When Christopher Columbus discovered sweet peppers on his travels in the New World, he hoped to make a fortune importing them to Europe. Unfortunately for the explorer, it turned out that peppers grew just fine in their new, Mediterranean home, quickly becoming a popular ingredient in Spanish and Italian cooking.

You can find sweet peppers in the market year-round, but they taste best in the fall when they are at their peak.

Vitamin Rich

All sweet peppers are rich in vitamins A and C, as well as the B vitamin folate. They are also high in fiber. But red and yellow peppers have more than twice the amount of vitamin C as green peppers.

Pick a Pepper

The most commonly known sweet peppers are bell peppers, which are usually green, though there are also yellow, orange, purple and brown varieties. Red bell peppers are actually green peppers that have been left to ripen on the vine longer. Red, yellow and orange bell peppers are the sweetest, while green and purple ones tend to have a tarter flavor.

Other sweet pepper varieties include mild flavored banana peppers and wax peppers and fuller flavored pimentos and cubanelles.

What to Look For

Look for peppers with smooth, firm flesh, a rich color and no shriveled or soft spots. Peppers can be expensive, so don’t select ones that feel heavy -- it only means that they are full of seeds and will cost more.

Storing

Peppers will keep in the refrigerator stored in a plastic bag for about one week.

Cooking

Be sure to have your knife firmly inside a pepper before you slice it open, otherwise your knife may bounce off the rubbery surface.

Always remove the cap and stem and scoop out the seeds (hands work fine as tools) unless you're planning to roast or grill or broil your sweet peppers whole. If you are, scrape away the charred peel with a knife afterwards rather than washing it off, which can water down flavor.

Recipes

Roasted Red Peppers

Red Pepper Dip with Pine Nuts

Eggs Scrambled with Fresh Bell Peppers and Onions

Summer Pepper Sizzle

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