Different Color Bell Peppers
Posted by terrepruitt on April 30, 2011
Sometimes I struggle with what to write. As I was sitting here trying to think of something, going through my Nia posts, thinking about my walk today for the MS Society, thinking about the awesome weather I remembered something my friends and I were talking about and I decided to write about it. Different colored bell peppers. I looked it up. I remember learning a long time ago that they all came from the same “plant”, but today I was thinking, “Hmmm? Is that right?”
Sometimes I learn things then forget them and have to re-learn them. I am surprised to see that botanically a bell pepper is a fruit. I don’t remember ever having learned that. I never understand how something is one thing, but we all call it another. What is up with that? Usually there has to be a reason. The information I’ve seen regarding tomatoes being a vegetable when they are really a fruit is tomatoes were considered vegetables because of taxes. Something to do with the difference between how taxes are applied to fruits and vegetables. This started in 1883.
I don’t know why we consider a bell pepper a vegetable and not a fruit. Also, it is called a pepper when it lacks the ability to produce the chemical that causes “heat”. I do now know that the different color bell peppers are a result of harvesting. The green ones are not fully ripened. Usually the order is green, yellow, orange, then red. Since the yellow, orange, and red ones need to be on the plant longer this is why they are more expensive. I have experienced them to be upwards of five time more expensive than the green ones.
To me I think of them as green, red, yellow, orange, in terms of sweetness. I find that — again, I want to clarify: to me — the orange ones are the sweetest.
So it is confirmed in my mind, the same species of bell pepper plant produces the different colored peppers because they are a factor of ripeness (or not in the case of green bell peppers). They are not different types of plants or different colors due to anything artificial. I would like to try a purple one. I have not even seen one in a long time. Have you ever seen one? The different colors have a different nutritional values. I posted about the green and the red before. Do you like bell peppers? Is there a color you prefer?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
niachick said
Yes we grow them. Yes I like them. I love green peppers. I love yellow peppers. My favorite however are red peppers!!! Their sweetness is undeniable!!! We put them all on our home-made pizzas (we use frozen gluten free pizza dough).
Hope your walk was beautiful!!
Jill
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terrepruitt said
I love them all. I use them according to what flavor I want. Usually I want the green for a green salad, but when I put the green in the only bean salad I like, I didn’t like it. This bean salad definitely “requires” the red bell peppers. I do love the other colors, but don’t buy them as often because as I said they are more expensive than the greens, but lately I have been skipping buying the greens even because they are too expensive right now.
The weather for our walk was beautiful. Thanks.
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SuziCate said
I have never heard of a purple pepper. I love the red best and the green the least…yes I love sweet. I usually buy them in bulk of all the colors at BJ’s. I love them roasted (kabobs) on the grill!
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terrepruitt said
I can only remember SEEING a purple pepper a long time ago. They kinda are the color of eggplant. I find a lot of people like the green the least.
I like my peppers raw. I vwill eat them cooked but they have to be barely cookefd I don’t like them slimy.
I would love to buy them in bulk.
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