Peppers come in many different sizes, shapes, flavors, and colors. Do you have a favorite color bell pepper?

Some peppers are sweet while other peppers are hot. Sweet peppers are popular among Americans, but hot peppers are very popular in Mexican, Indian, Thai and Spanish cooking. Have you ever eaten these types of cuisines? Experimenting with a new type of cooking is a fun way for you and your family to discover new foods and flavors!

Sweet Pepper There are four different varieties of sweet pepper: bell, banana, cubanelle and pimento. A neat thing about bell peppers is how they mature to various colors depending on the variety. The most common varieties of bell peppers will turn from green to red. As green peppers ripen on the vine, they become sweeter. Other varieties turn from green to yellow, green to orange, green to brown, or green to purple as they ripen.

Hot Peppers Hot peppers, or chili peppers, are very different from sweet peppers. They are much smaller and are very hot - too hot to eat in large quantities. Some of the more popular types of hot pepper include anaheim, habanero, jalapeno and serrano. Do you recognize any of these hot chili peppers?