It seems that the bell pepper urban myth has been making the rounds. According to eHow and a sizeable number of blogs, word has it that there is such a thing as male and female bell peppers. Male bell peppers, the legend goes, have a three-lobed bottom and fewer seeds; female peppers have a four-lobed bottom and a lot more seeds. The urban myth goes on to suggest that female bell peppers are sweeter and therefore best eaten raw while male bell peppers are best cooked. The number of seeds in male and female fruits led blogger to the conclusion that male bell peppers are the frugal shopper’s better buy because there is more product and less waste.
Are these male and female bell peppers or bisexual bell peppers? Photo © J. Elke Ertle
When I shopped at Sprouts the other day I heard this urban myth for the first time. I placed my three bags of large fruit on the checkout counter when the lady behind me enlightened me on the male and female differences. I had never known this! It sounded so plausible. But a quick trip to the Internet painted a slightly different picture. After searching through a plethora of articles, I feel far more comfortable with Megan Stoddard’s explanation that bell peppers, like most flowering plants, produce bisexual flowers. In other words, the flowers, which eventually become the fruit, have both male and female parts. If you are an expert on the subject, please let me know. Until then I am with Megan Stoddard at http.//www.helpfulgardener.com. I think the existence of male and female bell peppers is an urban myth. I have to admit though – it had me going for a while.
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: bell peppers, male and female, plants, propagation, urban myth
