Mini Chocolate Bell Peppers
Estimated Inventory, 5 lbs : 0
Description/Taste
Mini Chocolate bell peppers are small in size, averaging 4-5 centimeters in diameter and 5-7 centimeters in length, and have a squat, flattened, and globular shape. The smooth, firm skin is green when young and transforms into dark brown when mature, separating into three lobes. Underneath the skin, the red-brown flesh is thick, crisp, and juicy with a hollow cavity filled with many small, edible seeds. Mini Chocolate bell peppers are crunchy with a sweet flavor.
Seasons/Availability
Mini Chocolate bell peppers are available in the mid-summer through fall.
Current Facts
Mini Chocolate bell peppers, botanically classified as Capsicum annuum, are an heirloom variety that are members of the Solanaceae family. Also marketed as Yum-Yum peppers and simply as Mini bell peppers, Mini Chocolate peppers originated in Ohio from a family who passed the seeds down through multiple generations cultivating the pepper for its small size. Mini Chocolate bell peppers can be harvested from the plant at any stage and are often included in mixed pepper assortments, favored for their small size, unique coloring, and sweet flavor.
Nutritional Value
Mini Chocolate bell peppers are rich in vitamins C, A, and B6, and contain folate, calcium, phosphorus, and fiber. They are also a good source of antioxidants including healthy carotenoids like beta-carotene and flavonoids, which have powerful anti-inflammatory benefits.
Applications
Mini Chocolate bell peppers are best suited for both raw and cooked applications such as baking, stuffing, grilling, and roasting. Their small size also makes them ideal for pickling and canning. When used fresh, they can be chopped into salsas, salads, and coleslaws, sliced and used on vegetable plates, or cored and consumed fresh. The peppers can also be stuffed with meat, grains, and vegetables and baked, roasted in the oven to develop a tender texture, cooked into omelets and quiches, used as a topping on pizza, or skewered on kabobs. Mini Chocolate bell peppers pair well with cheeses such as feta or parmesan, rice, quinoa, couscous, ground beef, poultry, sausage, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, onions, dried cherries, oranges, pine nuts, and light vinegar. Whole peppers will keep up to one week when wrapped loosely in plastic and stored in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator.
Ethnic/Cultural Info
Mini Chocolate bell pepper plants can grow up to sixty centimeters in height and are suitable for growing in small spaces and containers. They are a popular variety among home gardeners for their small size, sweet flavor, hardiness, and prolific nature. Mini Chocolate bell peppers are also versatile in many different culinary applications and are commonly stuffed with cabbage or pickled and canned in the Midwest of the United States.
Geography/History
The seeds for Mini Chocolate bell peppers were originally given to Seed Saver’s Exchange in 1981 by Lucina Cress, who had received them from an elderly friend in Ohio. In order to be considered an heirloom, a plant must be more than one hundred years old, and Mini Chocolate bell peppers had been grown by an Ohio family for a few generations before making their way to the public via Seed Saver’s Exchange. Through this seed repository, farmers and home gardeners have access to this heirloom variety as Mini Chocolate bell peppers aren’t commercially cultivated, but can be found through small farmers at local farmer’s markets throughout the United States. The peppers pictured above were grown by Weiser Family Farm in Southern California.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Mini Chocolate Bell Peppers. One
is easiest, three is harder.| Smitten Kitchen |
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Pickled Garlicky Peppers |
