Paprika: That’s Where the Different Colors Come From

Peppers come in different colors and shapes. In this article, you will find out why the vegetables are so colorful and change their color over time.

Bell peppers – an explanation of the different colors

If you plant peppers in your garden, you have certainly decided on a certain variety.

• Peppers are available, for example, 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 unripe 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 variable contains more pigments, a green pepper will first turn yellow during ripening and then orange or bright red, depending on the variety.

Vitamin content changes during maturation

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

• Even an unripe, green pepper brings plenty of vitamin C with it. However, the content of the healthy vitamin increases significantly during maturation. Red bell peppers bring the most vitamin C.
• At the same time, the sugar content increases as the pod mature. Because of this, green peppers taste less sweet than ripe pods. On the other hand, green peppers also contain fewer calories.
• Peppers are not only good suppliers of vitamins. The pods still bring some of the mineral potassium with them. Here, too, the content changes during maturation.
• While 100g of green peppers contains 175mg of potassium, the red version has 260mg.