All You Ever Wanted to Know About Chili Peppers, Vegetables and Nutrition.

Bell peppers are native to Mexico, Central America and South America.

Peppers were named by Christopher Columbus and Spanish explorers who were searching for peppercorn plants that produce the spice known as black pepper.

In 1492, Columbus and his explorers discovered sweet and hot peppers in the West Indies and took samples back to Europe. Peppers quickly became popular in Europe as a food, spice, and condiment. Twenty years later, travelers found bell pepper varieties growing throughout the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, Peru and Chili. Since then, peppers have been introduced to many other parts of the world including Africa and Asia.

Did you know that peppers come in colors like red, yellow, purple, orange – even brown? And each color has a different taste. Usually the darker the color, the sweeter the taste.

The amount of heat in a hot pepper depends on the variety, and is measured by the "Scolville Heat Unit" Scale. On this scale, peppers can range in heat between 500 to 400,000 heat units! And within each variety, the more mature the pepper, the hotter it will be.

That’s why a red Anaheim pepper will be hotter than a green Anaheim pepper. The hottest pepper is the Habareno Pepper, which is 100 times hotter than a Jalapeno and 10 times hotter than a Tabasco pepper.

"Actually, evidence has shown that peppers may have some beneficial properties. Capsaicin--the predominant capsaicinoid--has been found to work as an anticoagulant, thus possibly helping prevent heart attacks or strokes caused by blood clot. Small amounts of capsaicin can produce numbing of the skin and have a anti-inflammatory effect. In some countries, peppers are used in salves.

"Moreover, peppers are high in vitamin A and C, which, in turn, may be effective in protecting against cancer. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, a chemical substance capable of removing the threat from free radicals, which can cause cells to mutate.... (p.141)."

"By weight, green bell peppers have twice as much vitamin C as citrus fruit; red peppers have three times as much. Hot peppers contain even more vitamin C, 357 percent more than an orange. And red peppers are quite a good source of beta carotene