Fact Finder - Food and Drink

The bell pepper is the only member of the Capsicum family that contains no capsaicin, the compound responsible for the 'heat' in chili peppers. Capsaicin is a natural defense used by plants to discourage mammals from eating them. Bell peppers have a recessive gene that eliminates this heat, making them sweet rather than spicy. The 'heat' of a pepper is measured using the Scoville Scale, where a Bell pepper ranks at 0 SHU (Scoville Heat Units), while a Habanero can exceed 100,000. Interestingly, peppers are also high in Vitamin C—even higher than oranges by weight. The color of a bell pepper usually indicates its ripeness: green peppers are harvested early, while red, orange, and yellow peppers have stayed on the vine longer, allowing their sugars to develop.