Fish pepper

Capsicum annuum is a species of the plant in the family solanacea. Its origins are obscure but it's believed to originally be native to southern Mexico, where its center of diversity exists.[2] Being cultivated by mesoamerican societies since roughly 8000 b.c, it would later spread throughout most of southern North America and South America.[3] By the time of Columbus's arrival to the Americas cultivation had been noted in the Caribbean.[4]

From the Caribbean it made its way to the Chesapeake where it was noted to have been grown by enslaved Africans in Baltimore.[5] Food historian Michael W. Twitty believes them to have originally have been brought by Haitians.[6] By 1870, particularly in Baltimore and in Philadelphia, the pepper became a popular ingredient among the Black community and was commonly used in many crab houses and oyster bars (hence the name "fish pepper").[7] Due to urbanization, fish peppers declined in popularity in the early 20th century, nearly disappearing. However, it was saved in the 1940s thanks to Horace Pippin, a Black folk painter who lived in Pennsylvania, who provided seeds to H. Ralph Weaver, a beekeeper, in exchange for bee sting therapy to treat his arthritis.[8] The seeds stayed within the Weaver family, until Weaver's grandson, William Woys Weaver, introduced the seeds to the public via the Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook in 1995.[7] Since then, the fish pepper has regained popularity and is readily available among seed websites along with some Mid-Atlantic restaurants using it today in their dishes.[9]