Yes it is possible I had a few last year my mom was so mad at me when her bell pepper made her cry I insisted they were not hot so I had to drive over there and taste it yep they were darn hot

If they cross pollinate with each other the seeds and ribs (not the walls of the fruit itself) of the fruit that result from that cross can be affected. So as with corn, if you eat the seeds/ribs of the sweet pepper or use them in a recipe then yes, the taste can be affected.

Since peppers are primarily self-pollinating but can cross due to wind or insects at least some distance between the hot and sweet plants is generally recommended.

Dave

From the Texas A&M University Pepper FAQ (link below)

Q. If you plant hot peppers beside sweet peppers, will the sweet pepper plant produce hot fruit?

A. Absolutely not. Pepper flowers are self-pollinated, although occasionally cross-pollinate. However, the result of this crossing will appear only if seed is saved from this year's crop and planted next year. It will not result in off-flavor or differences in fruit characteristics of this year's crop.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pepper FAQ

This is what confuses me about squash too. Some say that if you cross-pollinate two kinds of squash, the resulting veggie will be some hybrid of the two this year. Some say that the only way for that to happen is if you save the seeds from the cross pollinated veggie, and plant that.

The fruit tissue is part of the female plant, so cannot be affected by cross pollination. Seed crops like corn are another matter. If your sweet corn gets cross pollinated by field corn the flavor and texture will be affected. Same for peas and beans.

I believe Dave is confused. The seeds and ribs are where most of the heat is in hot peppers, true. But like the TAMU website states on cross-breeding: "the result of this crossing will appear only if seed is saved from this year's crop and planted next year".

Now there are sweet peppers that have a little heat, but it was bred into them from the previous generation(s). If you end up with a hot pepper that was supposed to be sweet, there was either a mix-up of seeds or unintentional crossbreeding from the seed producer, or a mix-up at the nursery that sprouted them, or the gardener mixed up the labels before planting them, not a first year crossbreed from the gardener's two different pepper plant types.

Sorry but we are missing the point here. We are talking taste, not appearance. And it is the seeds and the rib placental tissue, not the fruit, that are affected as I said above.

If you eat the seeds, you get the taste of the seeds (just as with corn) of the crossed peppers or if you incorporate the those seeds and attached ribs in the cooked dish, then yes the flavor can be affected. How much varies widely depending on which peppers crossed - the hotter varieties being more noticeable.

Texas A&M is quite right that the fruit itself is not affected - it looks and tastes just the same. But the seeds and ribs can be affected in taste and if the seeds are saved and planted the following year the peppers they produce may be hotter still.

But just as with tomatoes and other self-pollinating fruits cross-pollination is minimal and since most folks remove both the seeds and the ribs any flavor change is not really a big concern.

You might want to review the many discussions on this question over on the Hot Peppers forum here.

Dave

Daves explanation is correct. There are lots of tales floating around, but only seeds are affected by cross pollination. The only chance of a hot sweet pepper the first year is in the seeds, but it is not a common occurance.

Ok, I did a reasonably thorough Google site search of the Hot Pepper Forum as suggested, and really only found what has been stated by TAMU and spiced_ham. Heat (capsaicinoids) cannot be produced anywhere in the current generation pepper, and particularly not in the seeds, by the cross pollinator.

Virtually all other references to the contrary were categorized as 'old wives tales'. I found none that supported the 'tale' when told, though that doesn't necessarily mean they don't exist since I didn't search past 18 pages of results.

June '05
(quote)
Posted by opqdan z5 OH (My Page) on
Wed, Jul 6, 05 at 11:39
The walls and placenta (white part seeds where seeds are attached) of a pepper are made of the same genetic material as the parent plant meaning that the heat level is unaffected by the pollinator. Only the seeds contain a mix of both parents, and if planted can possibly produce a different pepper. (end quote)

May '06
(quote)
Posted by opqdan z5 NE OH (My Page) on
Tue, May 23, 06 at 16:54
Seeds produce no capsaicinoids (the stuff that make peppers hot). The only reason that they are hot is due to their close proximity to the placenta, they absorb some of the capsaicin. Capsaicin is produced in the placental tissue, usually concentrated where the ribs meet the wall. When people remove the seeds, they also tend to remove this material which leads to the false presumption that the seeds are the cause of the heat.

The placental tissue only contains maternal tissue. The same as the pepper walls, etc. (end quote)

This article backs the contention that pungency (capsaicinoids ) is produced by the placenta and is absorbed by the seeds, not the other way around...

Here is a link that might be useful: Capsicums: Innovative Uses of an Ancient Crop

Just for fun, here is a recent article from the National Geographic Magazine that has determined that the hotness of a particular hot pepper is determined by how many times insects have penetrated the pepper wall. The pepper produces more capsaicinoids in an effort to fight off an introduced fungus.

This explains why there can be peppers with varying heat on the same plant!

Here is a link that might be useful: National Geo. Article