Become a pepper pro with this guide

Peppers are divided into groups according to their shape: cherry peppers, cone peppers (in the form of a cone), cluster peppers, sweet peppers, bell peppers, and very spicy long peppers. Here are some tips for learning to distinguish this exciting veggie variety.

• Most chillies and peppers belong to the species Capsicum annuum, a carrier of the torrid gene that produces capsaicin.
• There are hundreds of varieties identified worldwide, discovered through long, extensive work selecting them. Each was chosen for its climatic tolerance, colour, size, shape, strength of pungency and aroma, which can range from notes of citrus and prune to smoky, coffee or grape, almond or tobacco notes.
• Some varieties are more popular and more common than others. This is the case of the little cayenne pepper.
• A little less brutal, the red chilli is also more elongated. Serrano is an old, cylindrical variety, ranging from green to red, and rather spicy, used in Mexico in salsas, guacamole and condiments (pickled).
• For condiments, you can use Italian Sweet, which is less spicy than the former pepper. Original because of the yellow colour, Hot Gold Spicke has great taste.
• To prepare Caribbean cuisine, grow Antillais, a fragrant pepper with lumpy contours.
• Finally, do not forget the Espelette pepper, typical of the Basque Country. Regarding bell peppers, "Clio" gives red peppers, and "Ludo F1" is green and turns red when ripe, like Esterel F1.
• All these varieties of Capsicum annuum are edible, and they should not be confused with potted plants such as the Jerusalem cherry , with round red or bright orange fruits resembling chilli peppers, but are toxic.

• Besides C. annuum, there are other species such as C. baccatum, originally from Ecuador and Peru, which includes the Peruvian yellow pepper "Aji Amarillo", which is sharp and burning, or the Christmas bell pepper, which goes from yellow to red and looks like a crumpled bell.
• The rocoto pepper (C. pubescens), native to Mexico, is very spicy and has a bulb shape, with black seeds.
• The species C. chinense brings together some of the spiciest varieties including "Habanero" and "Scotch Bonnet", but also the sweet pepper "Rocatillo".
• Present naturally in Central America and the southwest United States, the small bird's eye chilli peppers (C. annuum var. aviculare syn. C. at . var. glabriusculum) are also called "chiltepin". They are extremely strong. "Tabasco" is the best known variety of C. frutescens , named after the Mexican state of Tabasco, where it arrived from the United States in the 1840s. This small, very spicy pepper varies from yellow-green to orange or red.

The peppers are delicious in cuisine and enhance the flavour of your dishes. Be careful as they can be very strong, and use them sparingly.