Peppers for the Beginner

Beginners Guide to Peppers: Peppers come in many different colors, shapes, flavors, and sizes, they can be hot, sweet or mild. They come from Americans, Mexico, India and even Spain. Knowing what type, flavor or what do with them can be very confusing. This is a brief overview of the pepper.

Peppers are classified as three types, sweet, mildly hot, and hot. The level of spice in peppers is scaled by the Scoville Heat Index. This scale was invented by Wilbur Scoville in 1912 and measures different types of pepper from the mildest to the hottest starts from zero to over 1,000,000.

Sweet Pepper

The are four major varieties of sweet pepper: bell, banana, cubanelle and pimento. The most common of the four is the bell peppers. It has a mild taste and is marked as a zero on the Scoville Heat Index. They come in red, yellow, and green and are the ones most commonly found in your locate stores. As green peppers ripen on the vine they will become sweeter. When purchasing the pepper need to be firm and have clear, shiny, intact skins.

Mild Pepper

The common peppers in this group would be the Jalapeño, Anaheim and Poblano chili pepper. They are red or green and can be from two inches long to up to 10 inch with a rating from 2,000 to 8,000 on the heat index scale. It is not uncommon for this peppers to not only be used in season food but also as decorations. The skin of the Jalapeño is thick, leathery dark red or green. When the pepper is smoked and dried it is called a "chipotle". The heat of these can be reduced by taking out the seeds and placenta of the peppers. You should be able to find these peppers in the local grocery store.

Hot Pepper

Habanero, Serrano, Cayenne and the Bhut Jolokia ( the hottest chili pepper) belong to the last group. Ranging from 150,000 to 1,000,000 on the scale. They come in a variety of colors and are usually smaller than the other types of peppers. The Serrano peppers are generally the hottest that is commonly available in the United States. Word to the wise be sure of the desired heat of flavor that you want before adding this group to your dishes. Wearing gloves and washing used utensils in soapy hot water when done preparing them would be advisable. This group will be a little harder to find but a grocery with a good produce section will have them.

The different types of peppers add different flavors to the dishes you cook. Not only will the pepper add flavor to you food it also will add a variety of color. From the sweet bell to the hot serrano the pepper is one of the most versatile vegetable so do not be afraid to spice up the foods you are cooking.