The Art of Cuisine

HOW TO COOK TIP OF THE WEEK: Bell Pepper Color and Flavor

We conducted a blind tasting to find out if those cheerfully colored bellpeppers taste as different from one another as they look, or if they have simply been cultivated for eye appeal. Wearing blindfolds, our staff tasted both raw and blanched samples of red, yellow, orange, green, and purple peppers fresh from the market and some from the garden.

Do different-colored peppers taste different?

We conducted a blind tasting to find out if those cheerfully colored bell peppers taste as different from one another as they look or have simply been cultivated for eye appeal. Wearing blindfolds, our staff tasted both raw and blanched samples of red, yellow, orange, green, and purple peppers fresh from the market.

No one guessed all of the colors correctly, but the differences in taste were dramatic. The favorite colors turned out to be red and orange; without exhibiting much of a pungent pepper flavor, both were pleasantly sweet. The yellow pepper, with its mildly sweet and slightly tannic flavor, was also well liked. The green pepper, the most easily recognized, was universally disliked for its unripe bitterness. The absolute worst entry, however, was the thin-skinned purple pepper. Its slimy texture and singularly unpleasant flavor elicited comments such as, "Did I just eat a slug?"

As it turned out, these comments weren't far off the mark. As a bell pepper ripens, it turns from green to yellow, orange, or red, depending on the variety. These bright peppers are sweeter simply because they are ripe, whereas the bitter green pepper is unripe. Purple peppers, too, are harvested when immature and would turn an uncommonly dark green if allowed to ripen fully. So unless you're fond of the tannic bitterness of the common green and the purple varieties, we suggest sticking with yellow, orange, or red.