How to Know If That Pepper Is Actually Fresh (Before You Buy It)

You've done it before, you bought pepper from the market, it looked fine, got home, and something about it just wasn't right. The colour was off when you blended it. The smell hit different. Or it was already going soft by the time you reached for it two days later.

The thing is, bad pepper doesn't talk. And most of us were never taught what to look for beyond "e fresh" from the seller which, as we all know, means absolutely nothing.

Here are four quick tests you can do in under a minute, whether you're standing at a market stall or deciding whether to reorder from a vendor online.

The Colour Test

Fresh pepper whether tatashe, rodo, or tatase should have a deep, even, saturated colour. Rich red, deep green, full orange depending on variety. What you don't want: faded patches, uneven colouring, or anything that looks like the colour has started to drain out.

The Skin Test

Fresh pepper has tight, shiny skin. It should look like it's full. The moisture content is still intact and the skin reflects that.

As pepper ages, it loses moisture from the inside. The skin starts to wrinkle, pull away from the flesh, and lose its shine. If you can see the surface starting to pucker or the pepper looks like it's deflating slightly, it's not fresh. Run a quick eye over it before you buy.

The Smell Test

If you pick up a pepper and it's already giving off a strong, or fermented smell, that's not freshness, that's breakdown.

The Feel Test

Pick it up and squeeze gently. Fresh pepper is firm. It should push back and not your finger pressing into it.

Most people skip all of this because it feels like too much work at a busy market. The seller is waiting, the queue is moving, and "e fresh" is the only quality check available.

That's exactly why we built FeedMe the way we did. Every order goes through quality check before it reaches you.

Shop now on FeedMe and ease the stress of going to the market.