Troy Warren for CNT #Celebrations

NATIONAL PEPPER POT DAY

National Pepper Pot Day celebrates a soup with deep roots and a mythology to go with it. On December 29th, explore the flavors and history of the filling dish.

Pepper pot soup is a highly seasoned soup prepared with peppercorns, small bits of meat, tripe, vegetables, and broth. The dish may be more familiar by the name of Philadelphia Pepper Pot because it was brought to the area by people from Africa, the West Indies, and the Caribbean. Colonial Black women served the dish in their homes, the homes where they worked, and in markets. It’s considered an early street food by many historians.

One legendary story credits this soup to George Washington’s chef. The story goes that during the brutal winter of 1777 and 1778, the Continental Army was camped t Valley Forge on December 29th. George Washington asked the army’s chef to prepare a meal that would boost morale and warm the troops. So the chef rounded up some ingredients and called it Pepper Pot Soup. The troops received the meal well and nicknamed it “the soup that won the war.”

Though the story may be untrue, it receives some credit for increasing the popularity of pepper pot soup in Philadelphia and earning the dish its other name, Philadelphia Pepper Pot.