"If you want to eat something, eat a bell pepper.
Crave something sweet? Eat a bell pepper.
Want a beer? Bell pepper."
-- "Betsy," The Simpsons, "Dial 'N' for Nerder"
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| Ripening red bell peppers 9-1-14 |
"Ripe sweet peppers are seasonal ambassadors,
offering color, flavor, goodwill and diplomacy
during the transition from summer to autumn cooking."
-- Sheri Castle, "It's Time to Pick a Peck of Peppers," NPR.org
"Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."
-- Aristotle
Good things come to those who wait.
And sweet, ripe, red bell peppers are definitely good things, and definitely worth waiting for.
In case you don't know, a red bell pepper is simply the fully ripened, far superior and tastier version of a green bell pepper.
"Red" isn't a variety. It's a product of time and patience.
Green peppers, in my opinion, are not fit for human consumption. They are bitter and indigestible.
I figure only reason people started eating green peppers in the first place was because they were too damn antsy and impatient to wait for them to turn red.
Red peppers, on the other hand, are sweet, crisp, juicy, snappy, fresh, delicious bliss.
If you have peppers growing in your garden, please don't pick them until they are fully red. Let the sugars and the sweet flavor develop before you detach them from the plants. Unlike tomatoes, a pepper won't continue ripening after it's picked. So resist the urge to pick and leave them be!
I have a garden full of blushing beauties hanging out, taking their sweet time, soaking up the sun and soil, reddening from the top down while reaching toward their perfectly ripe, perfectly tasty peak.
I devoured most of it raw because it was so good I couldn't stop myself.
It was literally bursting with flavor -- seriously, it actually squirted.
I cut the rest of it into chunks that made perfect scoops for tuna salad.
When they're ready, I'll pick another one.
They can go ahead and take all the sweet time they want.
I can wait.
