Pepper Pot Day

29 Dec
Pepper pot is a thick spicy soup first created on December 29, 1777. During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army experienced an exceptionally harsh winter in Valley Forge. The soldiers were low on food because the farmers in the area sold all their supplies to the British Army for cash rather than the weak currency that the Continental soldiers could offer.

George Washington asked his army's chef to prepare a meal for the army, that would both warm them, and boost their moral. Christopher Ludwick, the baker general of the Continental Army, gathered whatever food he could find to feed the frail soldiers. The chef found scraps of tripe, small bits of meat and some peppercorn. He mixed this in with some other ingredients, and created Pepper Pot soup, also known as 'Philadelphia Pepper Pot soup”. The hot, and somewhat spicy soup, was well received by the troops. It was called 'the soup that won the war”.

To celebrate this historic dish, try making your own pepper pot soup today! It’s the perfect way to warm up on a chilly December day.

Guyana Pepperpot

Guyanese Pepperpot is an Amerindian derived dish popular in Guyana. It is traditionally served at Christmas and other special events; it is also Guyana's national dish.
Pepperpot is a stewed meat dish, strongly flavored with cinnamon, hot peppers, and Cassareep, a special sauce made from the Cassava root. Beef, pork, and mutton are the most popular meats used, though some have been known to use chicken. Pepperpot is popularly served with a dense Guyanese style home made or home style bread though like most food it can be eaten however one chooses; be it rice, roti, and homemade bread, though roti is not the popular norm.
This dish is usually reserved for special occasions because it is very time consuming, and mostly eaten during Christmas Day (like turkey in North America) or during the Christmas holiday season. Like the original Amerindian version. It is usually made in a large pot and can be reheated and eaten over several days because the Cassareep starts preserving the meat. Versions of the dish are also served in several other countries in the Caribbean, including Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St. Vincent.