Peppers - Types of Peppers

Pepper belongs to the nightshade family Solanaceae, and is a fruit of the genus Capsicum. Christopher Columbus named them peppers because he found their taste similar to the Old World black peppers. Columbus's voyage spread the pepper plantations all over Spain, and America as well, from where every explorer carried it with them to different shores of the world. Pepper is harvested as a vegetable as well as a source of spice. It has many nutritional values, containing many essential vitamins and other nutrients.

Peppers: Types and Varieties
Peppers can be classified as three types: sweet, mildly hot, and hot. To scale their spiciness, in 1912, Wilbur Scoville, an American chemist invented the Scoville Heat Index, that ranks different types of pepper, in order from the mildest to the hottest. The index starts from a zero range and goes over 1,000,000 to indicate the level of spice in the peppers. The following is a guide to the different types of peppers, according to their level of spiciness.

Types of Sweet Peppers
Bell Pepper: Bell peppers are very mild in taste and flavor, and are marked on the Scoville heat index as a zero. They come in different colors of red, yellow and orange. They are usually eaten as salads, and are the favored peppers for children's meals.

Pimento Pepper: Pimento peppers, also known as cherry peppers are used for their mildness, and score about a 500 on the Scoville Heat Index. They are red in color, and heart shaped, measuring about 7 to 10 cm long and 5 to 7 cm wide. The flesh is succulent and sweet, and more aromatic than that of other bell peppers. The flesh is used as a filling inside olives.

Types of Mildly Hot Peppers
Jalapeño Pepper: This mild pepper type is the most common in America. They are red or green in color and usually two to three inches long. They have just the right amount of spice, and are mostly used as an appetizer, which is deep fried with cheese stuffing. On the Scoville heat index, they score around 5,000, but can vary anywhere between 2,000 to 8,000, depending upon the places and strain from which it has been cultivated.

Anaheim Pepper: This is another mild pepper, which is mostly grown in California and New Mexico. The Mexican variety is slightly hotter than its Californian cousin. It is long and thin about 6 and 10 inches in length and 1 to 2 inches wide, and green or maroon in color. It scores about 5,000 on the Scoville heat index, but some varieties score less than a thousand. Besides, its culinary use, it used as a decorative object, as Anaheim peppers are stringed together as wall hangings during important festivals and occasions.

Types of Hot Peppers
Habanero Chili Pepper: The Habanero chili belongs to the types of hot peppers, and is one the hottest chili used in food preparation. On Scoville heat index, it can range anywhere between 150,000 to 350,000. They come in a variety of colors, such as green, yellow, pink, or red, and is only three centimeters long. However, let the size not fool you, they are the hottest pepper and are meant only for those with very strong stomachs.

Serrano Pepper: The Serrano pepper looks very similar to the jalapeño pepper, but that is where the similarity ends. They are quite spicy with a range of 10,000 and 25,000 on the Scoville heat index. They are mostly two inches long and green in color.

Cayenne Pepper: The Cayenne pepper is red in color, and is mostly preferred in dried, coarse powder form. This is the pepper that is sprinkled over pizza, and other salty food items. It scores between 25,000 and 50,000 on the Scoville heat index. It is used to add heat and a dash of color to the food. Due to the many health benefits of cayenne pepper, it is widely used as a vital ingredient for natural medicines.

Tabasco Pepper: The tabasco pepper is used to make the Tabasco sauce really hot. The pepper is just two inches in length and found in different colors of green, red, yellow and orange. It has a range of between 30,000 and 60,000 on the Scoville heat index. It is used to spice up curries, gravies and sauces.

Different pepper types are a great way to spice up your meals. It is best to understand the level of spiciness, to know which type would enhance the flavor of the food. Not only can you control the level of spice by your using from the variety, you can add lots of color to the food as well!