Piman (Japanese Green Pepper)

Piman (Capsicum annuum) is the Japanese green-pepper cultivar group — small-fruit (typically 30–60g per fruit), non-pungent (no significant capsaicin), and harvested green for the volume retail category. Red and yellow piman (ripened) are smaller-volume specialty SKUs. The Japanese piman cultivar is distinct from European bell pepper (paprika) in size and slightly different flavour profile, and from chili pepper (togarashi) in capsaicin content.

Piman contains vitamin C, beta-carotene (more concentrated in red piman), capsanthin (the carotenoid responsible for red colour on ripening), and pyrazines responsible for the characteristic green-pepper aroma. Industrial OEM processing typically uses field-trimmed material with seeds and core removed for cut-vegetable lines.

In Japanese food OEM, piman appears as fresh-pack retail (volume category, green primarily); as frozen sliced piman for foodservice ramen chain and donburi OEM; as the input for stir-fry vegetable mix retail packs and chinjao-rosu (青椒肉絲) prefabricated meal kit; as the substrate for piman-jako-niboshi tsukudani-style processed product; and as the substrate for tsukemono pickled piman OEM particularly in Miyazaki and Kochi regional brands.

Cultivar and seasonal differentiation matters commercially. Miyazaki and Kochi greenhouse cultivation supplies year-round volume; Ibaraki and Iwate supply summer open-field cultivation. Specialty branded SKUs include sweet-piman variants (Kochi prefecture brand) and red / yellow piman positioned as premium for confectionery and salad applications.

Piman as fresh vegetable, frozen vegetable, and processed product is subject to the Food Sanitation Act including residual pesticide standards.

Piman is distinct from togarashi (chili pepper) for regulatory purposes — capsaicin content is below the threshold that would place the product into the spice category.