IN SEASON - August, September, October
Sweet peppers are plump, bell-shaped vegetables featuring either three or four lobes. They usually range in size from 2 to 5 inches in diameter, and 2 to 6 inches in length. Inside the thick flesh is an inner cavity with edible bitter seeds and a white spongy core. Bell peppers are not 'hot'. They contain a recessive gene that eliminates capsaicin, the compound responsible for the 'hotness' found in other peppers. We grow green bell peppers, that if left on the plant, will turn yellow and then red.
Peppers like cool not cold temperatures, ideally about 45°F to 50°F with good humidity. Peppers are ethylene sensitive, so they should not be stored near ethylene-producing food such as pears or apples. Put peppers in plastic bags and they will keep up to five days in the refrigerator. Green peppers will keep slightly longer than the other, more ripe, varieties.
Green peppers tend to have a green-as in unripe-flavor that many people don't care for, but the yellow, red, and orange peppers can be very sweet. When slicing large peppers, cut them open first and then slice them with the inside of the pepper facing your knife. The inside of the pepper is not slick and grabs willingly and less dangerously.