A pimiento or pimento (or cherry pepper) is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

(''

Capsicum annuum ''Capsicum annuum'' is a species of the plant genus ''Capsicum'' native to southern North America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. This species is the most common and extensively cultivated of the five domesticated capsicums. The spec ...

'') that measures 3 to 4 in (7 to 10 cm) long and 2 to 3 in (5 to 7 cm) wide (medium, elongate). Pimientos can have various colours including yellow, green, red, and maroon. Some are green when immature and turn red when they reach maturity. The flesh of the pimiento is sweet, succulent, and more aromatic than that of the red

bell pepper The bell pepper (also known as paprika, sweet pepper, pepper, or capsicum ) is the fruit of plants in the Grossum Group of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. Cultivars of the plant produce fruits in different colors, including red, yellow, orange ...

. Some varieties of the pimiento type are hot, including the Floral Gem and Santa Fe Grande varieties. The fruits are typically used fresh or pickled.

Name

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

both come from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

; coloring") and came to be used for

s. The English borrowed "pimiento" and "pimento" as

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...

s for what is distinguished in Spanish as and in

as .

Stuffing

"Sweet" (i.e., neither sour nor savory) pimiento peppers are the familiar red stuffing found in prepared Spanish or Greek green

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

s. 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. In the

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

era, the cut pimiento was shot by a hydraulic pump into one end of each olive, simultaneously inserting the pimiento in the center while ejecting the pit out the other end. More recently, for ease of production, pimientos are often puréed then formed into tiny strips, with the help of a natural gum (such as

sodium alginate Alginic acid, also called algin, is a naturally occurring, edible polysaccharide found in brown algae. It is hydrophilic and forms a viscous gum when hydrated. With metals such as sodium and calcium, its salts are known as alginates. Its colou ...

guar gum Guar gum, also called guaran, is a galactomannan polysaccharide extracted from guar beans that has thickening and stabilizing properties useful in food, feed, and industrial applications. The guar seeds are mechanically dehusked, hydrated, mil ...

). This allows olive stuffing to be mechanized, speeding the process and lowering production costs.

Other uses

Pimientos are commonly used for making

pimento cheese Pimento (or pimiento) cheese is a spread most popularly made of cheese, mayonnaise and pimientos and served on crackers and vegetables or in sandwiches. A favorite of the cuisine of the Southern United States, it also is enjoyed elsewhere, with ...

. It is also used for making

pimento loaf Pimiento loaf, more commonly pimento loaf, also called pickle and pimiento loaf, pickle and pimento loaf, or P&P loaf, is a loaf-type luncheon meat containing finely chopped beef and pork, as well as chopped pickles and pimientos. After being f ...

, a type of processed sandwich meat.

References

*''Webster's Dictionary of the English Language – Unabridged Encyclopedic Edition'', Publishers International Press, New York, 1977. {{Capsicum Cultivars Capsicum cultivars Chili peppers Spanish words and phrases

Name

Stuffing

Other uses

See also

References