Peppers : GARDEN FRESH : A Palette Full of Peppers

Some peppers are perfect clotheshorses, trying on this hue, now that, until they’re satisfied. In fact, if you left the green pepper named Blue Jay on its bush, it would in turn cloak itself in lilac, then grape, then pale orange before settling into plum red.

Actually, only in America are green peppers the norm. Europeans are mystified by our use of green peppers, the way we’d be if they chose to cook green tomatoes rather than red. Red, orange and gold sweet peppers are not only sweeter and milder in flavor, but their vitamin content is much higher.

Peppers in purples, however, are still on their way to turning red. Close your eyes and taste one and they’re green--which they turn when cooked. Sweet Chocolate peppers, on the other hand, ripen rich chocolate brown, with warm red flesh beneath that’s slightly spicy--certainly not chocolate-y.

So you can imagine the spectrum of peppers that exists, something you’ll never see at any market. And there are plenty more shapes than blocky bells. There are bells twice as long as they are wide. There are peppers shaped like bananas, cherries, apples, tops and hearts, and like the horns of rams and bulls. There are peppers with thin walls and thick walls and walls in between. There are peppers whose shapes make them ideal for slicing, stuffing, frying, pickling and turning into paprika. All in peacock’s colors.

Colors. Once in my college boarding house I was served a white plate heaped with mashed potatoes, fillet of sole, coleslaw and strips of daikon radish. The flavors may have been appealing, but I never found out--I lost my appetite over all that nasty white. If only the cook had had the wit to toss a ring of sweet red pepper on the plate. Better, red and green and gold. A small gesture, but crucial.

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Invaluable is the kaleidoscope of ripe sweet peppers! Something about the dazzle makes our mouths water. And isn’t that the hope when we set food on the table?

Come spring, we can sow seeds of brilliant sweet peppers. Thinking about which to choose is a bit like leafing through a dozen Christmas catalogues. Things were calmer when you didn’t know such treasure troves existed.

You can grow any pepper you want in glorious color if you have four months of sunny days in the 70s, nights in the 60s, light fertile soil, ample water and no pepper diseases in the neighborhood. If you’re that lucky, then try the brilliant array of Dutch and French sweet peppers from Shepherd’s--a seed company esteemed for the flavor and quality of their offerings. All bell-shaped, Quadrato d’Oro is rich gold; Vidi is intense deep red; Ariane is glowing orange, and Lilac Belle and Ivory Charm speak for themselves. A pinch of each of these seeds comes in Shepherd’s Rainbow Pepper Collection--the seeds are pricey, so grow them with care.

If you have all the requisites for growing fine peppers except a long season, try earlier cultivars such as Earliest Red Sweet or Cadice for red bells, Gold Crest for gold.

If you have the soil and water but less warmth than you could hope for, there’s always good old Gypsy. My first successful peppers grown in coolish Malibu were Gypsies--as they were here in my garden in the San Jacinto Mountains. They’re an All America Selection, which means they can be expected to produce peppers throughout the country. Thin-walled and shaped like a longish top, hybrid Gypsy is yellow when unripe, turning bright orange-red. They are tasty. Although not as exciting as some of the flashiest, there are seasons and places when any peppers in the garden are exciting.

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When you’re choosing which cultivars to grow, be aware that the number of days listed in the seed catalogue isn’t days to glowing color, not at all. Customarily, the days are from setting pepper seedlings into the garden until the first fruits--which will be green and likely bitter. Allow at least another week to reach the sweet green stage--when the pepper has attained its size. You can tell because it will have the smooth, filled-out look of young maturity rather than an adolescent’s air of still growing into its skin.

Then for the fruit to reach luscious red, orange or gold, you must patiently wait another four to six weeks. Harvest peppers by snipping them off the bush--never pull on a fruit, or the whole plant can come with it.

Before ordering seeds, inquire locally if there’s any pepper disease so you can choose a resistant cultivar.

Wherever you live, sow seeds indoors in early spring. Here’s the schedule: allow 10 day to 20 days for germination, six weeks to grow to transplanting size (although, if their roots have ample room, you can stretch this to nine or 10), and a week for hardening off (setting plants outdoors every day, then bringing them in at night).

Peppers are particularly sensitive to temperature. If you’re serious about growing the spiffiest plants, read about giving seedlings the cold treatment in the catalogue from Johnny’s Selected Seeds (the source of Gold Crest and Sweet Chocolate and delicious rich red Lipstick).

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Where there’s frost, don’t rush peppers into the ground. They’ll just sit and pout. Wait about two weeks after the frost-free date. In the warm interior of Southern California, set plants in the garden from the time the soil is 65 degrees (four inches deep) through June. Along the coast, transplant June through July. Sift wood ashes around the young plants to keep cutworms at bay.

Don’t stash peppers in a vegetable patch. Usually around two feet tall, the plants are handsome upright bushes with glossy dark green leaves and small white bells of blossoms that catch the sunlight. Some plants even carry their fruit high, like candles. Mix sweet peppers with blue cornflowers and a riot of zinnias, with alyssum lacy at their feet. (To ward off problems in the soil, be sure to rotate the peppers through the garden, so three or four years pass before they return to a spot.) A particularly fine choice for flower beds is Yolo Wonder, dense foliage hung with blocky green fruits that ripen red.

Given basic needs, there are two more secrets to the successful growing of ripe sweet peppers. The first is in their leaves. All things being equal, the plant produces fruit in direct ratio to the number and vitality of its leaves. It’s a complex metabolic business, but if you choose cultivars described as being leafy and nurture a great leafy canopy, you’ll have splendid peppers.

The second secret is in the pinching. You must sacrifice all the first fruits--just close your eyes and nip them off. This pushes the pepper-making factory into high gear and you’ll get a much bigger harvest. Then, if your season is short, around the end of August, remove all flowers and small fruits, so the factory will pour its resources into bringing along the fruit it’s got.

When the soil warms up, mulch (fine wood chips are handsomest). Spray with a kelp-and-fish solution once before the plants flower (more nitrogen than that, and you’ll get leaves instead of flowers). Spritz off aphids with water. If there are tiny holes (signs of flea beetles), cover the plants with floating row covers--flowers don’t need to be pollinated by insects. Watch for snails and pull all weeds.

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If you have chipmunks, squirrels, field mice, voles, rabbits and quail in your garden, I beseech you to shelter your seedlings in 1/2-inch chicken wire as you plant them, or they may not be there in the morning. If it’s a bad rodent year--as this one is--the cage must stay in place for the duration.

If you live where there is no frost, peppers will be perennial in your garden. If you get frost and you have plants you can’t bear to part with, pot them up and keep them where you keep the geraniums over winter--in a cool, dark place. Water them just enough to keep roots from drying out. In spring, back into the ground they go.

So then just think: However good your pepper dish looked and tasted in green, it will be a hundred times richer, warmer, and more appealing when the peppers are ripe.

Sources:

Fresh--farmers markets and grocery stores with fine produce sections.

Seeds--Cadice and Rainbow Pepper Collection: Shepherd’s Garden Seeds, 30 Irene St., Torrington, Conn. 06790. Gypsy: Territorial Seed Co., 20 Palmer Ave., Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424. Gold Crest, Sweet Chocolate and detailed growing instructions: Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Foss Hill Road, Albion, Me. 04810. Others mentioned, among 60 colorful peppers: Stokes Seeds, Box 548, Buffalo, N.Y. 14240.

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The jar on the shelf at the Balkan delicatessen labeled Hot Ajvar (AI-var) held an extraordinary bright orange puree. Contents listed were peppers, eggplant, spices and salt. Its flavor proved to be as bright as its color, and tangy-sweet. Ajvar is traditionally heaped over fresh creamy cheese on dark bread and served with Greek olives. Great colors. In my recipe (which, I dare say, lacks only the undertaste the canning process gives), lemon juice takes the place of what I assume is sour salt--citric acid--a country substitute for lemons, and fresh garlic replaces powdered.

From Riga to Roma to Ankara, there are many forms of relishes made of peppers and/or eggplant. The rich sweetness of each enhances the other’s. Usually the vegetables are grilled or roasted, which gives a pleasing char but dulls the color--prepared that way, ajvar is brick red. The closest thing I know to ajvar is what my Russian-born grandmother called peasant caviar, the melting flesh of long-roasted eggplant seasoned with finely chopped raw onions and sometimes sweet peppers, olive oil and vinegar.

The relish would be equally compelling were it in soft orange or gold--chocolate red I’m not sure of. This sort of thing is always better after a day or two in the refrigerator. Serve with anything from lavash crackers to pita to dark bread.

By the way, to preserve the pristine paleness of eggplant’s flesh--most metals discolor it--use only a stainless - steel knife, let only the skin touch a metal steamer, and test for tenderness with a wood pick.

AJVAR (Ripe Sweet Pepper Relish)

2 1/4 pounds sweet red peppers

1 (12-ounce) eggplant

2 large cloves garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Oil

Core and seed peppers, slice in inch-wide strips and steam until very tender, about 35 minutes. Puree in blender or food processor until very smooth. To thicken, turn into large nonreactive skillet and simmer over lowest heat, stirring frequently. Cook until spoon cuts swath through puree, revealing pan, about 20 minutes. Set aside. There should be about 2 cups.

Trim off eggplant stem and cut lengthwise into 1 1/2-inch-wide wedges. Steam eggplant with garlic until very tender, about 30 minutes. Set aside garlic. Peel eggplant, leaving purple flesh behind, then puree until very smooth. Add 1/2 cup eggplant puree to pepper puree in mixing bowl.

Put garlic through press into bowl, then add lemon juice, paprika and cayenne. Whisk until blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn into container, film top with oil to keep out air, cover tightly and refrigerate. Spoon off oil before serving. (Save oil for leftover to keep air out, then use in salad.) Serve at room temperature. Makes 2 1/2 cups, about 20 servings.

Each serving contains about:

19 calories; 17 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.42 gram fiber.