They have thick flesh walls and a very mild taste. They are sweeter and have more aroma than bell peppers.
They are sold bottled or canned, as halves, strips or pieces. They are usually roasted and peeled.
Sometimes bottled red bell peppers are sold as Pimiento; they will be bright red with no orange about them, and will be less sweet.
Pimiento Peppers are frequently used as a stuffing for green olives. The ones used for stuffing are brined, puréed, and mixed with a gelatine-like substance to make a paste. Machines pit the green olives, extrude the paste as a ribbon, and automatically insert a piece of the pepper paste ribbon into the hole left in the centre of the olive. Machines can put and stuff up to 1,000 olives per minute.
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History Notes
The first attempts to grow Pimiento Peppers in America was in 1911 in Spalding County, Georgia.
Language Notes
“Pimiento” just means “pepper” in Spanish.