As I was cutting these red bell peppers this morning, I was surprised when an open cut on my hand started stinging really bad -- as if I had been cutting onions or hot peppers! I knew it wasn't the water on the peppers because I just took a shower and I had washed my hands without feeling any pain at all. I'm guessing the pain was caused by the trace amounts of capsaicin found inside the bell peppers.
Red bell peppers, like their close relatives the hot peppers, contain capsaicin. Capsaicin is what makes peppers hot, however the bell peppers have a recessive gene that eliminates the capsaicin and allows us to eat an entire pepper without our mouth catching on fire.
Red bell peppers are an amazing food and contain a huge array of vitamins and minerals. They are very high in vitamin C (higher than oranges!), contain high levels of antioxidants, and have more beta-carotene than green or yellow peppers.