Why You Won’t Find a Green Pepper in a Bell Pepper Multi-Pack

The saying “eat colourful” is a very common one in today’s world and it is meant to remind you to eat healthily in order to get the widest variety of nutrients.

Sadly when you pick up a three-pack of bell peppers at your local grocery store, you might notice that they always have the same colour —red, yellow and orange while there's often a large display of single green peppers nearby.

Why is this done? We have the details.

Why You Won't Find a Green Pepper in a Bell Pepper Multi-Pack

There are two main reasons for this and they are listed below:

1.Economics

Green is the most common color of bell pepper, according to Robert Schueller, produce expert at Melissa's Produce. He said:

"The green variety of bell peppers is 40% cheaper on average. So putting one much cheaper pepper in a sealed package with costlier red, yellow and/or orange peppers gives customers the sense that they aren't getting a good deal."

It boils down to economics as far as Schueller is concerned. He said:

"You can buy the green ones in bulk and pay less overall.”

It has been noted that customers have not been happy about buying the green variety when it's bundled up with those fancier types and Schueller has found evidence to support the change in customer feedback.

He said: "Here at Melissa's Produce, we used to put our peppers in what we called ‘traffic stop' packs of red, green and yellow, but consumers pushed back. We had calls and emails, so we reconfigured our packages to include just red, yellow and orange."

2.Sweetness

If you're working with a recipe that demands cooked peppers, you're most likely in the market for green bell peppers. According to Schueller, "They tend to be viewed as a better choice for cooking," however for raw applications, most opt for the sweetness they can find in other varieties.

The sweetness varies by specific hue with the yellow and orange bell peppers being sweeter than the green variety, and a red bell pepper sweeter than all of them.

Because of this, cooks at home may decide to reserve the colorful, more expensive peppers for recipes that demand them to be eaten raw.

"They're so good as dippers for things like hummus or ranch dip," Schueller says.

Of course, you can also cook them, they're particularly great in roasted red peppers and onions, chili, fajitas and more.

Do you think green bell peppers should be included in the multipacks?