Varieties

The familiar block-shaped peppers include: green-to-red - Merlin, Lady Bell, Northstar, Superset, King Arthur and Bell Captain, Ranger, Mayata, Bell Star and Bell King; yellow - Klondike and Marengo.

Some elongated banana types are also grown here. Examples are the yellow Sweet Elongate and Sweet Hungarian, and the hot Inferno, Hungarian Wax,Crimson Hot, Diablo Grande and Surefire.

Nutrition

One raw medium sweet pepper contains 19 calories and provides an excellent source of Vitamin C and a source of folacin.

History

Peppers, both sweet and hot, were first cultivated in Central and South America some 2,000 years ago.

Columbus introduced them to Europe after his first voyage to the New World (1493). Portuguese traders eventually brought them to India and south-east Asia.

Today the sweet pepper is a mainstay of many European and Middle Eastern cuisines

Peppers

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