MYTH BUSTED: DESPITE WHAT TIKTOK SAYS, PEPPERS DON’T HAVE GENDERS

What is it about TikTok that makes everyone want to believe everything they see, despite ALL those “hacks” that don’t work?

A clip has gone viral on TikTok, claiming that “male and female peppers are meant to be eaten differently.”

The video claims:  THREE BUMPS on the bottom of a bell pepper means it’s male and is better for cooking.  FOUR BUMPS means it’s female and should be eaten raw because it’s sweeter.

That’s FALSE.  Peppers are fruits and don’t have different genders.  (Pepper plants have both male and female parts within the same flower.)

The different number of bumps doesn’t have any significance, and just signals a diverse variety of seeds or different growing conditions.

@shiftpixylabs Which do you prefer? Male or female? #bellpeppers #pepperfacts #grocerystoresecrets #cheftips #kicthentips #cookinghack ♬ Sleep Walk

The bumps also don’t matter for the taste, although the colour does.  Green bell peppers are harvested before they ripen, so yellow, orange, and red ones will be sweeter since they’re ripened.

(About half the commenters seem to believe the video, but there are some funny comments . . . like:  “The male peppers also tell you exactly what they want, instead of just expecting you to know.”)