Once seeds became available again, local Chesapeake Bay area farmer and educator Denzel Mitchell began growing fish pepper, which he had heard about from Twitty. “When I learned about the history of the pepperfish and specifically its connection to black people in Maryland, I thought it was a way to honor the legacy of the people who came before me “, did he declare. “In the summer of 2008, I went to the farmers market looking for plants and couldn’t find them. At that point, I was determined to grow some myself. » Through his urban farm, Mitchell began growing fish peppers.
The fish pepper then started to take off. Mitchell recalled that “in my first year, I probably grew five plants. In 2012, I would say there were probably between 10 and 12 other commercial growers, ranging from small family farms to medium-sized vegetable farms, growing fish chilies. …And then I’d say probably by 2015, maybe 25.” Today, fish chilies are becoming commonplace in Maryland at farmers’ markets.
Chef Spike Gjerde, owner of Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore, Maryland, first heard about the peppers in 2008 after reading Twitty’s blog and meeting Mitchell, who supplied him with his first batch of fish peppers. “I like it because it’s somewhere between a serrano pepper and a habanero and it gives off an intense heat that builds up over time. It’s not as aggressive as some habanero varieties,” a- he declared. “When it’s green it’s grassy and herbaceous, but as it ripens it takes on a kind of leathery flavor, [with] frank notes of red fruits.”
In the early 20th century, pepper became something of a culinary secret weapon, according to Gjerde. “[African American] chefs collected these spicy white albino peppers, then dried and ground them. And so what you had was a way to add spice to something, but you wouldn’t see any red, so you could do it [something] like a cream sauce and you wouldn’t really know where the heat was coming from.
Gjerde appreciates fish pepper because of its versatility and values its long tradition in Chesapeake cuisine. “It’s useful in a wide range of dishes. We invariably have marinated fish peppers, and when they are in season, fresh fish peppers. We also do a fermentation and we will have fermented fish peppers. I I even like to use dried fish peppers. Pepper the fish like you would a bay leaf.
Mitchell also loves cooking with peppers. “We make it into a pepper relish that is then used in a dish like a fried oyster or another type of appetizer. I would say there are a handful of restaurants in Baltimore right now that have some form of pepper of fish on their menu somewhere. And then in Philadelphia, I have chef friends and they definitely use it. It was the pepper that was traditionally used in Philadelphia pepper stew, which is a fruit stew from sea. “
The flavor that fish pepper brings is powerful, but for Gjerde it is an equally important part of the region’s heritage. “Chesapeake Bay cuisine is not known for being spicy, but we have a hot pepper that was grown here and played a role in Maryland eating habits in the 19th century,” he said. “One of the great things about our cuisine in this region is that it is a blend of African, Caribbean, European and Native American influences and contributions.”
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