Types Of Peppers
All About The Different Types of Peppers
All types of peppers are from the genus Capsicum, and it would be very difficult to compile a list of all the multiple varieties. We have too many common names for each type, and as we develop different tastes, more new types of peppers show up in your grocery stores. You can find even more unusual varieties in specialty shops, farmers’ markets and fresh food markets.
Peppers are usually purchased fresh, but you can also find them in other forms: powdered, pickled, canned and dried. Peppers’ pungency ranges from the milder types of peppers to the hot and fiery peppers like Serrano, Tabasco, Jalapeño, Habanero and Thai. They also come in a very wide variety of colors, from dark brown to purple, deep red, orange, gold, bright and pale yellow, and all shades of green.
Peppers can be healthy for you to eat. If you eat them raw, they don’t have many calories, and generally are a “free” food in weight watchers and other diet lists. They also have a high vitamin C content. A bell pepper has more vitamin C than a fruit of the same weight, and a red pepper has three times that much. The hotter peppers are even higher in vitamin C than the mild ones. Chile peppers have for centuries been used as a way to lessen cold symptoms.
Hot peppers sometimes give people indigestion, but they don’t lead to ulcers, as some people used to believe. There’s no link from one to the other. There is also a topical ointment made from different types of peppers that helps control arthritis pain and other pain.
Here are some types of peppers, along with their most common uses:
Aji pepper is rated from very hot to fiery and is used in sauce, salsa and as a condiment.
Anaheim pepper is mild to hot, and is used in rellenos, stew and soups.
Ancho pepper can be mild to somewhat hot, and it used in stews, soup and beans.
Bell peppers are mild to sweet and are used in stir fry, casseroles and salads.
The banana pepper can be mild or hot, and is used pickled or in sauce and salsas.
Cayenne pepper can be hot to fiery and is used in sauces, stews and soups.
Cherry peppers can be medium to very hot and are used pickled or in jelly or relish.
De Arbol peppers are very hot and are used in beans, stew and soup.
Fresno peppers are slightly hot to very hot, and are used picked or in salsa.
Habanero peppers are fiery hot and served fresh, with juice from a lime.
Jalapeño peppers are from very hot to fiery, and are used in beans, sauce and salsa.
Choose the types of peppers you like best and use them in your recipes!