On Wednesday 8 March, Alex Zwinkels offered the first orange bell peppers of his 2017 harvest to King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima in the name of the Oranje Paprika Vereniging (Orange bell pepper association) at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. With that, a tradition going back years was also continued this year.
In order to make the vegetable with this specific, royal colour better known, the royal couple has offered the first new harvest of Dutch orange bell peppers.
Orange bell pepper cultivators ensure their bell pepper plants are treated like royals, so that they can optimally grow in their greenhouses, by giving them the correct temperature, an optimum feed, and as much light as possible. Harmful insects in the greenhouse are combatted by their natural predators which the cultivator placed among the crops. Moreover, the orange bell pepper is cultivated sustainably, using geothermal energy.