| Pimiento | |
|---|---|
 Pimiento peppers | |
| Species | Capsicum annuum |
| Cultivar | Pimiento |
| Heat |  Mild |
| Scoville scale | 100–500 SHU |
Apimiento orpimento orcherry pepper is a variety of large, red, heart-shapedchili pepper (Capsicum annuum) that measures 7–10 centimetres (3–4 inches) long and 2–3 centimetres (3⁄4–1+1⁄4 inches) wide (medium, elongate).
Pimientos can have various colors including yellow, green, red, and maroon. Like most peppers, immature pods are green and develop other colors as they reach maturity.[1]
The flesh of the pimiento is sweet, succulent, and more aromatic than that of the redbell pepper. Some varieties of the pimiento type are hot, including the Floral Gem and Santa Fe Grande varieties.
Peppers grow inhardiness zones 4 through 12.[2]
Spanishpimiento andPortuguesepimento both come fromLatinpigmentum ("pigment; coloring") and came to be used forbell peppers. The Englishborrowed "pimiento" and "pimento" asloanwords for what is distinguished in Spanish aspimentón and inPortuguese aspimentão.[citation needed]
InJamaican Englishpimento usually refers toallspice (Pimenta dioica).[3]
"Sweet" (i.e., neither sour nor savory) pimiento peppers are the familiar red stuffing found in prepared Spanish or Greek greenolives. Originally, the pimiento was hand-cut into tiny pieces, then hand-stuffed into each olive to balance out the olive's otherwise strong, salty flavor. Despite the popularity of the combination, this production method was very costly and time-intensive.
More recently, for ease of production, pimientos are often puréed, then formed into tiny strips with the help of a natural gum (such assodium alginate orguar gum). This allows olive stuffing to be mechanized, speeding the process and lowering production costs.[4][5]
The fruits are typically used fresh as a salad ingredient, cooked, or pickled.
Pimientos are commonly used for makingpimento cheese.[6][7][8][9] It is also used for makingpimento loaf, a type of processed sandwich meat.
