SEARCH FOR MENTIONS of green bell pepper online and you’ll find fighting words: “detestable,” “NASTY,” “the worst!” Haters, take heed: Chefs are reclaiming the bittersweet nightshade. “That’s our job: to help you realize it’s [bleeping] delicious,” said Doug Adams, chef-owner of Bullard in Portland, Ore.Green peppers owe their divisive pungency to 2-methoxy-3-isobutylpyrazine, a compound so odoriferous we detect it at minuscule levels. It lessens in concentration as peppers ripen; hence the mellower flavor of a red pepper,...

Source: Wall Street Journal February 20, 2019 19:18 UTC