Peppers Are a Healthy Delight
Peppers are too easily overlooked in cooking, here are some interesting facts about the fruit.
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Peppers are an extremely healthy and versatile food to eat. Not only are they high in fibre, but the red and yellow varieties are packed full of nutritional value and taste. Peppers can be cooked, eaten fresh in salads, sandwiches and snacked on.
Sweet or bell peppers are an excellent source of Vitamin C (particularly the red and yellow varieties) and beta carotene which the body converts into Vitamin A. Other nutrients include Vitamins B1 and B6, Vitamin K, and minerals such as Potassium, Manganese and Molybdenum. The red and yellow peppers are ripened versions of the green pepper and contain greater amoutns of Vitamin C. Chilli peppers also come in a variety of colours and spiciness.
Peppers are indigenous to South America and were introduced to other countries by Spanish and Portuguese travellers, although records show the cultivation of peppers in Mexico by 5500 B.C. The use of peppers in cooking spread throughout Europe and Asia, and can be found in famous dishes such as Satay sauces from China which are sweet and spicy and Hungarian goulash which uses paprika, a powdered form of peppers. In fact the Hungarian link to peppers continues into research into Vitamin C by the Nobel Prize-winning physiologist Albert von Szent-Györgyi.
Image via Wikipedia
Image via Wikipedia
In terms of health benefits, the nutritional content of peppers and their antioxidant properties makes them an ideal food to include into a balanced diet.
For a variety of recipes see; stuffed peppers with rice cooked in a paprika sauce, grilled peppers with cheese on toast, peppers on home-made pizza, pepper omelettes, sweet and sour sauce made with chunky vegetables or just add fresh to salads and sandwich spreads.
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