Cookbook:Bell Pepper

Bell Pepper
Bell Pepper
Category	Vegetables

The bell pepper, sometimes ambiguously known simply as "pepper" or "capsicum", is a type of large mild chili pepper used as a vegetable.

Characteristics

Bell peppers have multiple lobes and a hollow center with a clump of small white seeds and a bitter white membrane.^[1]^[2]^[3]

The peppers are green while developing and then ripen to a variety of colors—red and yellow are the most common but purple and orange are also found, along with white and almost black.^[2] They are edible while still green, where they have a somewhat grassy and bitter flavor.^[1] When mature, the peppers still retain a fairly vegetal taste,^[4] with no spiciness despite their close relatedness to hot chiles.^[1]

Seasonality

_{Seasonality tables \| Autumn \| Winter \| Spring \| Summer \| All year}
Bell Pepper	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere

Green bell peppers are available all year, with their peak season falling between July and November. The ripe varieties are more sensitive to season and will reach their peak towards the end of the green pepper's season.

Selection and storage

Like many fresh vegetables, bell peppers should have few blemishes, wrinkles, or soft spots.^[3] The skin should be shiny and well-colored around the stem (if ripeness is desired),^[3] and the peppers should feel solid.^[2]

Store bell peppers in the fridge—avoid using an airtight bag, the resulting moisture of which can cause mold growth.^[3]

Use

For general usage, cut bell peppers open, then remove the stem, core, seeds, and white veins. For some applications, the peppers are charred over a fire, such as a gas range, to loosen the skins and add a distinctive smoky flavor.^[2]

Bell peppers are commonly added to pizza, stir-fry, and sweet and sour. They can also be deseeded, stuffed, and baked.