| Chilli | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fish | ||||
 |
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| Scientific Classification | ||||
| Species: | Capsicum annuum | |||
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| Synonyms | ||||
| Fish |
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| Plant Data | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germination time: | 10 days | |||||||||
| Time to transplanting: | +45-75 days* | |||||||||
| Time to harvesting: | +80 days | |||||||||
| Mature height: | 18-24 inches | |||||||||
| Mature spread: | 45cm (24in) | |||||||||
| Sow depth: | 1/4 inch | |||||||||
| Sow spacing: | 18 inch apart | |||||||||
| Fruit colour: | Green to deep orange, gold, or red | |||||||||
| Fruit size: | 2-4 inches | |||||||||
| Leaf type: | White/near White
Cream/Tan Light Green Medium Green Variegated | |||||||||
| Heat: |
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| Scoville heat units: | 5,000 - 30,000 | |||||||||
| *When started indoors under grow light | ||||||||||
| References: | [1][2][3] [5] | |||||||||
The Fish chilli pepper is a rare, 1870s African-American heirloom. It is grown as an ornamental, sprawling 60cm (24in) bushes with variegated foliage and fruit. The fruit matures to fiery orange-red with a burning hot Scoville ranking of 45,000-75,000 units, and is a gorgeous ornamental variety for the kitchen garden.[3]
Growing[]
Ideal temperature ranges from 70 - 95 F with a minimum of 8-12 hours of sun and normal watering. Speckled white and green leaves emerge early on this compact 2 foot tall plant. The peppers start off as a solid creamy white color, then develop into a light green with dark green striations, turning orange with dark brown striations until they finally mature into solid red or deep orange or gold.
Troubles[]
- Main article: Pepper troubles
Culinary[]
The Fish Pepper has often been used in its immature, white and green stage when it can be dried to retain its pale color (good for white cream or cheese sauces). Commonly held to be the “secret” ingredient by Chesapeake Bay fish houses, the Fish Chile Pepper is a special ingredient in seafood recipes. It’s believed that the fish pepper is a hybrid of the Serrano and the cayenne pepper.
History[]
An African-American heirloom popular in the Philadelphia/Baltimore region. A chili pepper notable for its unique history. The fish pepper more than likely originated in the Caribbean and was introduced to the mid-Atlantic region in the 1870s, where it gained a strong a foothold in the oyster and crab houses of the area. The young cream-colored peppers were used for adding a kick to the creamy sauces that topped seafood. The pepper was kept as a secret ingredient in these dishes and its part in recipes handed down orally. The peppers were grown exclusively by black farmers and fell out of favor in the early 1900s as the people of that era began to embrace a more urban lifestyle. This one-of-a-kind pepper would be lost to us if not for an unusual exchange. Horace Pippin was a black folk painter who served during World War I in the 369th Infantry called the “Harlem Hellfighters.” He lost the use of his right arm after being shot by a sniper, and this left him with arthritic pain. Searching for some relief, he resorted to an old folk remedy that called for bee stings. Horace began giving seeds to a bee keeper named H. Ralph Weaver. Horace’s seeds sometimes came from his far flung old-time gardening friends, who sent wonderful and rare varieties. H. Ralph Weaver saved the seed in his private seed collection, where it remained until 1995 when his grandson William Woys Weaver released it to the public. Every fish pepper seed sold today can be traced back to that fateful exchange. The fish pepper is a hit again upon its re-release, and the Caribbean flavor and heat are just as much to credit as its truly unique and eye-catching features.
References[]
- ↑ Fish Pepper - Chile Pepper Database. The ChileMan.org. Retrieved: 2010-10-06.
- ↑ Capsicum annuum 'Fish'. Dave's Garden. Retrieved: 2010-10-06.
- ↑ a b Hot Chile Peppers. Kitchen Garden Seeds. Retrieved: 2010-10-6.
- ↑ Fish Pepper.Cheyenne Diane Retrieved: 2020-03-17.
- ↑ Fish Hot Pepper Baker Creek HeirloomSeeds. Retrieved: 2020-03-17.