Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

So, after work last Wednesday night, I went to the local Wegman's (a
huge supermarket) and I bought the fixings to make homemade pasta salad
for a party I attended yesterday.

I bought one green bell pepper, a medium onion, and two packs of those
grape tomatoes (because they were on sale). I picked up a jar of light
mayo and some white vinegar.

I got home and I put my groceries on the kitchen counter in the plastic
bags in which they were packed. I did not buy anything that needed
refrigeration so I just left the stuff on the counter for later use.

My plan was to make the pasta salad on Friday night after work to serve
at the pot luck party I attended yesterday afternoon. As it happened, I
didn't get home from work until pretty late on Friday because I went out
to dinner with a friend after work.

By the time I got home, I was tired and I wanted to fiddle around with
Windows Vista, which I installed on my MacBook Pro that afternoon, so I
went to bed and started to try out the new OS on my laptop. Before I
knew it, it was midnight and I was way too tired to start any cooking,
so I never made the pasta salad.

I ended up running to the store on Saturday morning prior to the party
and I purchased a couple of containers of pre-made pasta salad. So, that
left me with an onion and a green pepper sitting on my counter. I didn't
cook anything for dinner last night, nor did I even enter my kitchen at
all yesterday.

So, after I spent today studying for the final exam for a graduate
course I am taking, I decided I would use that onion and green pepper to
make up a batch of my world famous tuna salad to eat for dinner tonight
and tomorrow night.

I got out that green pepper and much to my surprise, it had mostly
turned orange. Why would it do that? Anyway, the pepper looked fine,
otherwise, so I diced it up, and the onion, and I dumped the vegetables
into a big bowl, added three big tablespoons worth of the low fat mayo,
a splash of vinegar, some Penzey's dried parsley, Penzey's onion powder,
and Penzey's celery seed, plush a bit of ground pepper. Then I mixed the
tuna up thoroughly and let it sit while some rye bread reached a toasty
state. The result was quite good, but I didn't know what leaving a green
pepper in a dark room in a plastic bag (which was opened) would cause it
to change color! I guess that's where those different colored bell
peppers come from. So what would cause a bell pepper to turn red or
yellow?

Anyway, I guess I should sign off for the night and get back to my
studying. Sigh!

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 20:05:26 -0500, Stan Horwitz >
wrote:

>I guess that's where those different colored bell
>peppers come from. So what would cause a bell pepper to turn red or
>yellow?

Green peppers are unripe peppers...they naturally turn color when they
ripen,to whatever color the variety is...whether it be red, orange,
yellow, purple or whatever. Your pepper just happened to ripen... ;)
There is nothing wrong with it....

Christine

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

Stan Horwitz wrote:
> So, after work last Wednesday night, I went to the local Wegman's (a
> huge supermarket) and I bought the fixings to make homemade pasta salad
> for a party I attended yesterday.
>
> I bought one green bell pepper, a medium onion, and two packs of those
> grape tomatoes (because they were on sale). I picked up a jar of light
> mayo and some white vinegar.
>
> I got home and I put my groceries on the kitchen counter in the plastic
> bags in which they were packed. I did not buy anything that needed
> refrigeration so I just left the stuff on the counter for later use.
>
> My plan was to make the pasta salad on Friday night after work to serve
> at the pot luck party I attended yesterday afternoon. As it happened, I
> didn't get home from work until pretty late on Friday because I went out
> to dinner with a friend after work.
>
> By the time I got home, I was tired and I wanted to fiddle around with
> Windows Vista, which I installed on my MacBook Pro that afternoon, so I
> went to bed and started to try out the new OS on my laptop. Before I
> knew it, it was midnight and I was way too tired to start any cooking,
> so I never made the pasta salad.
>
> I ended up running to the store on Saturday morning prior to the party
> and I purchased a couple of containers of pre-made pasta salad. So, that
> left me with an onion and a green pepper sitting on my counter. I didn't
> cook anything for dinner last night, nor did I even enter my kitchen at
> all yesterday.
>
> So, after I spent today studying for the final exam for a graduate
> course I am taking, I decided I would use that onion and green pepper to
> make up a batch of my world famous tuna salad to eat for dinner tonight
> and tomorrow night.
>
> I got out that green pepper and much to my surprise, it had mostly
> turned orange. Why would it do that? Anyway, the pepper looked fine,
> otherwise, so I diced it up, and the onion, and I dumped the vegetables
> into a big bowl, added three big tablespoons worth of the low fat mayo,
> a splash of vinegar, some Penzey's dried parsley, Penzey's onion powder,
> and Penzey's celery seed, plush a bit of ground pepper. Then I mixed the
> tuna up thoroughly and let it sit while some rye bread reached a toasty
> state. The result was quite good, but I didn't know what leaving a green
> pepper in a dark room in a plastic bag (which was opened) would cause it
> to change color! I guess that's where those different colored bell
> peppers come from. So what would cause a bell pepper to turn red or
> yellow?
>
> Anyway, I guess I should sign off for the night and get back to my
> studying. Sigh!

Green bell peppers turn another color to ripen, generally red but
sometimes to an intermediate stage of yellow then red. The green is just
an unripe pepper. When fully ripe they are loaded with vitamins and are
actually better for you and the taste changes to a much better flavor IMHO.

George

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

George Shirley wrote:
> Stan Horwitz wrote:
>
>> So, after work last Wednesday night, I went to the local Wegman's (a
>> huge supermarket) and I bought the fixings to make homemade pasta
>> salad for a party I attended yesterday.
>> I bought one green bell pepper, a medium onion, and two packs of those
>> grape tomatoes (because they were on sale). I picked up a jar of light
>> mayo and some white vinegar.
>>
>> I got home and I put my groceries on the kitchen counter in the
>> plastic bags in which they were packed. I did not buy anything that
>> needed refrigeration so I just left the stuff on the counter for later
>> use.
>> My plan was to make the pasta salad on Friday night after work to
>> serve at the pot luck party I attended yesterday afternoon. As it
>> happened, I didn't get home from work until pretty late on Friday
>> because I went out to dinner with a friend after work.
>> By the time I got home, I was tired and I wanted to fiddle around with
>> Windows Vista, which I installed on my MacBook Pro that afternoon, so
>> I went to bed and started to try out the new OS on my laptop. Before I
>> knew it, it was midnight and I was way too tired to start any cooking,
>> so I never made the pasta salad.
>>
>> I ended up running to the store on Saturday morning prior to the party
>> and I purchased a couple of containers of pre-made pasta salad. So,
>> that left me with an onion and a green pepper sitting on my counter. I
>> didn't cook anything for dinner last night, nor did I even enter my
>> kitchen at all yesterday.
>>
>> So, after I spent today studying for the final exam for a graduate
>> course I am taking, I decided I would use that onion and green pepper
>> to make up a batch of my world famous tuna salad to eat for dinner
>> tonight and tomorrow night.
>>
>> I got out that green pepper and much to my surprise, it had mostly
>> turned orange. Why would it do that? Anyway, the pepper looked fine,
>> otherwise, so I diced it up, and the onion, and I dumped the
>> vegetables into a big bowl, added three big tablespoons worth of the
>> low fat mayo, a splash of vinegar, some Penzey's dried parsley,
>> Penzey's onion powder, and Penzey's celery seed, plush a bit of ground
>> pepper. Then I mixed the tuna up thoroughly and let it sit while some
>> rye bread reached a toasty state. The result was quite good, but I
>> didn't know what leaving a green pepper in a dark room in a plastic
>> bag (which was opened) would cause it to change color! I guess that's
>> where those different colored bell peppers come from. So what would
>> cause a bell pepper to turn red or yellow?
>>
>> Anyway, I guess I should sign off for the night and get back to my
>> studying. Sigh!
>
>
> Green bell peppers turn another color to ripen, generally red but
> sometimes to an intermediate stage of yellow then red. The green is just
> an unripe pepper. When fully ripe they are loaded with vitamins and are
> actually better for you and the taste changes to a much better flavor IMHO.
>
> George
>
Forgot to add that the pepper left in a plastic bag will ripen faster.
The plastic is polyethylene and will still off gas a bit, ethylene gas
will ripen fruit and vegetables. Apples off gas ethylene gas too, so put
an apple in the bag with whatever you want to ripen and it will do so
quicker.

George

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

"George Shirley" > wrote

> George Shirley wrote:
>> Stan Horwitz wrote:

>>> I got out that green pepper and much to my surprise, it had mostly
>>> turned orange. Why would it do that?

> Forgot to add that the pepper left in a plastic bag will ripen faster. The
> plastic is polyethylene and will still off gas a bit, ethylene gas will
> ripen fruit and vegetables. Apples off gas ethylene gas too, so put an
> apple in the bag with whatever you want to ripen and it will do so
> quicker.

I suspect the nearby onion helped matters.

nancy

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

Nancy Young wrote on 10 Dec 2006 in rec.food.cooking

> I suspect the nearby onion helped matters.
>
> nancy
>

Onions or garlic, I find will help most things, except Ice Cream.

I have Spoken....That and a dollar and a half will get you coffee most
anywhere.

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

"Mr Libido Incognito" > wrote

> Nancy Young wrote on 10 Dec 2006 in rec.food.cooking
>
>> I suspect the nearby onion helped matters.

> Onions or garlic, I find will help most things, except Ice Cream.
>
> I have Spoken....That and a dollar and a half will get you coffee most
> anywhere.

(laugh) If you say it, it's so, though I understand garlic ice cream is
pretty
good.

nancy

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

Steve Wertz wrote:
> On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:16:53 -0600, George Shirley wrote:
>
> > Forgot to add that the pepper left in a plastic bag will ripen faster.
> > The plastic is polyethylene and will still off gas a bit, ethylene gas
> > will ripen fruit and vegetables. Apples off gas ethylene gas too, so put
> > an apple in the bag with whatever you want to ripen and it will do so
> > quicker.
>
> I've never had a green pepper ripen after I got it home (nor do
> they do this at the store), but this sounds a like something to
> try. Since I much prefer the taste of ripe capsicums over unripe
> green ones. And the price of green bells are usually 1/3rd the
> price of ripe ones.
>
> My understanding is that the ripe ones are more expensive because
> picking the peppers earlier encourages new growth. A pepper
> plant will spit of 2-03 times more peppers when picked green than
> when picked red (or yellow).
>
> Are produce purveyors simply gassing their green peppers to make
> them red or yellow - givin them the same yeild as the green
> peppers? If it were that easy, I'd think we's see more of the
> red and yellows and at a lower price.

To my knowledge bell peppers do not ripen further once picked. I think
Stan simply didn't notice that the pepper he chose had an orange area,
and how would he remember correctly after leaving that poor pepper out
on the counter so many days hidden from view in a plastic bag... I'm
surprised it hadn't begun to rot... bell pepeprs should be kept
refrigerated.

Sheldon

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

On 10 Dec 2006 18:38:28 -0800, "Sheldon" > wrote:

>To my knowledge bell peppers do not ripen further once picked.

They do....really.
Try it sometime...

Christine

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

Nancy Young wrote:
> "Mr Libido Incognito" > wrote
>
>> Nancy Young wrote on 10 Dec 2006 in rec.food.cooking
>>
>>> I suspect the nearby onion helped matters.
>
>> Onions or garlic, I find will help most things, except Ice Cream.
>>
>> I have Spoken....That and a dollar and a half will get you coffee most
>> anywhere.
>
> (laugh) If you say it, it's so, though I understand garlic ice cream is
> pretty
> good.
>
> nancy
>
>

I don't know about that, but I know that the garlicky ice my freezer is
putting out isn't that great in drinks..lol..I have baking soda in my
freezer...don't know why it smells.


--
Easter has been canceled. They found the body.
- The Dresden Files

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

In article . com>,
"Sheldon" > wrote:

> Steve Wertz wrote:
> > On Sun, 10 Dec 2006 19:16:53 -0600, George Shirley wrote:
> >
> > > Forgot to add that the pepper left in a plastic bag will ripen faster.
> > > The plastic is polyethylene and will still off gas a bit, ethylene gas
> > > will ripen fruit and vegetables. Apples off gas ethylene gas too, so put
> > > an apple in the bag with whatever you want to ripen and it will do so
> > > quicker.
> >
> > I've never had a green pepper ripen after I got it home (nor do
> > they do this at the store), but this sounds a like something to
> > try. Since I much prefer the taste of ripe capsicums over unripe
> > green ones. And the price of green bells are usually 1/3rd the
> > price of ripe ones.
> >
> > My understanding is that the ripe ones are more expensive because
> > picking the peppers earlier encourages new growth. A pepper
> > plant will spit of 2-03 times more peppers when picked green than
> > when picked red (or yellow).
> >
> > Are produce purveyors simply gassing their green peppers to make
> > them red or yellow - givin them the same yeild as the green
> > peppers? If it were that easy, I'd think we's see more of the
> > red and yellows and at a lower price.
>
> To my knowledge bell peppers do not ripen further once picked. I think
> Stan simply didn't notice that the pepper he chose had an orange area,
> and how would he remember correctly after leaving that poor pepper out
> on the counter so many days hidden from view in a plastic bag... I'm
> surprised it hadn't begun to rot... bell pepeprs should be kept
> refrigerated.

The pepper I wrote about was definitely completely green when I bought
it. I am very picky when I select fresh produce. Since I prefer green
peppers over the other kinds of bell peppers, I would not have bought
that pepper if it wasn't completely green.

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

In article >,
Mr Libido Incognito > wrote:

> Nancy Young wrote on 10 Dec 2006 in rec.food.cooking
>
> > I suspect the nearby onion helped matters.
> >
> > nancy
> >
>
> Onions or garlic, I find will help most things, except Ice Cream.
>
> I have Spoken....That and a dollar and a half will get you coffee most
> anywhere.

The only place I know of that sells a cup of coffee for less then $4 a
cup is McDonalds. Than again, I loath coffee, so I am not expert.

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

Stan Horwitz > wrote:

> "Sheldon" > wrote:

>> To my knowledge bell peppers do not ripen further once picked. I think
>> Stan simply didn't notice that the pepper he chose had an orange area,
>> and how would he remember correctly after leaving that poor pepper out
>> on the counter so many days hidden from view in a plastic bag... I'm
>> surprised it hadn't begun to rot... bell pepeprs should be kept
>> refrigerated.

>The pepper I wrote about was definitely completely green when I bought
>it. I am very picky when I select fresh produce. Since I prefer green
>peppers over the other kinds of bell peppers, I would not have bought
>that pepper if it wasn't completely green.

Is it possible it was green on one side, and red on the other,
and you hadn't noticed?

Is it possible you exposed the pepper to hydrogen sulfide gas?

Steve

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

Steve Pope wrote:
> Stan Horwitz wrote:
> > "Sheldon" wrote:
>
> >> To my knowledge bell peppers do not ripen further once picked. I think
> >> Stan simply didn't notice that the pepper he chose had an orange area,
> >> and how would he remember correctly after leaving that poor pepper out
> >> on the counter so many days hidden from view in a plastic bag... I'm
> >> surprised it hadn't begun to rot... bell pepeprs should be kept
> >> refrigerated.
>
> >The pepper I wrote about was definitely completely green when I bought
> >it. I am very picky when I select fresh produce. Since I prefer green
> >peppers over the other kinds of bell peppers, I would not have bought
> >that pepper if it wasn't completely green.
>
> Is it possible it was green on one side, and red on the other,
> and you hadn't noticed?

It's a pretty silly point to argue... no matter what Stan will never
agree that it's possible, just possible that he was mistaken and that
pepper had a bit of orange on one portion... you just don't know Mr.
Stan Rigid. Many times I've bought peppers thinking they were all
entirely green simply because green peppers were what I had in mind,
but lo and behold when I got them home and washed them (I always wash
produce before it goes into the fridge) one had a blush of red/orange
on one portion... in fact now that I think about it this has occured
very often becaue for many years I would shop for produce at a Hispanic
market and they would typically carry untrue to type produce... often
times I choose produce by heft and feel more than by sight. Also I
never would have left bell peppers out on my counter, most definitely
would have been washed, lovingly dried, and placed directly into the
fridge veggie bin. Stan never looked into that bag from the time he
placed it on his counter until days later... no way he has the
slightest inkling what that pepper looked like with any degree of
certainty at time of purchase... for all we know it was actually a
cantaloupe.

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

Stan Horwitz wrote:
>
> The pepper I wrote about was definitely completely green when I bought
> it. I am very picky when I select fresh produce. Since I prefer green
> peppers over the other kinds of bell peppers, I would not have bought
> that pepper if it wasn't completely green.

I'm the other way 'round. I consider it a bonus if I find green
peppers that have begun to ripen and turn color. We grow bell peppers
some summers and like them from green to yellow or orange or red
depending on ripeness and variety. Usually they do not ripen further
or change color after picking, but I suppose that if a long piece of
stem were left on and it was picked just the instant before it was
about to ripen it might fool itself under the conditions you describe.
Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it, though. -aem

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

"aem" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I'm the other way 'round. I consider it a bonus if I find green
> peppers that have begun to ripen and turn color. We grow bell peppers
> some summers and like them from green to yellow or orange or red
> depending on ripeness and variety. Usually they do not ripen further
> or change color after picking, but I suppose that if a long piece of
> stem were left on and it was picked just the instant before it was
> about to ripen it might fool itself under the conditions you describe.
> Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it, though. -aem


I've had bell peppers get some color after picking. They were left in a
basket on the counter and not refrigerated though.


Ms P

Low brow dinner and bell pepper question
 

ms_peacock wrote:
> "aem" > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>> I'm the other way 'round. I consider it a bonus if I find green
>> peppers that have begun to ripen and turn color. We grow bell peppers
>> some summers and like them from green to yellow or orange or red
>> depending on ripeness and variety. Usually they do not ripen further
>> or change color after picking, but I suppose that if a long piece of
>> stem were left on and it was picked just the instant before it was
>> about to ripen it might fool itself under the conditions you describe.
>> Maybe. I wouldn't bet on it, though. -aem
>
>
> I've had bell peppers get some color after picking. They were left in a
> basket on the counter and not refrigerated though.
>
>
> Ms P
>
>


I have had them turn color also, just before getting wrinkly and
beginning to spoil.

gloria p