Last Garden Update: Corking Chili Peppers

Emma Christensen
Emma Christensen
Emma is a former editor for The Kitchn and a graduate of the Cambridge School for Culinary Arts. She is the author of True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Check out her website for more cooking stories
updated May 12, 2022
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We pulled in the last batch of chili peppers from our garden this week and noticed several peppers had funny whitish brown marks on their sides like in the picture above. What’s going on? Find out after the jump!

These white striations are actually stress marks or “corking.” Their appearance usually indicates that the pepper is ripe and ready to pick! They aren’t harmful in any way and don’t affect the flavor of the pepper, though some people argue that corking indicates a hotter pepper.

Now that we know what this is, we’ve also noticed these marks on some of the peppers (both sweet and hot varieties) that we’ve picked up at the farmer’s market. Good to know that even the professionals get corking on their peppers!

Related: Harvest Time: Olives in Israel, Palestine, and California

(Image: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)

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gardening
Vegetables