Talk:Bell pepper

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Does anyone have any idea what kind of gas is inside the main cavity of a bell pepper? I've been trying to find this everywhere to no avail.

Ashleyisachild 18:13, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

Does anybody know the glycemic index of bell peppers? I looked on the glycemic index database at glycemicindex.com but it's not on there.

Ashleyisachild, what if the gas inside is just regular air? Bryan 10:51, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Indeed it is. An explanation can be found here: http://www.proefjes.nl/proef.php?nummer=104&uitzending=5 Shinobu 09:08, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

Under "Trivia" it states that Chairman Kaga biting into a yellow bell pepper at the start of the "Iron Chef" show "makes no sense" from an "American perspective". This begs the question: does it somehow make sense from a Japanese perspective? (For example, is there some pun on the name "Kaga" and "yellow bell pepper" in Japanese?) --Pconrad0 01:53, 29 June 2006 (UTC)

What is the vitamin C content per 100g? In the main body it states 140mg, but in the nutritional information a value of 190mg is given, is either correct?

In the USDA nutrient database [1] I see per 100g of
  • paprika, 71.1mg
  • "sweet green peppers"
    • raw, 80.4mg
    • boiled, 74 mg
    • sauteed, 177.0mg
  • "sweet red peppers"
    • raw, 190mg
    • boiled, 171.0mg
    • sauteed, 162.8mg
  • "sweet yellow peppers"
    • raw, 183.5mg
All listed as capsicum annuum. — Laura Scudder ☎ 00:12, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

A quarter of this article is a list of what it's called in countries around the world. Is that really necessary? I mean, if I want to know the French name couldn't I just use a dictionary? 82.135.4.222 14:56, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Trivia / Columbus

Llywrch just added a request for a source about the trivia part. I think the part is nonsense as non-pungent bell peppers didn't exist until the 1950s when they where introduced by Hungarian plant growers. The part that peppers where confused by Columbus with black pepper is correct, but it's not known if it was on purpose or not ... --Carstor 11:06, 31 October 2006 (UTC)

Isn't it a myth that spices were used to hide the flavor spoiled or rotten meat? Who would eat spoiled meat? And how could you mask the taste of it? Spices were used as a preservative before spoilage. 00:49 14 November 2006

[edit] Scandinavia and Bell pepper

The article states that: bell peppers are commonly called paprika in areas such as Scandinavia. I don't know about the rest of Scandinavia but in Denmark the bell pepper is known as peberfrugt which translates directly to pepper fruit. Paprika however is the name of the spice made of bell peppers. I think it should be fixed Snailwalker | talk 18:17, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Capsicum annuum is called paprika in the Netherlands... perhaps this was originally contributed by some American who thought the Netherlands are part of Scandinavia :-) Shinobu 09:04, 15 November 2006 (UTC)
What spice is made from bell peppers? They're not hot. They can't make a "spice." Gaviidae 13:10, 4 February 2007 (UTC)
Indeed they can and do. Dried Capsicum annum L are ground into paprika powder. Something doesn't have to be "hot" to make a spice. --Monotonehell 12:44, 5 February 2007 (UTC)


Bell pepper is known as paprika in both Norway and Sweden, so the original text of the article was more correct than the current one, and should thus be returned to the former. I'm sorry, but the Danes are in the minority on this one. --129.241.122.39 18:44, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Merge with Paprika?

Should this be merged with Paprika? If I understand correctly, the red powder in my spice bottle is the same thing as these peppers. In that case, they should probably be merged, with sufficient text to make that clear. I'm pretty sure most Americans won't believe you when you tell them that their beloved bell pepper is a paprika... --Mdwyer 23:23, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

No, there are different varieties. You wouldn't merge St. Bernard (dog) and Chihuahua (dog) because they are the same species. Rmhermen 23:34, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
Good example. So when the article says this:
Bell peppers are commonly called "paprika" in areas such as Scandinavia, Hungary, Germany, The Netherlands and Indonesia
is this incorrect? Are they calling a Bell Pepper a paprika, or do they not have bell peppers and instead confuse them with a paprika? Note the section above this one, too. --Mdwyer 00:04, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
They do have bell peppers and at least some of them call them the local language equivalent of paprika according to editor reports. However that does not mean that the two are not different. Paprika peppers (used for powdered paprika) contain small amounts of capsaicin (and different styles of dried paprika vary in "spiciness") while bell peppers contain no capsaicin and are not "hot" at all. In Hungary, all varieties of C. annuum are called "paprika" and paprika powder is made from whatever varieties of C. annuum peppers are to hand which will yield the desired style of spice.[2] C. annuum varieties run from non-pungent bell peppers to paprika to pimento to very hot jalapeño. Rmhermen 06:33, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
My experience with bell peppers in Germany was that they are not as easy to find as in America (and I never saw the uniform color varieties familiar in the US) and always called paprika, which threw me off a bit the first time. They're certainly the same mild flavor as bell peppers here, rather than the flavor of powdered paprika. It may be US-centric, but I would vote to keep the fresh mild pepper seperate from the powder and just try to make the difference clear in both articles. — Laura Scudder ☎ 20:26, 2 February 2007 (UTC)
They always call them "paprika" in Germany, possibly like the way that they always call "cars" "autos", "wigs" "peruke" and so on. It is a different language XD. As this is the English language wikipedia I concur with you. You're not being US centric on this issue, it's just that the more common use of the word parika has been attached to the powdered spice in English speaking countries via the Hungarian influence. --Monotonehell 05:23, 3 February 2007 (UTC)


"Paprika" is a variation of the english word "pepper" (both from the latin IIRC). Both stem from the initial dishonest branding of the capsicum's fruit as the (then) exotic spice (pepper corns) in order to help them sell. In a similar manner as North American Aboriginals were called Indians after people from India. The name just stuck. So when people say "paprika pepper" they are actually saying "pepper pepper" and really mean "capsicum fruit". Likewise "chilli pepper" means "pepper from Chile". It's all confused across regions and dialects. However, the article paprika on en.wikipedia is meant to be about the powdered spice, editors from european backgrounds have confused that article somewhat by adding information about the unprocessed fruit there. I have since edited this out. So no merge is necessary with that article. --Monotonehell 12:05, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] colour

Regarding the colors, I've just added color as 'deep purple' and I don't want to be erased as someone trying to be funny, but look at the picture on the swedish side. If that isn't deep purple then I don't know what is.

I've seen purple as well, it should be in the article. WLU 22:57, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
I reverted the deep purple thing, pending someone uploading an image. I did it because the IP is a vandal IP, so better safe than sorry. mrholybrain's talk 23:28, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
Fair 'nuff. But if you check out the Swedish wikipedia s/he mentions, there are purple peppers Swedish peppers and a random pic from google images too. Plus, I've eaten purple peppers too. Thinner flesh, tougher skin, but otherwise tasted much like a green pepper. I leave it in your hands, sir! WLU 02:13, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Picture

Any thoughts about replacing the picture? The pic (currently in the gallery) with several colours of peppers shows the variety of colours, rather than just the red. Although the current one does show the interior, so it has value as well. All this being said, I think the one with many different colours is best. WLU 16:18, 31 March 2007 (UTC)


[edit] vegetable

i noticed in the section Nomenclature "The green pepper is a vegetable". perhaps i misread it, and it does make sense in it's context, but it didn't seem right to me. so just thought i'd say. i also noticed thta section seeemd a little muddly and confusing in places.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.136.185.108 (talk) 01:03, 27 January 2008 (UTC)