A wide variety of peppers work well as pizza toppings. Add to the flavour, colour and nutrition in your fast food by ordering with peppers.
It’s really no surprise, given the flavour profile of peppers, that they're a popular pizza topping. So, if you want to make an impact with pizza, make it a green pepper pizza. Or a red, orange, or yellow pepper pizza.
Pick a peck of the right peppers
Peppers, called capsicums elsewhere in the Commonwealth, are often cultivated in pots. They are popular because of their fresh, sweet, and distinctive taste. There are three main types of peppers.
- Hot peppers are distinctive for their spicy taste; they are long and thin and have fine, thin tips.
- Mild peppers have a less intense flavor; they resemble their spicier cousins.
- Sweet bell peppers are sweet, of course, and have many distinctive shapes and sizes; they can be triangular, square, or bell shaped.
In the majority of pizzerias, green pepper pizza is a classic that is appreciated by pizza lovers of all ages and backgrounds. But other kinds of peppers on pizza are equally good and can add an element of distinction to dinner. Here are a few suggestions.
- The jalapeno pepper. This oblong spicy pepper is known for changing colour, from green to a deep red, upon maturity. It is originally from the Mexican village of Jalapa. It’s a long, thin pepper that usually measures anywhere from five to nine cm in length. When dried and diced, the pepper can greatly enhance your pizza, either in the sauce or as a topping. Jalapeno peppers generally rate as a five or six out of 10 on the Scoville scale, which measures peppers’ spiciness.
- The cayenne pepper. Long, flat, and pointy, this pepper is originally from Mexico and Central America. Like the jalapeno, it goes from green to a bright red in maturity. It can be eaten as is, or dried and ground into powder. It measures an eight on the Scoville scale.
- The habanero pepper. This is a small, round, lantern-shaped pepper from Mexico. It can come in red, yellow, or greenish-orange and can be eaten fresh or added to the tomato sauce for some pizazz. The habanero is the spiciest pepper in the spectrum, measuring a full 10 out of 10 on the Scoville scale.
True or false?
After eating a spicy hot pepper, you’ll feel a distinct burning and a level of heat in your mouth that you may not have been ready for. You may think drinking a glass of water will ease the burn, but the water won’t help.
In fact, the pepper’s spicy flavour comes from capsaicin, which does not dissolve in water. Next time you’re eating a hot pepper, have it with something high in fat, like cheese, milk, or yogurt.
