Poll: Who hates green bell peppers?

[Robin Garr]

"Most cooks I know despise green bell peppers. They deride them as bitter, virtually inedible versions of their older, sweeter red or yellow or orange selves,” writer John Willoughby wrote in an Aug. 22 article headlined, The Virtues of Green Bell Peppers.

Whah? I like green peppers. I have discerned that Jenise likes them, and that David B does not.

But I was really surprised to learn that “most cooks” fall on the “Nay” side in this vote, until I posted the NYT article on Facebook this morning and got an earful.

So let’s talk about it here. Here’s a link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/dinin ... share&_r=0

And here’s a link to the Facebook discussion, which I’ve set as public:
https://www.facebook.com/robin.garr/pos ... 6554026793


What do you all think?

Don't like'em raw, but do like them stuffed and baked. Will also eat them cooked in various things, but not in other things.

I have to admit I cant stand them in most cooked dishes, particularly baked/stuffed and stir-fries.

But there are two notable exceptions: Italian sausage and peppers, and any Cajun/Creole dish that starts with their "holy trinity" mirepoix of green bell peppers, onions and celery.

I do quite enjoy them raw, though. And to a somewhat lesser extent, in tempura. Maybe because they're not heated long enough to draw out the bitter component.

[David M. Bueker]

Hate them. If there is a choice between eating green peppers and death I will really have to think about it.

I like 'em.

They're okay. Not passionate about them, but don't hate them either. And they are colorful on the plate.

Man years ago green peppers were decidely more...uh...peppery and green tasting, more pungent and herbal/vegetal flavored, and I didn't care for them as much. Now they've been bred so that they are milder, less "green", with less bitterness and more natural sweetness.

Not a big thing either way.

Now celery: I really hate celery. Especially raw celery, both the taste and the stringiness of it. I can abide it, but don't like it, in soups and such, but despise the raw stuff. And no, it doesn't taste okay with peanut butter or cream cheese on it.

I don't know. What's a "breen bell pepper"?

I've always liked them a lot, cooked or raw. I'm in the minority here, though, as both my wife and daughter will not eat them cooked in any dish (although they'll eat them raw).

Wonder if this is one of those genetic taste issues?

Love 'em but can't figure out why I hate cabernet with pronounced green bell pepper taste ???

Hate them. If there is a choice between eating green peppers and death I will really have to think about it.

Would a sauvignon blanc chaser help make up your mind?

[Robin Garr]

I don't know. What's a "breen bell pepper"?

I have no idea what you are talking about.

[David M. Bueker]

Hate them. If there is a choice between eating green peppers and death I will really have to think about it.

Would a sauvignon blanc chaser help make up your mind?

Yes. I choose death!

They're not my favorite capsicum by any measure, but I like them well enough and use them in my cooking. Jean's not so fond of them, and neither is our son. This leads me to think that its a pyrazine thing, tying into David B's well-documented aversion to Sauvignon.

Mark Lipton

Never thought much about it; certainly don't hate them.

Not bitter, tougher than orange/red ones but less sweet and crisper.

But peppers in UK come from Holland grown hydroponically so may have less flavour.

However I have a pepper bush in my greenhouse, I've cooked with one green one and maybe I'll tase next one raw.

I like to use yelley/orange ones because of the colour they add

[Jenise]

As Robin said, I love them. As a kid raw/sliced/salted were one of my favorite snacks (I was a dream child in spite of my white food aversion--I loved all vegetables). So much so that, a few months shy of my 4th birthday, when I was at the store with my mom I picked up a jalapeno and asked if it was a green bell pepper. My mom said, "just like them, but these are hot." Well I had it in my little hand and it wasn't hot at all! So I took a big bite. FIRE!

And that is how we learn things.

I don't mind green peppers, but for some reason I never buy them. As the NYT article mentions, because they are less popular they may be less likely to appear in the farmers markets. I absolutely love red, yellow and orange peppers, and buy loads this time of year. But that article had me stop and think that I never really see the green ones. But it gave me some ideas in case I do run across them!

[Jenise]

Best peppers of all? The ones that are dark green and getting some red streaks on the shoulders, and within that category when the red is a vivid scarlet and not orange-yellow. Those peppers will have both the sharpest, most focused flavor of all peppers I know. It was an end of season thing when I was a child and before solid red peppers became so popular, but reliably available at a certain time of year yet now that things like peppers are grown commercially on such a large basis, the peppers I like best aren't "what the public wants", are graded 'imperfects', and so only tend to show up at the little ethnic produce stands where the other than Grade A stuff gets sloughed off to. One of the best examples of why it's so rewarding to shop those little markets, IMO.

Love 'em..more than death.. Preferably stuffed with some starch and meat.

I really like them cooked, although my wife doesn't. I prefer red peppers raw, though. I've never seen the point of yellow, white or purple bell peppers, except for the colour. They don't seem to have as much flavour as either red or green.

[Jenise]

I really like them cooked, although my wife doesn't. I prefer red peppers raw, though. I've never seen the point of yellow, white or purple bell peppers, except for the colour. They don't seem to have as much flavour as either red or green.

Yellow are probably the least flavorful. However my biggest complaint about both yellow and orange is that they tend to be softer, less crisp. Big loss IMO.

I so dislike any bell peppers, I don't even want to be in the room where they are being cut. Green seem to be the strongest smell, with others still not pleasant to me. That said, I can eat them, but would much prefer them be omitted. Certainly not near considering death as an option. Cooked is not as bad as raw. During working days when I would buy takeout salads from from local restaurants for lunch, I could tell if even one piece of bell pepper was in there, visible or not, as soon as I opened the clamshell back at the office. Much of my family love them, my grandfather would eat them out of hand like an apple, and no one else has such an aversion. I would love to know why.

In addition to kale, green bell peppers are a food that I have come to really enjoy after years and years of avoiding and "hating".

Barely passable in sausage and peppers but that is about it.