Why is red bell pepper called Bulgarian? Its chemical composition, useful properties and harm when used. Recipes for dishes from a berry that looks like a vegetable, interesting facts and the history of garden culture. Due to its low calorie content and rich vitamin and mineral composition, red bell pepper is used in weight loss diets as a vitamin supplement. When introduced into a pumpkin diet, those losing weight with insufficient willpower can avoid breakdowns - the taste of dishes becomes much more pleasant and the need for sweets is satisfied.
Benefits of Red Sweet Pepper
The introduction of red sweet pepper into the diet has a positive effect on the state of the human body.
The benefits of red bell peppers are as follows:
- Prevention of anemia, improvement of blood composition.
- Increasing the immune status, stopping the activity of viruses during the season of epidemics.
- Increasing the tone of the vascular walls - it is especially useful to introduce this product into the diet for rosacea and frequent bleeding from the nose and gums.
- Improving the quality of skin and hair, stabilizing the regenerative function of the epithelium and the work of hair follicles. The use of red pepper prevents early baldness.
- The positive effect on the optic nerve helps to slow down age-related changes associated with the quality of vision.
- Lowering blood pressure, thinning blood - due to which it is recommended to introduce the product into the diet for varicose veins and arterial hypertension.
- Stimulation of the digestive tract and cleansing it from the accumulation of toxins due to the content of dietary fiber.
- Acceleration of metabolic processes in the body, which helps the breakdown of the subcutaneous fat.
- Stimulates the production of digestive juices, bile and pancreatic enzymes.
- Increasing attention and improving memory, eliminating insomnia.
- Increased stress resistance. Prevents the development of depression, relieves chronic fatigue.
- Normalization of blood glucose levels, reduction of cravings for sweets.
Red bell peppers are useful during pregnancy - they contain a lot of calcium. One fruit of red pepper a day completely replenishes the body's need for ascorbic acid.
Harm and contraindications to the use of red sweet pepper
When using red sweet pepper, contraindications are due to the tonic effect on the body.
This product should not be consumed raw in the following situations:
- With gastritis with high acidity, erosive damage to the esophagus and intestines, peptic ulcer and colitis. Alkaloids and phytoncides irritate the delicate mucous membrane lining the digestive tract.
- Ischemic disease, acute hypertension.
- With hemorrhoids, acute kidney and liver diseases.
- Children under 2 years of age - the intestinal flora is not yet ready to assimilate this product, digestive disorders may develop. Two or three bell peppers, eaten at a time, can provoke intestinal obstruction in a baby.
Relative contraindications to the introduction of red sweet pepper into the diet are:
- Epilepsy. When abused, the nervous system becomes agitated, which can worsen the condition - epileptic seizures become more frequent.
- Bronchial asthma at the stage of exacerbation - the fetus contains a high amount of essential oils, which can provoke a spasm of the bronchial branches.
If you have problems with your teeth, then you should stop eating red sweet pepper baked on the grill - with this method of heat treatment, it has a negative effect on tooth enamel.
The harm from consumption is often caused not by the chemical composition, but by the pesticides and nitrates that were used to grow the crop. To reduce the negative reaction when used in food, you must first remove the thin skin. Boiled and stewed red peppers without skin have no absolute contraindications for use.
Red Sweet Pepper Recipes
When preparing red bell peppers, the partitions are ruthlessly removed along with the seeds. You should not do this - the seeds must be removed carefully, leaving partitions. They contain the highest amount of nutrients, including ascorbic acid.
Red Sweet Pepper Recipes:
- Pepper in tomato for the winter … Red bell pepper (1.7 kg) is peeled from seeds, the stalk is removed, cut into thin strips lengthwise. You must try to make them the same so that they are evenly saturated with the dressing. Peel the head of garlic, cut the cloves in half, mix with salt (2 tablespoons) and any peppers (1 tablespoon of the pepper mixture). Tomato juice (1 liter) is put on the fire, apple or grape vinegar is added - 2, 5 tablespoons, granulated sugar is added - 5 tablespoons, brought to a boil, sliced pepper is put there and simmered for 10 minutes over low heat. Then it is laid out in sterilized jars and rolled up with sterilized lids.
- Lecho … For the preparation of lecho, it is advisable to use the varieties of pepper "Red Tail", "Bogatyr" or "Red Cube". Pepper fruits (1, 5 kg) are peeled from seeds and cut into 4 parts. Onions (0.6 kg) are cut into half rings. Stir the slices, pour in tomato juice - 1 liter, put on the stove and wait for it to boil, constantly stirring with a wooden spoon. After boiling, add salt - 1 tablespoon, sugar - 1-1, 5 tablespoons, garlic cloves - 4-5 pieces, peppercorns. Boil everything for 10 minutes over low heat, then distribute in sterilized jars and roll up.
- Stew … Chicken fillet (500 g) is cut into small cubes or strips, 200 g of red bell pepper, peeled from seeds and cut into even strips, are added to it. Chicken fillet is fried until golden brown in sunflower oil; a golden crust should appear on each piece. Fry strips of red pepper in the same pan and remove them. The fillet is laid out again and simmered over low heat, adding a little chicken broth or tomato juice. 10 minutes before the final readiness, pepper, crushed garlic are spread in the chicken fillet and pour over the sauce. For the sauce, mix a third of a glass of soy sauce with the same amount of boiled water, a teaspoon of starch - better than potato, and a tablespoon of sugar. The best side dish for stews is boiled brown rice.
- Cold appetizer … The seeds and stalk are removed from the red pepper, the core is removed from the dense tomatoes to maintain their shape. Mix cottage cheese - dryish so that it does not drain, garlic, finely chopped dill and parsley, a little mayonnaise, black pepper and salt. It is necessary to obtain a homogeneous mixture. Peppers and tomatoes are stuffed with cottage cheese paste, put on the refrigerator shelf for 2 hours. Before serving, the peppers are cut into rings and the tomatoes are divided into 4 parts.
- Salad … Pepper (300-400 g) is peeled from seeds and cut into half rings. The apples are peeled, cored and diced. It is desirable that after cutting, red pepper turns out to be 2 times more than apples, the volume is determined by eye. In the salad, you need to crumble greens - a bunch of green onions, a few lettuce leaves, 4-5 sprigs of parsley. Dressing - salt, pepper and vegetable oil (olive or corn).
- Cocktail … It is advisable to introduce a vitamin drink into a diet for weight loss, replacing it with breakfast or dinner.5-6 fleshy juicy tomatoes, 1 fresh cucumber and 2 fleshy red bell peppers, peeled from seeds, are chopped in a blender until completely homogeneous. Add a clove of garlic, a bunch of parsley, half a bunch of basil, a sprig of celery and turn on the blender again. It is better to refrain from salt - to improve the taste, you can pour a little lemon juice or soy sauce into the blender bowl.
To make the dishes tasty, it is important to choose the right pepper. The main criterion for the acquisition is a smooth red, like varnish, skin, dense elastic walls, no black dots or white spots. If the transparent skin peels off, you need to refuse to buy the product - it is already starting to deteriorate.
Interesting facts about red bell peppers
Red bell peppers are native to Central America. There he is still found in the wild. Judging by the finds of archaeologists, the Incas and Indians who lived in the territory of modern Peru and Mexico used it as food. Already 9000 years ago, the healing properties of the plant were assessed - in a dried state, warriors took it on long campaigns.
For the first time, Columbus' physician wrote about red pepper in 1494 - this was learned from the ship's log. True, the wild red pepper was not so fleshy and sweet, but it tasted different from the bitter red pepper, as it was more spicy.
The product was brought to the territory of the Russian Empire in the 16th century, from Iran and Turkey. It gained popularity and wide distribution as a garden culture in the nineteenth century.
The name "Bulgarian" red pepper was given because the preservation of various types with this product in the USSR came from Bulgaria. But one cannot but appreciate the contribution of Bulgarian breeders to the quality of this type of nightshade - they were the ones who bred large-fruited meaty varieties.
Culinary experts attribute red bell peppers to vegetables, and biologists call it a false berry, because the fruit is thick-walled and hollow, like some vegetables, but it contains many seeds.
When planning pregnancy, sweet red pepper should be included in the diet - a rich vitamin and mineral composition will replenish the body's reserve of nutrients, without which the formation of a fetus is impossible. In addition, eating one fruit a day increases the chance of conceiving a boy.
How to cook sweet red peppers - watch the video:
You can replenish the body with vitamins with the help of red bell pepper all year round - it is perfectly stored. If the fruits are laid in layers in a box, sprinkled with dry and clean river sand or wrapped in parchment paper, and then put the box in a cellar with a constant temperature of + 1 + 5 degrees, then the beneficial properties are preserved for six months.
