Peppers
Peppers can be sweet or hot and come in a range of colors from green, red, yellow even purple.
Did you know:
- Green peppers are peppers that have not fully ripened before picked and will not ripen after picking, which gives longer storage time before spoilage.
- Good quality peppers will be firm, smooth-skinned and a fairly even shape.
- Bad peppers will be soft, have wrinkled skin and most of the time have bruised spots.
- Peppers will last up to 1 week in the refrigerator if stored in a plastic bag. Store whole and unwashed for best results.
- Peppers can be eaten raw, added to salads, fried, added to casseroles and even can be stuffed for a main dish.
- To prevent pests and diseases, rotate pepper crops and leave three years before planting them in the same area where other members of the Solanum family have been planted. Solanum family crops consist of potatoes, tomatoes, or eggplants.
Heirloom Varieties
- Nardello peppers are a sweet pepper that is an excellent Italian frying pepper introduced by Seed Savers Exchange and now more widely available. These peppers are fantastic in pasta sauces.
- Sweet Chocolate peppers are considered sweet peppers. The skin of these delicious sweet bell peppers turns from green to a deep chocolate brown, and the flesh is a rich maroon. The flavor is slightly spicy. They are delicious and make a decorative touch to salads.
- Jalapeno peppers are named after the Mexican city Xalapa. These hot peppers are bright green that ripen to red. These peppers need a hot, humid environment to grow.
- Ordono is considered a hot pepper. It is an ornamental type of chile producing green, yellow, orange, purple, and red short upright fruits. They are from Chihuahua, Mexico.
- Rocoto is an Ecuadorian variety that has fuzzy leaves and large purple flowers. This variety requires a long daylenght and a long growing season, but can tolerate cool climates and high altitudes. Rocoto peppers were prized by the Incas for their unique flavor.
- Manda/Yellow Bell is a Yugoslavia heirloom that has been cultivated for at least 200 years. Multiple-lobed sweet yellow bell peppers are great for salads or for stuffing.
