Bell pepper

A bell pepper is a large, mild, blocky pepper with thick, crunchy walls. Unlike chiles, it has almost no heat. Green bell peppers are picked before they ripen and taste grassy and slightly bitter. Red, yellow and orange ones are ripe and much sweeter. They are eaten raw, roasted, stuffed, grilled and in stews.

How to do it

To core and seed one:

1. Cut off the top and bottom.
2. Slice down one side and open the pepper out flat.
3. Run your knife along the inside to cut away the white ribs and seeds.
4. Slice or dice the flat piece.

To roast, char whole peppers over a gas flame, under a hot broiler (grill in the UK) or at 230°C (450°F) until the skin is blackened all over. Put them in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then peel off the skin.

How to use it

The name changes depending on where you are:

• Bell pepper in the US and Canada.
• Pepper, as in "red pepper" or "green pepper", in the UK and Ireland. UK shops also say sweet pepper.
• Capsicum in Australia, New Zealand, India and Singapore.
• Paprika in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, where the same word is also used for the dried, ground spice. A Swedish recipe asking for "1 röd paprika" means a fresh red bell pepper.

In American recipes, "red pepper" alone can mean a bell pepper or crushed red pepper flakes. The amount gives it away: "1 red pepper, diced" is a vegetable, "½ tsp red pepper" is the spice.

How to store it

Keep whole peppers in the fridge drawer for 1 to 2 weeks. Green ones last longest. Cut peppers keep 3 to 4 days in a covered container.

Common mistakes

• Using green peppers where a recipe wants red. The dish will taste sharper and less sweet.
• Rinsing roasted peppers to remove the skin. You wash away flavor. Rub the skin off instead.
• Cooking them too long in a stir-fry. They should stay crisp.

In recipes

You will see bell pepper in the Cajun holy trinity, in a Spanish or Latin sofrito and in ratatouille. Look for "1 red bell pepper, diced", "2 peppers, deseeded and sliced" and "1 gul paprika" (a yellow pepper).