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What We Raise, When It's Ripe
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Peppers are our favorite vegetable to grow. The fruit are brightly colored, lovely to look at, easy to pick and wonderful to eat.
The most familiar sweet pepper is the standard bell pepper picked at the "green-ripe" stage of maturity - that is - after the peppers have reached full size but before they ripen and the seeds mature. (One can become confused here. In the English language, the word "green" includes two different meanings that we use when describing peppers. "Green" can mean a color and can also mean a stage of maturity. We will use "green-ripe" to indicate the stage of maturity, and "green" to indicate the color.) Fresh, crisp, juicy green-ripe peppers have the familiar distinctive flavor characteristic of the stage of maturity, not the color of the pepper. At The Tree Farm we raise several varieties of sweet peppers. Many are green at the green-ripe stage, others are yellow, purple or even such a dark purple that they are nearly black.
Peppers change color when they ripen. Fruit that are green when immature may ripen to yellow, orange, red or even a rich brown. Ripe peppers retain their color when cooked, unlike green-ripe peppers, which may not. Ripe peppers are often used to add color as well as flavor to foods. Ripe peppers are quite sweet.
Sweet peppers come in a range of shapes and sizes. Some varieties are 4 to 6 lobed and relatively short, giving the "blocky" appearance that is popular for stuffed peppers in this country. Others are longer and have only three or four lobes.
Long, slender, conical Cubanelle peppers and Italian frying peppers are popular for frying, particularly with people from the Caribbean basin and from South Eastern Europe. They are used at either the green-ripe or ripe stage. Cubanelles are yellow green at the green-ripe stage, orange red when ripe. Italian frying peppers are dark green ripening to red.
Season. The first few green-ripe bell and Cubanelle peppers are usually ready to pick in very late July at The Tree Farm. Throughout August, the supply increases steadily. A few ripe fruit may appear by the end of August. All kinds of peppers at all stages of maturity are usually available by the second week in September. The pepper season ends when a hard frost kills the plants.
Picking peppers. Peppers are easy to pick. Sometimes it is necessary to look under the canopy to find them, but they are so big and colorful that they are hard to miss. To pick peppers, select firm, glossy peppers and gently twist and pull until the pepper comes off the plant. Gently, because the pepper plants themselves are quite brittle and can be broken easily.
Uses of peppers. Green-ripe and ripe peppers are great cut into strips for finger food. They are also excellent in salads and relish trays. Slices of pepper add a wonderful crunch and flavor to a sandwich or a taco filling. They dress up a table with their attractive colors. Peppers are an important ingredient in many kinds of cooked dishes, including stuffed peppers, casseroles, chili, stir fries, shish kebob, omelets and many others. Cubanelles are often fried in olive oil with garlic and served either warm or cold. Peppers usually enhance the flavor of any dish that includes tomatoes.
Freezing peppers. Peppers are easy to freeze. They do not require blanching. Many people simply seed and chop them before putting them into the freezer. Others cut them in halves, remove the seeds, and stack the halves for the freezer. Frozen peppers retain their flavor but not their texture.
The Tree Farm
The Pick Your Own Vegetables Place
Cut your own Christmas Trees on December Weekends
In Northwestern Dane County, Wisconsin, serving Madison and the surrounding area
8454 Highway 19
Cross Plains, WI 53528
608.798.2286
Updated May 7, 2009
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www.thetreefarm.org