This past spring and summer, I embarked on a container gardening journey. My crops of choice were peppers of all sorts: poblano, habanero, scotch bonnets, and, perhaps most interestingly, fish peppers.
Fish peppers are an heirloom cultivar of Capsicum annuum, which includes nearly any pepper you can imagine, ranging from bell peppers to Thai chilis. The plant itself is striking. The leaves and stems are not one solid color but rather are variegated, with green and white foliage. The more sunlight the leaves receive, the more striking the coloration appears. The peppers themselves are shaped and sized similarly to jalapeños, but rather than being deep green, the peppers are striped. Colors range from green and pale yellow in early development to purple and red as they ripen. In terms of spice, the peppers are rather mild, with a heat like a serrano. Their flavor is somewhat bitter to my palette, but they are delicious when pickled. The plant is productive, and even as a novice (and sometimes neglectful) gardener I was able to harvest handfuls of peppers daily.
Foliage of the Fish Pepper
My First Harvest
While the colors of the plant are what drew me in, the history behind it was much more fascinating. A quick internet search told me that the peppers have a long history within the Chesapeake region, particularly in African American foodways and cultivation. I was born and raised in Baltimore, yet I had never heard of these peppers, nor had I seen them served with any of our regional seafood. I am fascinated by foodways and the concept of crops and cultivars as literal heirlooms, so naturally my interest was piqued.
We know that the species Capsicum annuum originated within modern day Mexico and spread to Europe through trade. From there, peppers were cultivated anywhere that European trade and colonization extended, including the African continent and the Caribbean. In the case of fish peppers, they made their way to the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and became a staple.
There is little in the way of primary sources that discuss fish peppers. Their usage and cultivation seem to have been a predominately oral tradition. The fact that these peppers were generally grown in home gardens cultivated by Black farmers in the Chesapeake region, rather than in large scale agriculture, also meant that they were not widely available. The name is evidently due to the frequent association with seafood, and some theorize that the pale color of young peppers was used in cream-based dishes, as it would not alter the color. It also became a staple in oyster and crab houses. It is not fully known when and from where the peppers arrived. Michael Twitty, a culinary historian specializing in African American foodways, theorizes that the peppers arrived from Haiti through the ports of Baltimore in the late 19th century and subsequently spread through the Chesapeake region.1
Many contemporary cookbooks list seafood recipes that call for hot peppers, including the 1747 book The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse, whose turtle ‘the West Indian way’ calls for “a little Cayan pepper, and take care not to put too much.”2 Harry Franklin Hall’s 1901 book 300 Ways to Cook and Serve Shellfish frequently suggests the addition of dried red pepper.3 I could not find any explicit references to fish peppers in published cookbooks from the 19th and early 20th century, but this is not surprising. References to these peppers were likely found on handwritten recipe cards, noted in margins, passed down orally, or kept to oneself as a secret ingredient.
By the mid-20th century, the cultivar was thought to have faded into obscurity. Farming along the Chesapeake gave way to other industries, and many who once cultivated the land moved away. The peppers’ story was rekindled when William Woys Weaver, a culinary scholar and horticulturalist, found seeds in his grandfather’s freezer.4 Evidently, in the 1940s his grandfather, H. Ralph Weaver, a beekeeper, obtained the seeds from Horace Pippin, an artist hailing from Pennsylvania. The seeds were traded for bee-sting therapy, which Horace sought to ease pain from injuries he obtained in the war. In a way, these heirloom seeds became a literal family heirloom. In 1995 the seeds were shared with the Seed Saver Exchange, a non-profit that seeks to preserve heirloom varieties of plants.5 With this exposure and increased availability of seeds, the fish pepper was able to make a comeback.
1944 Self Portrait by Horace Pippin
Today, fish peppers are increasing in availability, and there is great interest in preserving the crop as a piece of tangible heritage. Seeds and plants are sold throughout the United States, and many recipes using the peppers can now be found online. Soilful City, a D.C. urban farm initiative centered on Afro-Ecology, food-justice, and community cultivates fish peppers,6 as does Black Butterfly teaching farm, a South Baltimore farm whose mission is to bring farming and cultivation knowledge to the community.7
Several hot sauces are also available. Woodberry Kitchen, a restaurant in Baltimore offers Snake Oil, a hot sauce made with fish peppers.8 Soilful City offers Pippin Sauce (named for Horace Pippin).9 Peabody Heights Brewery in Baltimore even produced a stout called Sleeping with the Fishes which featured fish peppers as an ingredient.10
I plan to grow fish peppers again next year, and next time I clean out a relative’s freezer or basement, I plan to keep my eyes peeled for seeds. The story of fish peppers reminds us that heritage goes beyond a family tree and a binder full of research. It can be recipes, heirlooms, stories, or, in this case, a pepper plant.
Sources
[1] “The Resurrection of the Fish Pepper,” Okracast, July 10, 2014, https://www.southernfoodways.org/okracast-the-resurrection-of-the-fish-pepper/
[2] Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery (1747), p. 257.
[3] Harry Franklin Hall, 300 Ways to Cook and Serve Shellfish (Christian Banner Print, 1901).
[4] William Woys Weaver, “Fish Peppers – Mother Earth News,” Mother Earth News – The Original Guide To Living Wisely, February 7, 2009, https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/grow-cook-fish-peppers/.
[5] “About,” SeedSavers, August 9, 2026, https://seedsavers.org/seedsavers/about/.
[6] “Our Work,” Soilful City, June 5, 2016, https://soilfulcitydc.wordpress.com/our-work/.
[7] “Black Butterfly Teaching Farm,” Farm Alliance of Baltimore, accessed October 6, 2026, https://farmalliancebaltimore.org/black-butterfly-teaching-farm/.
[8] “Snake Oil,” Woodberry Kitchen, https://www.woodberrykitchen.com/store/p/snake-oil.
[9] “Keeping It Saucey with Horace Pippin,” Soilful City, December 12, 2017, https://soilfulcitydc.wordpress.com/2017/12/12/who-is-horace-pippin/.
[10] “Sleeping with the Fishies - Peabody Heights Brewery,” Untappd, accessed October 7, 2026, https://untappd.com/b/peabody-heights-brewery-sleeping-with-the-fishies/1922488#google_vignette.