Bell pepper is a very common vegetable used in many dishes and most of us are familiar with it. It is also known as sweet pepper, is a commonly used chili pepper that comes under the family of the Capsicum annum family. They are used widely in many recipes all around the world. It is also a vegetable that has a lot of health benefits too.
Sweet peppers are bell-shaped and have thick flesh that is extremely crunchy. Normally it is not treated as a spice in the majority of the cuisines but considered as a vegetable. Sweet peppers are native of Mexico and other parts of Central America. From these regions, it spread to the rest of the world. Mainly Spanish and Portuguese explorers of the 16th century were the ones who spread it to other parts of the world. These days, we find pepper being grown in almost all parts of the world and it is a major commercial crop of most of the countries. Like chili pepper, bell pepper has a lot of variations.
Sweet pepper has a cube-like outer flesh. At the core, you will find flat seeds clustered together. Peppers are normally picked by hand and not with the help of machines. When the fruit ripens, it will gain its true color. It can be found in red, purple, yellow, green, or orange depending upon the variation planted.
Health benefits of bell pepper
- A list of essential plant nutrients is found in Bell pepper, which helps in preventing many diseases and it also helps to promote health. It is low in calories and fat, unlike other chili peppers. You will find around 31 calories in every hundred grams.
- Consuming fresh bell peppers provide you with a good supply of Vitamin C. It can be seen that vitamin C is found in excess in red ones. Vitamin C is a good water-soluble antioxidant. It is very essential for the collagen synthesis that goes on inside our body. Collagen is a very important and essential protein that helps in maintaining the quality of blood vessels. It also helps in improving the health of the skin, organs, and even the bones.
- It has Vitamin A. Apart from that it contains antioxidant flavonoids like beta and alpha carotenes, cryptoxanthin, and zeaxanthin. All these antioxidants found in sweet pepper help in protecting the body from all kinds of free radicals that are produced while facing stress and infections.
- A lot of minerals are found in bell pepper. Some of them found are copper, iron, potassium, zinc, manganese, magnesium and selenium.
- Moreover, it is a good source of B-complex group of vitamins. These are very important for the body as it helps in the process of cellular metabolism.
Selecting and Storing
Fresh bell peppers can be found in the market all through the year. Firm ones that are heavy should be purchased for better taste and other health benefits.
Avoid choosing soft and pale ones as they can taste bad. Fresh bell pepper can be stored in a refrigerator for more than 3 days. If stored for more than seven days, it can get chill injuries so try to use it before seven days.
Preparation
Fresh bell peppers are used as any other vegetable in kitchens all around the world. The crunchy flesh provides a beautiful flavor and taste and hence it is used for some of the tasty dishes.
