Avant Gardener: A pepper isn't a mango, in fact it isn't a pepper

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • April 9, 2013
  • 441
                        
Summary: In Ohio some people call bell peppers mangos. They’re not confusing them for the sweet orange fruit. There is a logical explanation to this. Bell peppers, especially green ones, are sometimes called mangos. This seems to be a regional thing and people all across Ohio, Indiana and even some in Illinois refer to the botanical fruit known in the scientific community as capsicum annuum a name that to me describes a deliciously sweet orange fruit. I had moved to Ohio as a young child and mostly learned to speak from my parents and brothers. It was later I heard the term mango when referencing a bell pepper. The same goes for sack when referring to a bag and I’m still not exactly sure what it means to stove a finger. Turns out mango used to be a term to describe a fruit or vegetable that had been pickled. Long ago the foods available to people from faraway places were typically preserved in some manner in order to extend their life. Pickling was a common form of food preservation and is still used today. With no refrigeration to speak of it would seem unlikely a pepper from Mexico or South America could make the trip north before it went terribly bad. It also turns out the term pepper when describing capsicum annuum is misguided as well and we can blame that bully explorer Chris Columbus for that. Upon arriving in the West Indies thinking he was in India he misidentified the spicy chiles eaten by the indigenous people as red pepper, an alternative to the black pods that we grind up and sprinkle on food. He named it pimiento, the Spanish word for black pepper. It didn’t take long for the fruit that is in culinary terms a vegetable to find its way all over the globe where it is enjoyed in many types of cuisine. A plant that had been cultivated since 7000 B.C. was, within a century, planted all over the world. Today the United States ranks fifth in green pepper production. China is the largest producer, followed by Mexico, Turkey and Indonesia. Peppers are relatively easy to grow in the home garden and like most nightshade plants like tomatoes, potatoes and eggplant prefer moist well drained soil with lots or organic matter. Peppers have a tendency to retain large amount of pesticides that cannot simply be washed off. Using organic growing methods prevents this and makes for a healthier pepper. Pepper starts can be planted outside once temperatures average around 70 degrees but never before the last frost date. They thrive in warm weather and prefer nighttime temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees. Flowers will not set if nighttime temperatures are above 86 degrees. Growing peppers does require patience as some varieties take up to 130 days to mature. Peppers are a good source of Thiamin, Niacin, Folate, Magnesium and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C with 177% of the recommended daily amount, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganese. Low in calories, one cup of raw green pepper has less than 30. The vitamin content of peppers increases as they mature making homegrown peppers the most nutritious if left on the plant until they reach their full maturity. It doesn’t matter if you call them mangos or peppers. Capsicum annuum in sweet and hot varieties should be included in the garden and in the diet.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load