Philadelphia pepper pot is a colonial era stew with an interesting story. It’s said that during the winter of 1777-1778 the Continental Army was holed up at Valley Forge, and foodstuffs were hard to find.  General Washington ordered cooks to throw together what ingredients they had on hand to make a stew to feed the soldiers. Having only tripe and vegetables available, the chef prepared a stew called pepper pot that nourished the troops and saved American Independence.  

This story is most definitely a myth. The Continental troops did not starve at Valley Forge; they were saved by the Oneida Nation who brought sacks of CORN to support the soldiers.  The Oneida had to teach the troops how to cook it and this intervention likely staved off starvation.  Pepper pot comes from the West Indies. Caribbean immigrants frequently sold pepper pot on the streets of colonial Philadelphia. Their cries proclaiming, “Pepper pot! All hot!” were a fixture of the city’s culture long before the American Revolution.  Philadelphia pepper pot does not use tripe, but there is no single definitive version of the dish; it can involve any meat and any vegetables. 

Pepper Pot soup is one of those dishes that made the transatlantic voyage with African slaves.  It comes to the West Indies from Ghana and like many African dishes, the exact ingredients varied depending on what was available. Pepper pot is simply a stew made with the cheapest cuts of meat paired with starches, greens, and hot peppers.  Since Philadelphia is one of the ports that had a huge trade with the West Indies, this stew was introduced early as free black traders immigrated to our city.  Of course, the staples commonly available in Africa and the Indies don’t grow in Philadelphia so the recipe changed as new foodstuffs were added and spices were tweaked to get a flavor that was similar enough to what the makers remembered. Particularly it was the German influence that changed the meats to beef tripe and veal knuckle, and it became a staple of the city’s cooking.

18th Century Peper Pot

 Take half a peck of spinach, pick and boil it as for dinner; drain off the water and chop it fine. Put into the soup kettle 6 quarts of water, 3 pounds of beef or veal, about 1 pound of pork which must be scalded to draw out the salt. A piece of ham with the ham bone in is preferable…   — The Carolina Housewife by Mrs. Rutledge (1847)

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