Pepper "Fish"

"An African-American heirloom popular in the Philadelphia/Baltimore region. A chili pepper notable for its unique history. Fish pepper plants are like no other, with striated and speckled white and green leaves; the compact 2 foot tall plants stand out, even for their small stature. The peppers themselves are a feast for the eyes. Starting as a solid creamy white, they develop into a light green with dark green striations, turning orange with dark brown striations until they finally mature into solid red peppers of flavorful culinary fire. 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 farme