Withered Shishitō Pepper

Capiscum annuum
Donated by Alice Dunlop-Kraft
2016

Weight: 2 g
Length: 7.5 cm

red rumpled curved shishito pepper with green stem

This withered organic Japanese shishitō pepper was exhumed from the book sleeve of a backpack.

Dehydrated Food Museum vegetable specimens are not often identified with the varietal specificity of this pepper. The donor’s friend Aaron was employed by an organic farm and had chosen this pepper to bring home and eat. When unpacking his bag, he overlooked the pepper. About a month later, in the presence of the donor, he was looking for something in his pack and came across the forgotten veggie. Aaron was planning to discard it, but the donor recognized the radiant red specimen as a fine exemplar of accidentally dried food.

A common ingredient in tempura, shishitō peppers are usually eaten when young and green. As they mature, they turn orange, then red, and become drier. Needless to say, this pepper is very mature.  NEXT >

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