People are losing their minds over this pepper epiphany except it’s not quite as simple as that
10.
Yep. 4 bumps are female and better raw and 3 bumps are male and better cooked.
— Everyday Aimee (@EverydayAims) September 12, 2018
11.
Ok I did not know that and that is going to change my pepper eating habits forever
— Amy (@callmeamye) September 12, 2018
12.
I heard the same thing today about black and green olives! Black olives are just ripe green ones
— Rachel Morgan (@rachelmrgn) September 12, 2018
Except, this guy …
So this claim about peppers has gone viral. ⬇️
However as a botanist I can tell you it is also not true.
Neither is the (freakin’ weird) idea that some peppers are ‘male’ and others ‘female’.
Sorry to be ‘that guy’, but this is how it works…https://t.co/hlPDRPiAqP
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) September 14, 2018
Although it *is* true that green peppers are just unripe regular ones, yellow, orange and red peppers are all genetically different varieties at full maturity.
Their DNA predetermines the maximum amount of pigments they can produce, which creates this variation in colour. pic.twitter.com/g6zGi2YRgP
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) September 14, 2018
The internet is also perpetuating the weird ass idea that peppers come in ‘male’ and ‘female’ forms.
That would mean the fruit could sexually reproduce with each other. They can’t.
Fruit are basically swollen ovaries surrounding fetal plants. The sex happened *long* before. pic.twitter.com/Yj8P4imULQ
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) September 14, 2018
One thing you might not know though is that peppers and many chillies are indeed the SAME species.
Peppers just have a mutation that makes them incapable of producing the chemical capsaicin, which gives chillies their fieriness. pic.twitter.com/1MhnowaIAJ
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) September 14, 2018
So green, red and yellow peppers are, in fact, separate varieties of pepper?
— James Dyer (@jamescdyer) September 14, 2018
Well, they *all* start out green, but as they ripen their genes determine whether they produce yellow, orange or red pigments. White and purple varieties exist too, as well as some varieties that stay green even when fully ripe!
— James Wong (@Botanygeek) September 14, 2018
