Today peppers are available in all sorts of shapes, colors and flavors and range from sweet to fiery hot. In fact, there are many varieties available from seed catalogs as well as grocers. The most popular is the sweet bell pepper, which comes in green, red, yellow, orange, purple, brown, even white. The more unusual colors tend to cost more--in some cases a lot more--but they can spruce up the presentation of various dishes. Red ones in particular tend to be a bit sweeter but have a shorter shelf life. Also easy to come by are Anaheims (used in their green stage to prepare chili rellenos, in their red stage for making chili powder and paprika); sweet banana peppers; Jalapenos; poblanos, known as anchos when red and dried; sermons; and, for you adventurous types, habaneros.
The hottest peppers these days--literally and figuratively--are chili peppers. What makes them hot is a family of flavorless, odorless chemical compounds called capsaicins, which are contained in varying degrees in the peppers' placenta (the cross walls in which the seeds are embedded) and to a lesser extent, in the seeds themselves. Capsaicin compounds can also be found in a variety of products, from muscle-soothing liniments to ginger ale, aerosol sprays used to deter would-be attackers and organic pesticides. Capsaicin is used to color everything from sausage and cheese to cosmetics and drugs, and when added to poultry feed, it turns chicken skin yellow and darkens the yolks. When fed to dull-colored flamingoes, it brightens their plumage.
The principal flavor component in sweet bell peppers is what gives Cabernet Sauvignon its distinctive bouquet. Peppers also contain an impressive dose of vitamins, including C--up to six times that of an orange--A, E and P, plus thiamin and niacin.
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