Pimiento

Pimentos grow in hardiness zones 4 through 12.^[1]

Like most peppers, immature pimento pods are green and develop other colors, including yellow, green, red, and maroon, as they reach maturity.^[2]

The flesh of the pimiento is sweet, succulent, and more aromatic than that of the red bell pepper.^{[citation needed]} Some varieties of the pimiento type are hot, including the Floral Gem and Santa Fe Grande varieties.^{[citation needed]}

Spanish pimiento and Portuguese pimento both come from Latin pigmentum ("pigment; coloring") and came to be used for bell peppers. The English borrowed "pimiento" and "pimento" as loanwords for what is distinguished in Spanish as pimentón and in Portuguese as pimentão.^{[citation needed]}

In Jamaican English pimento usually refers to allspice (Pimenta dioica).^[3]

Pimiento peppers are the familiar red stuffing found in prepared Spanish or Greek green olives. 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.

Today, for ease of production, pimientos are often puréed, then formed into tiny strips with the help of a natural gum (such as sodium alginate or guar 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 making pimento cheese.^[6][7][8][9] They are also used for making pimento loaf, a type of processed sandwich meat.

• List of Capsicum cultivars