Bell pepper

An Introduction
Bell pepper is a large, crisp, bell-shaped fruit of the pepper family. This cultivar of the species capsicum annuum is consumed in raw as well as in cooked form. Available in different bright colours ncluding red, yellow, green and orange, this sweet fleshed members of the pepper family is also cultivated as an ornamental plant in many parts of the globe.

A native to Northern-South America, Central America and Mexico, bell peppers are sometimes grouped with less pungent pepper varieties as “sweet peppers”. In 1493 traders carried pepper seeds to Spain and later they were introduced in other European and Asian countries. Even today, the list of major bell pepper producers is topped by Mexico.

Bell Pepper in Different Languages
In majority of nations, this bell-shaped edible fruit is known by the names of “bell pepper” or “capsicum” or “pepper”, irrespective of its colour. In Great Britain, it is termed as “pepper”; whereas in other Commonwealth of Nations countries, including India, Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand, it is known as “capsicum”.

The name for this fruit in French is “poivron”; whereas in the United States and Canada, the fruit is often referred to simply as a “pepper” or referred to by color (e.g. “red pepper”, “green pepper”), although the more specific term “bell pepper” is understood in most regions.