this is going to be a real general answer. peppers start out green, then if left on the plant will ripen to a color, depending one the variety—red, orange, yellow, purple, brown, white, etc. there are tons of colors. so they sell a plant as a red pepper, because that variety will ripen red.
they cost more in the grocery, because they have to stay on the plant longer to color up;.
I was curious as to what the deal was with red bell pepper plants versus allowing green ones to ripen. I suppose that also explains why red and yellow ones are three times more expensive.
So apparently red bell peppers are just mature green bell peppers according to the internet-thingie. My question is, if that's true, why do they sell red bell pepper plants separately, and other varietals while we're on the topic?
Also from the internet....
Varieties
Peppers in 5 colors
The color can be green, red, yellow, orange and more rarely, brown, white, rainbow (between stages of ripening) lavender and dark purple, depending on the variety of pepper. Most typically, unripe fruit are green or, less commonly, pale yellow or purple. One variety, Permagreen, maintains its green color even when fully ripe. Some red, yellow, and orange peppers come from different seeds and are different cultivars of pepper. Some red peppers are simply ripened green peppers.<6> Green peppers are less sweet and slightly more bitter than yellow or orange peppers, with red bell peppers being the sweetest. The taste of ripe peppers can also vary with growing conditions and post-harvest storage treatment; the sweetest are fruit allowed to ripen fully on the plant in full sunshine, while fruit harvested green and after-ripened in storage are less sweet.
So apparently red bell peppers are just mature green bell peppers according to the internet-thingie. My question is, if that's true, why do they sell red bell pepper plants separately, and other varietals while we're on the topic?
