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How to Utilize Hot and Sweet Peppers
Recipes to enjoy peppers in season.
Peppers, both the hot and sweet varieties, are often the accent in a dish, used sparingly to add color, texture, and flavor. In season, in the late summer and into the fall, they are sweet and in the case of hot peppers, sweet and spicy.
Peppers in the grocery store can be expensive. Out of season, they can be grown in hothouses, which add an astronomical layer of expense. But they produce a beautiful product, that makes straggly summer peppers look crooked and gnarly, hiding their sweet flesh. The crinkly landscape makes it hard to cut into perfect squares, and forget about trying to make stuffed bell peppers look like the picture in the Instagram post.
When peppers start growing, they are all green. As they ripen, the peppers show their colors. They can be yellow, orange, red, and even purple and brown.
The green bell peppers at the markets would eventually change color if the farmer left them on the plant longer. The time involved in ripening is why red peppers are more expensive than green. Red peppers are a longer-term investment for the farmer. And, there are losses associated with having them out exposed to the elements.
