Clear away the confusion

That brings us to where we are: pepper, peppers, and peppers. Not too good when you want to be clear in what you're talking about. To help you out, we've put together the little chart at the right. It's got two overlapping pyraminds. The 1st pyramid draws a distinction between things called "pepper" that do have a fiery taste and things called "pepper" that don't. If it's inside the pyramid: yes, firey taste; outside, no firey taste. The 2nd pyramid draws a distinction between things that are members of the Capiscum family and things that are not members. Again, inside the pyramid: yes; outside, no.

Now look at what falls where. Pepper from peppercorns falls under just the left pyramid, but outside the right. Pepper from peppercorns makes things hot, but it's not part of the Capiscum family. It has no relation to the chili peppers. That was Columbus' mistake.

Where do bell peppers fall? They fall under the right pyramid, but outside the left. They are part of the Capiscum family; but they don't make things hot.

The rest of the Capiscum family falls in the middle, under both of the pyramids. We've shown just a few of that family here. Once you're finished with the bell peppers, go click on the garden sign for the Chili Peppers and take a look at them. There's a lot to learn about them. As we said before, they're a very interesting family.

Bell peppers' great tastes

People eat bell peppers both raw and cooked. Raw, they are eaten mostly in salads, where they contribute a moist, crunchy taste. Green peppers tend to have a tangy, refreshing bite, while red, orange, and yellow peppers are a little sweeter and have a bit of a fruity flavor about them. Wen bell peppers are cooked, those same flavors deepen and become much more mellow.