Red Peppers

© Copyright 2009. All rights reserved and enforced
Red Bell Pepper

If a recipe calls for a "Red Pepper", and doesn't elaborate any further as to which type of Red Peppers, presume that it means Red Bell Pepper.

Almost all Red Peppers are green bell peppers which have been left longer on the plant to ripen to red, making them a bit sweeter. They are more expensive than green peppers because the grower has to maintain them longer till they do ripen. There's a few weeks every fall, however, when peppers are ripening all over faster than they can get them to market, and you can get these for a song, making it a good time to freeze a bunch of them.

There is at least one variety that is never green, not even when unripened. Rouge Royals are elongated bell peppers that start off as red and stay red. Rouge Royals often up to 8 inches (20 cm) long, and each can easily weigh over a pound (450g.) They are very sweet. Seeds of Diversity Canada lists "Rouge Royal's" status as "endangered", with seed distribution poor and available only through mail order.

Choose Red Peppers that are firm and heavy for their weight, with no soft spots. If you hear seeds rattling inside, that means the pepper is getting old.

There is more information on Red Bell Peppers in the entry on Bell Peppers.

Cooking Tips
Remove and discard the seeds. They have no taste, and just get stuck in your teeth.

For information on roasting Red Peppers, see separate entry on Roasting Peppers.

Equivalents
1 large Bell Pepper = 1 1/4 cups sliced = 1 cup chopped = 150g / 5 oz.
(for more equivalents, see Bell Peppers).

Storage
No need to blanch these for freezing. Wash, chop, discard stem and seeds, and toss into freezer baggies and freeze for up to 1 year.

Also called:
Poivron Rouge (French); Pimiento rojo (Spanish); Pimentão Vermelho (Portuguese); Milagai Vathal (Indian) Top...