Capsicum (Capsicum annuum)

Known as “sweet bell peppers” in the United States, capsicums are a luscious and highly nutritious vegetable that are incredibly versatile in the kitchen.

- Terry Robson

Capsicums are part of the nightshade family and are from the same species that produce cayenne or chilli peppers. Technically, although we use them as a vegetable, capsicums are actually a fruit, and they are believed to have originated in South America. Christopher Columbus is credited with introducing the capsicum to Europe from where it spread to Africa and Asia. Today, capsicum is a favorite food the world over, and for very good reason.

Healing capsicum

It was from capsicum that scientist Albert Szent-Györgyi was first able to isolate the compound vitamin C in usable quantities. For a long time, it was known that citrus like oranges, lemons, and limes could prevent scurvy, which is vitamin C deficiency. Of course, in the early stages, it was not known that vitamin C existed, but just that citrus could prevent the dreadful symptoms of scurvy in sailors. By 1907, however, researchers Axel Holst and Alfred Frohlich proposed the existence of “vitamin C”, this substance that could be made by neither guinea pigs nor humans and lack of which led to scurvy. However, although orange juice and lemon juice have high levels of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), they contain sugars that make purification of vitamin C extremely difficult. So this “vitamin C” remained unisolated until in 1933 Szent-Györgyi managed it, deriving ascorbic acid from paprika made from capsicum. Vitamin C, however, is just the beginning of what capsicum has to offer.