Paprika: That's where the different colors come from

Bell peppers come in different colors and shapes. In this article you will learn why the vegetables are so colorful and change their color over time.

Peppers - an explanation of the different colors

If you plant peppers in your garden, you have definitely chosen a particular variety.

For example, peppers are available as round pods or as pointed peppers. There are also peppers in different colors. Some plants produce red peppers, while other pods are orange or even light yellow.
However, peppers only get their final color when they are really ripe.
Unripe peppers are always green - regardless of the variety. The green color comes from the high chlorophyll content of the immature pods.
Depending on the variety, peppers contain different amounts of carotenoids. These are fat-soluble pigments. These only appear when the pod breaks down the green chlorophyll during the ripening process.
Depending on the variety, a ripe pepper is then light yellow, which indicates a low carotenoid content.
If the variety contains more pigments, a green bell pepper first turns yellow during ripening and then, depending on the variety, orange or bright red.

Not only does the color change during the ripening of the peppers.

Even an unripe, green pepper brings plenty of vitamin C. However, the content of the healthy vitamin increases significantly during ripening. Red peppers bring the most vitamin C.
At the same time, the sugar content increases when the pod ripens. For this reason, green peppers taste less sweet than ripe pods. For this, green peppers also contain slightly fewer calories.
Peppers are not just good sources of vitamins. The pods also bring a lot of the mineral potassium with them. Here, too, the content changes during ripening.
While 100g of green peppers contain 175mg of potassium, the red version already has 260mg.

Like other vegetables, peppers can be easily and easily fermented. You can find out exactly how in a further article.