Do they all turn red?

Whitewookie

Whitewookie

Probably a silly question, but do all peppers eventually turn red, orange, yellow, etc. when fully ripe or are some best picked when still green.  Reason I ask is that I have some chilies that are getting pretty large... 8-10 inch pods, and they are still a very deep green with no sign of red.  Same with jalapenos, I have some that are really large, but still green.
 
So will they all eventually turn or should some be picked green like bells?
 
Thanks for you help and patience.
Harold
 
It depends on the variety, I have some serrano peppers that I picked green and let some turn red to see the difference.  I liked them red a lot, little hotter and sweeter.  I believe they will all eventually turn a color.  Heat and flavor change when they get ripe.  So some might be better if picked green like a bell, or ghost peppers to me are a lot better if you let them go red.
 
In my experience, they all turn to one of the ripe colors, yellow, red, gold, orange, brown, etc etc.
 
It's the "wait" that you're dealing with now. And this is where the rest of us will counsel some patience.
 
I wouldn't eat them all as green pods, you won't get the intended flavors that way, some will taste downright grassy.
 
I woud avoid picking any supers that aren't ripe, as their heat and flavor will be way off.  But picking bell peppers, jalapenos, serranos, and a whole lot of the "southwest" type peppers is a common practice.  I prefer to pick my jalapeños red for the heat, but if I am in the mood for poppers or want to chop one up and have it for dinner I will just walk outside and pick them green. 
 
At the end of the day it is all your taste, and what you are looking for.
 
I refrain from picking them early too! Like said above you won't get the heat or full flavor of the pods. I'll admit I'm guilty of eating a couple early but don't like doing it.
 
Depends on the variety.
White Bhuts are white.
 
My method, as I am growing a faily large variety, is to let each plant produce a pod till it begins to dry on the plant.
I keep close watch on them, and usually have my morning coffee with them, observing the daily progress.
 
This way, I know what they look like when fully ripe---by seeing what they look like when over done.
 
Hint:
Plant some faster producing peppers so you can quell the desire to pick.
 
Jalapeno's can be picked early for poppers and such, Thai's and other cayenne's are easy to tell when they are ripe, as they go from red to wrinkled and dry fairly quickly, and white bullet or Yucatan (various names) habs are great to stop early harvest of supers.
Just pull a pod off one when the desire to pick supers is unbearable, and pop it in yer mouth. :onfire:
 
The reason to pick a bell or jalapeno when still green is primarily that by lacking the sweeter taste it gives them more of a distinction from other peppers.  Some dishes I fix are already sweet enough so they don't need more sweet but besides that factor I too prefer everything vine ripened.
 
The other factor is shelf life.  If you were to ship someone peppers or have a distant field and want to have some lying around handy for cooking, you might want to pick them just before they finish ripening so their shelf life is longer.
 
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