Capsicum

General Description/History:

- Member of the same family as the tomato, eggplant, pepino
- Botanically a fruit

the large, block-shaped fruit of Capsicum have a number of names, depending on the country. In Australia, they are called capsicums, in the UK, ‘peppers’, or ‘sweet peppers’, and in the US ‘bell peppers’. In other countries, such as Hungary and Poland, capsicums are called paprika, which is a key ingredient in goulash. In Australia, paprika more commonly refers to a dried powder, made from either the seeds or the whole fruit of Capsicum. The term ‘pepper’ is a little misleading as these fruit are mild to taste, not hot and spicy as the name pepper denotes. Hot peppers are commonly called chillier.

Capsicums are roughly block shaped, with 4 lobes, and are about 12 cm long and 6 to 10 cm in diameter. The stem end is indented and the stem is thick, curved and pale green. The skin is smooth and shiny and colors range from green to red, yellow, orange, dark purple and cream. Fruits are made up of thick fleshy walls that enclose hollow chambers that house the seeds. Common capsicums are sold as green, yellow or red – the green forms are immature forms of the yellow and red. Red capsicums are more mature and taste sweeter, as capsicums become milder as they mature, unlike many chillies. Capsicums continue to ripen after harvest, but they have a long shelf life.

Alternative Names:

Chilli. Paprika, Peppers
Gourmet Orange
Gourmet Yellow
Bullhorn Yellow
Long Sweet Yellow
Hungarian Capsicum
Bullhorn Red

Growing Areas:

QLD - Bowen, Bundaberg, Burdekin, Gatton, Gympie, Redland Bay, Stan-Thorpe
NSW - Camden, Dareton, Far North Coast, Gosford, Griffith, Hunter Valley, Windsor
VIC - Goulburn Valley, Sunraysia
TAS - North, West and South
SA - Adelaide Plains, Riverland
WA - Perth Metropolitan Outer Areas
NT - Darwin, Katherine
Nutritional Value:
An excellent source of vitamin C. 100g of capsicum provides over seven times the daily recommended allowance of vitamin C. A good source of vitamin B6, E and potassium. Red capsicum contains 105kJ/100g and green capsicum 65kJ/100g.

Storage/Handling:

7-10°C and 90 - 98% relative humidity.
Consumer Storage: Store in an airtight plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper