterward, to prevent capsaicin burns to more sensitive areas. Should you develop a capsaicin burn, washing with a mild bleach solution is a good antidote.
Dried chilies: Crushed or powdered dried chilies are ready for use as an ingredient. To prepare whole dried chilies, rehydrate by soaking in hot water for an hour or so. Cut open and remove the seeds, stems, and veins.
Fresh chilies: Fresh chilies are peeled prior to use. First, slit the skin near the stem. Place the chilies in a broiler pan about four inches from the heat source and broil until blistered and blackened (or grill or roast them on a stovetop burner). Turn frequently. Immediately place the chilies in a brown paper bag, close the bag and allow the chilies to steam for 15 minutes. The skins can then be easily slipped off from the peppers. Remove the skins and, if you wish, the seeds and veins.
How hot is it?
Here are some of the more commonly available chilies rated from cool to hot by Scoville unit according to Jean Anderson and Barbara Deskins in The Nutritional Bible. A rating of 1 is equivalent to 100-500 Scoville units; a rating of 10 is equivalent to 100,000 to 300,000 Scoville units. The fruit of the nightshade family ranges in color, size, shape, and pungency. In general, the smaller and more pointed a chili the hotter it is. A hot climate usually produces a hot chili. A fresh, green, immature chili is less fragile, stores longer, and therefore costs less than a mature chili, which may be red, purple, or yellow rather than green. Chiles should be firm and unblemished rather than limp and discolored. Dried chilies are available whole, crushed, or powdered. Chiles are available pickled or canned, but I find their essence less comprised when dried or fresh.
Storing: If you have a good supply of chilies, roast them together as instructed. Place them in a bag to steam, set aside until cool. Because a large clump of frozen chilies is unwieldy, pack them, as is, into small freezer bags, separated by butcher paper or another plastic bag, and freeze. Remove chilies from freezer as needed. Hold them under hot water; the skin, seeds, and veins will quickly and easily separate from the flesh.
 Use: Fresh Anaheim chiles should be peeled before use. Traditional recipes recommend searing over a gas flame or broiling in the oven until the skins are blackened. Cool in a sealed plastic bag or foil and then remove skins. Both green and red Anaheim peppers are excellent in soups and stews. Anaheim peppers are the chiles most often used to make chile rellenos. For this Mexican dish the peppers are stuffed with cheese and then coated in egg before they are fried. This is the chile that is most often used to make chile rellenos.
Buying: As these peppers mature they turn from green to red. They can be used for cooking at any stage but are most often used when still green. Choose fresh chiles with deep colors, avoiding those that look wrinkled or soft. Store them in a paper bag for a week in the refrigerator or enclose in freezer bags and freeze for up to a year.
 America’s Favorite Chile pepper is by far the jalapeño, a thick-fleshed pepper about 3 inches long (give or take). It’s a bright green little guy that can be lovingly incorporated into just about anything, from soups to Lemonade.
Health Benefits: Jalapeños contain a substance called capsaicin that has shown to have anti-cancer effects. However the amount needed to achieve this effect is relatively high, with up to eight habanero peppers per week (roughly equivalent to 24 jalapeños). It should be noted, however, that excessive chili-pepper
consumption has been linked to stomach cancer in India and Mexico.
Use: Use sparingly in Mexican dishes, guacamole, and salad dressings.
Buying: Good-quality Jalapeno peppers should be firm, smooth-skinned and have solid green coloring. Dry lines are not a blemish. They are signs of a mature pepper and indicate hotness.
 The Poblano is a mild chile pepper, just slightly spicier than a bell pepper . One of the most popular peppers grown in Mexico, the plant (of the species Capsicum annuum) is multi-stemmed, and can reach 25 inches in height. The pod itself is about three to six inches long, and about two to three inches wide. An immature poblano is dark purplish green in color, but eventually turns a red so dark as to be nearly black.
Use: It can be prepared a number of ways, commonly including: dried, breaded and fried, stuffed, or in sauces called moles. After being roasted and peeled (which improves the texture by removing the waxy skin), it can be preserved by either canning or freezing. Storing Poblanos in airtight containers will also suffice for several months. When dried, this pepper becomes a broad, flat, heart-shaped pod called an Ancho chile (meaning "wide" in Spanish), often ground into a powder used for flavoring recipes.
 This Chile is green in color, long and narrow in shape, and grows into a medium thick wall. This Chile is often used in salsas and as a flavoring for stews, casseroles and egg dishes. They don't need to be charred, steamed, and peeled before using.
Buying: Good-quality Serrano Peppers should be firm, smooth-skinned and have solid green coloring. Avoid product that is soft, bruised, has wrinkled skin or spots of mold.
from Rebecca Wood's The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia |
