Capsicum Botanical Name: Capsicum annuum (Solanaceae)
General Description/History: - Member of the same family as the tomato, eggplant, pepino - Botanically a fruit The large, block-shaped fruit of C. annuum have a number of names, depending on the country. In Australia, they are called capsicums, in the UK, ‘peppers’, or ‘sweet peppers’, and in the US ‘bell peppers’. In other countries, such as Hungary and Poland, capsicums are called paprika, which is a key ingredient in goulash. In Australia, paprika more commonly refers to a dried powder, made from either the seeds or the whole fruit of C. annuum. The term ‘pepper’ is a little misleading as these fruit are mild to taste, not hot and spicy as the mane pepper denotes. Hot peppers are commonly called chillies. Capsicums are roughly block shaped, with 4 lobes, and are about 12 cm long and 6 to 10 cm in diameter. The stem end is indented and the stem is thick, curved and pale green. The skin is smooth and shiny and colours range from green to red, yellow, orange, dark purple and cream. Fruits are made up of thick fleshy walls that enclose hollow chambers that house the seeds. Common capsicums are sold as green, yellow or red – the green forms are immature forms of the yellow and red. Red capsicums are more mature and taste sweeter, as capsicums become milder as they mature, unlike many chillies. Capsicums continue to ripen after harvest, but they have a long shelf life.
Alternative Names: Chilli Paprika Peppers
Varieties: Please click pictures to see seasonality
Gourmet Orange	Gourmet Yellow	BullHorn Yellow
Long Sweet Yellow	Hungarian Capsicum	BullHorn Red
Long Sweet Mixed Colour	Green	Red
Yellow
Growing Areas: QLD - Bowen, Bundaberg, Burdekin, Gatton, Gympie, Redland Bay, Stan-thorpe NSW - Camden, Dareton, Far North Coast, Gosford, Griffith,Hunter Valley, Windsor VIC - Goulburn Valley, Sunraysia TAS - North, West and South SA - Adelaide Plains, Riverland WA - Perth Metropolitan Outer Areas NT - Darwin, Katherine
Preparation Videos: Red Chilli Flower
Nutritional Value: An excellent source of vitamin C. 100g of capsicum provides over seven times the daily recommended allowance of vitamin C. A good source of vitamin B6, E and potassium. Red capsicum contains 105kJ/100g and green capsicum 65kJ/100g.
Storage/Handling: 7-10°C and 90 - 98% relative humidity. Consumer Storage: Store in an airtight plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper.
Recipes: Baked Bruschetta with Vegie Toppers Spicy Vegetables with Couscous Vegetable Torte with Pumpkin and Couscous Pastry Steamed Spring Vegetables with Soy Honey Dressed Seafood Chorizo and Capsicum Spanish Omelette Grilled Garlic Mushrooms with Garlic Yogurt Dressing Cheesy Roasted Vegetable Filo Rolls Asparagus & Chicken Salad Spaghetti with Vegetables and Beans Roasted Capsicum and Olive Bruschetta Quick Vegetarian Pizza Spring Carrot Soup Scrumptious Vegetable Lasagne Pesto Vegetable Roast Vegetable Fettuccine with Bacon & Pine Nuts Quick Tomato & Capsicum Relish Roasted Capsicum Salad with Broad beans & Pulses Baked Spuds with Chilli Pumpkin Topper Ratatouille Mediterranean Salad with Tuna Sizzling Skewers Corn and Tomato Soup Thai Stuffed Omelette Chilli Vegetable Stir-Fry Stuffed Zucchini Flowers Capsicum and Corn Frittata Creamy Capsicum Dip Summer Crunch Salad