Pimento

A pimento, also spelt pimiento, is a mild, sweet red pepper, often heart-shaped. It is sold fresh, roasted in jars or chopped and packed into green olives.

No: pimento peppers are mild, with a sweet, rounded flavour rather than the heat of a chilli. They work well when you want pepper flavour without much bite.

Put them under a hot grill, turning until the skins are blistered and blackened all over. Cover for about 10 minutes to loosen the skins, then peel, remove the seeds and drain away the juices.

Stir chopped, drained pimentos into pimento cheese, egg mayonnaise or potato salad, or add them to a Spanish omelette. They are also commonly used to stuff green olives.

For dips, salads or sandwiches, use roasted red pepper from a jar, drained and chopped; it has a similar sweet, smoky flavour. Fresh red sweet pepper is a good substitute in cooked dishes, though it will be crunchier unless you roast it first.

Keep fresh pimentos unwashed in the fridge’s vegetable drawer and use them while they are firm and glossy. Once a jar is opened, keep the peppers submerged in their liquid in a covered container in the fridge.

A pimento is a type of red pepper, but the name usually means a particular mild, sweet variety. Jarred pimentos are often roasted and peeled, while fresh red peppers are commonly sold whole and unprepared.