Bell pepper: what it contains, how to use it in the kitchen and in home beauty

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Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum) is the sweet, hollow fruit of a nightshade grown as an annual. It is crisp, watery and very low in calories, and it turns up in salads, on the barbecue, in ratatouille and even in homemade hair and face masks. Here is which colour to pick, how to prepare it, and what to watch out for.

Bell pepper at a glance

What it is credited with

• Its very low calorie count and its bulk mean slimming diets have long made room for it, as a raw vegetable that fills the plate and satisfies quickly.
• Naturopathy credits the high water content with a refreshing, diuretic effect: it helps avoid water retention.
• Red bell pepper is the colour herbalists point to when tiredness sets in, since a single serving covers the day’s vitamin C needs. Perfect to avoid tiredness!
• Its antioxidant reputation — vitamin C, beta-carotene, luteolin — is the reason naturopathy places it among the everyday “anti-ageing” vegetables.
• Tradition treats it as a stomachic food: fibre plus water, eaten cooked, for people who feel heavy after meals.
• Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A in the body, which is why it has a reputation for skin glow and good eyesight in folk nutrition.
• Yellow bell pepper supplies vitamin B6, a nutrient involved in the normal working of the nervous system.
• Green bell pepper supplies vitamin K, a nutrient involved in normal blood clotting.
• Home beauty tradition uses it blended, both as a hair mask said to encourage growth and as a mask for blemish-prone skin.

How to use it

In the kitchen

• Raw, in salad: half a pepper per person, cut in thin strips. Peel it first if raw vegetables sit badly with you.
• Grilled: quarters on the barbecue or under the grill, skin side down, until the skin blisters and blackens. Peel, then dress with olive oil.
• Stuffed: one whole pepper per person, cap removed, filled with rice, onion, tomato, chicken and a couple of herbs, then baked until the flesh gives under a knife.
• Stewed: one or two peppers in a ratatouille with courgette, aubergine and tomato, simmered slowly until soft.
• Dried and powdered: red peppers only. Dry them until brittle, blitz to a powder and keep in a jar to season and decorate plates.

Easy peeling

• Heat whole peppers in the oven until the skins start to swell.
• Wrap them in damp paper towels and leave to cool.
• The skin comes away stuck to the paper.

Two home beauty recipes

• Hair mask: blend one green bell pepper with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Spread through the hair, leave 30 minutes, rinse well.
• Mask for blemish-prone skin: blend one bell pepper with one cucumber, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Apply on the face, avoid spreading too near the eyes. Leave 20 minutes, then rinse off.
• Patch-test both on the inner forearm the day before, and use them freshly made — blended raw fruit does not keep.

Frequently Asked Questions

The one thing to remember: eat it cooked and peeled if your digestion is delicate, and reach for red when you want the most vitamin C.

Which colour of bell pepper is the most nourishing?

Red, in most respects: it is fully ripe and carries around 126 mg of vitamin C per 3.5 oz (100 g), plus beta-carotene. Green is picked earlier and brings vitamin K, yellow brings vitamin B6. Mixing the colours on the plate is the simplest approach.

Why do raw peppers upset my stomach?

The skin is tough and hard to break down, and raw nightshade flesh can unsettle a fragile gut. Grill or bake the pepper, slip the skin off, and it becomes far gentler. Discarding the white pith and seeds helps too.

Does bell pepper really help with water retention?

Naturopathy credits it with a refreshing, diuretic action because it is about 90% water and very low in calories, and it is used in that spirit to help avoid water retention. It is a food habit, not a treatment. Anyone with kidney trouble or on diuretic medication should ask a healthcare professional.

When do I harvest my own bell peppers?

From midsummer to early autumn, about 5 to 6 months after sowing. Green ones are ready as soon as they have reached their mature size; leave them longer on the plant and they turn yellow, red, orange, violet or black according to variety.

This information is provided for general interest and reflects the traditional use of plants. It is not a substitute for medical advice. If you are on medication, pregnant, or in any doubt, ask a healthcare professional.