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Morrón, pimentón, ají, chile, guindilla,… the names used in Latin America for peppers are manifold. Pepper or the dried and ground variety, paprika, is one of the foundations of the different Latin American cuisines. The consumption, both fresh and preserved, is now spread around the world.
In Agrosol Export, fresh pepper is one of our most popular products. You want to know the secrets of this healthy food? We will tell you…
Ir a la tienda1,25 €Did you know that just 50 grams of pepper provides you with all of your recommended daily vitamin C? Peppers are a natural vitamin complex, with high fibre and low fat. They are a source of vitamins and minerals and should be a staple in your diet.
Peppers as a source of fibre
Peppers have a high water content (94%) and low calorie and fat content, and can form part of a hypocaloric diet provided that you don’t add fats when you cook. Because they have high levels of fibre, eating peppers increases the feeling of fullness that helps to lose weight and prevents constipation.
Rich in vitamins and minerals
Retinol (vitamin A), thiamine (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacin (vitamin B3), B6, C, K… These are all vitamins that peppers add to your diet. Let’s take a look at vitamin B6 and vitamin C: 100 grams of pepper provides 26% and 200% of your recommended daily intake respectively. And no, that second zero isn’t a mistake. Just 50 grams of pepper gives you all the vitamin C you need for your day-to-day…
Peppers contain calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and zinc, and will help you reach your recommended mineral intake. Being low in sodium, they are also recommended to people suffering from hypertension.
Other benefits of peppers
Peppers are rich in antioxidants and counter the effects of free radicals, combating the effects of aging. They are rich in folate, which is beneficial to both pregnant women and growing children. Being rich in potassium and low in sodium, they are diuretic and combat hypertension, kidney stones and fluid retention.
One of the benefits of peppers we sometimes forget is that their intense flavour reduces the need for salt in meals, which is great news for people with cardiovascular illnesses, kidney disease or hypertensive heart disease.
There are a wide variety of peppers in the world. What we usually eat are the fruit of different species of the genus Capsicum, from the Solanaceae family. Within this genus there are many varieties of hot pepper like the habanero or the Bhut jolokia. In Europe, the species most commonly grown for consumption is the Capsicum annuum.
Be careful with different pepper varieties
In Spain we know the whole family as peppers and sometimes use the word guindilla (chilli) to refer to the hot ones, but really the variety is a lot bigger. Unlike tomatoes or cucumbers where you just grow different varieties of the same species, peppers are many species from the genus Capsicum. It’s worth learning the difference, particularly for those who don’t know the hot ones. .
As you can see by the species Capsicum annuum, there is more to this family than the sweet peppers we grow at Agrosol Export. Hot peppers such as padrón peppers, cayenne peppers and jalapeño peppers also belong to this species. Even hotter are the varieties of the species Capsicum chinense. If you don’t know the habanero or the Bhut jolokia then spice isn’t for you. The latter is one of the hottest peppers in the world.
If you want to see the consequences of eating a Bhut jolokia then just search for “Ghost Pepper Challenge” (as it is more commonly known) on Youtube. Don’t panic, although they are 200 times hotter than Padrón peppers, they aren’t poisonous. The people in the videos survive in the end…
Optimum conditions for growing peppers
To grow peppers you need an average temperature of around 20 degrees centigrade, with little change. High humidity isn’t a necessity but it is important to have lots of light. The Agrosol greenhouses are blessed with the famous Andalusian sun and a controlled environment, which guarantees optimum germination, growth and ripening of the fruit.
Agrosol Export peppers
At Agrosol we grow three types of pepper: California, Ramiro Rojo and Sweet Bite:
Cuidado con las distintas variedades de pimiento
En España conocemos a toda la familia como pimiento y, en ocasiones, usamos el término guindilla para referirnos a las variedades picantes pero lo cierto es que la variedad de este fruto es mucho más amplia. A diferencia del tomate o el pepino, donde sólo se cultivan distintas variedades de una misma especie, en el pimiento se consumen varias especies del género Capsicum. Y conviene diferenciarlas, especialmente para los que no están acostumbrados al picante.
En el caso de la especie Capsicum Annuum, no sólo encontramos los pimientos dulces que cultivamos en Agrosol Export, también pertenecen a esta especie los pimientos de Padrón, la cayena o el jalapeño, que sí son picantes. Aún más picantes son las variedades de la especie Capsicum chinense. Si no te suena el habanero o el naga jolokia es que no eres un amante del picante. En el caso de este último, nos encontramos con uno de los pimientos más picantes del planeta.
Si queréis ver las consecuencias de la ingesta del naga jolokia, en Youtube es fácil encontrarlas si buscamos “Ghost Pepper Challenge” pues Ghost Pepper (Pimiento Fantasma) es como se conoce en inglés. Tranquilos, aunque es 200 veces más picante que los pimientos de Padrón, no es venenoso. Al final los protagonistas de los vídeos sobreviven…
El cultivo óptimo del pimiento
Para cultivar pimiento se necesita una temperatura media cercana a los 20 grados centígrados, sin excesivos cambios. No es necesario que la tasa de humedad sea muy alta pero sí que exista una gran cantidad de luz. Los invernaderos de Agrosol disfrutan del famoso sol de Andalucía y de un entorno controlado que garantizan la óptima germinación, crecimiento y maduración del fruto.
El pimiento de Agrosol Export
En Agrosol cultivamos tres variedades de pimiento, California, Ramiro Rojo y Sweet Bite:
Peppers have been grown and eaten by man for over 6000 years. In Mesoamerica they weren’t just consumed directly, but were used as a base for other recipes such as hot cocoa.
When Cristobal Colón arrived in America, he named the fruit “pepper” after its similarity in taste to black pepper, which was one of the things that inspired his travels. Unlike other fruits such as tomatoes, which took decades to be widely accepted as an edible food, the pepper’s popularity spread rapidly following its arrival in Spain in 1493.
Both sweet and hot peppers have permanently changed the face of gastronomy in Europe, China and India. So much so that in some regions of India, it is thought that peppers have been around for thousands of years when in reality they only started to be used there after their importation to Europe by Colón.
Peppers provide some of the highest levels of vitamin C of any food; with more than double the amount of an orange of the same weight. If you want to incorporate this vegetable into your diet, try one of these recipes:
STUFFED PEPPERS
This simple recipe is a delicious way to incorporate protein and vitamins into your diet.
ROAST PEPPER AND TUNA SALAD
You can enjoy peppers without adding any extra fat by roasting them. This can be done by cooking them in the oven, or if you’re short on time, in the microwave. They can be eaten hot, or in a salad once they have cooled, like this recipe.
CHICKEN WITH MULTICOLOURED PEPPERS
Red and green peppers provide different proportions of vitamins, and combining them with chicken makes a great tasting, healthy dish. The soy sauce gives the meal a delicious Asian touch, which can be intensified by adding typical Asian spices.
Serving suggestion: This is a very healthy, simple dish. The combination of soy sauce with the peppers is delicious, and you can adjust the amount of sauce as you please. Serve hot and enjoy!
China is the leading global producer of peppers, although India is the leading producer of dried pepper. Mexico, Turkey and Indonesia are also significant global producers. Spain has increased its production in recent years and is now in the top 5 producing countries.
One of the most obvious global trends in pepper consumption is the increased use of hot peppers thanks to the popularity of Mexican and Indian food. In Europe, sweet peppers, which contain no capsaicin (the substance that gives peppers their heat), are the most popular.