Can anyone identify my pepper problem? I had an aphid infestation and that is when this started. I finally beat the aphids but am left with these. Are they still edible? Thanks!

Hi Jenny -- I would say they are likely okay to eat, I think it is just cosmetic damage... but I have lots of peppers so I likely wouldn't eat the spotty ones...

I hope more members will offer their opinion on this question!

I don't see any damage on the leaves so I don't know.

The leaves are fine. There is some damage from the aphids but overall they recovered well. It was just during the time when the aphids were the worst that I started noticing the spots. And they were worse on peppers that had more honey dew secretions from the aphids. I thought at first it was sooty mold because that is common with aphid damage. But it seems different than that. I have only about 40 peppers and about half have the black spots. They don't penetrate the pepper, just on the skin. I hope you are right Sandy about it being cosmetic damage. I can't really find any info online about it.

Jenny, maybe you could try peeling the peppers... there seems to be a number of different methods; here's a link that discusses several ways to do it: http://cooking.stackexchange.c...

Disclaimer: I've tried charring and peeling peppers and kind of ended up with a mess
However, the last method mentioned on that page, which they call "concasse," was recently recommended to me by a new member of our extended family, who is a trained chef -- I haven't tried it yet, but seems like it could work! (from that website: "You could try to concasse the pepper. Make light cuts through the skin (not through the flesh) then submerge in boiling water for 30 seconds, then shock in ice water? Maybe the peels get loose the same way a tomato releases its skin when treated this way.")

That's a great idea! I roast red peppers frequently and peel them. I'll freeze them afterwards for winter use. Thanks!

You're welcome!