Pepper Pot

History

In The Jewish Manual, "Pepper Pot" is a soup. The recipe, printed in Chapter I (Soups), directs the cook to cut small pieces of any vegetables and add pieces of smoked or salt beef and any cold poultry, roast beef, or mutton; stew them together in two or three quarts of water according to the quantity of meat; season highly with whole peppers, allspice, mace, Jamaica pickles, and salt; stew thoroughly; and serve unstrained in a tureen. In form it is a thrifty, heavily spiced "use up the cold meats" soup rather than a fixed formula, made from whatever roast or boiled meat and vegetables were on hand.

The Jewish Manual (London, 1846) is widely regarded as the first English-language / kosher Jewish cookbook. It was published anonymously under the byline "A Lady" and is traditionally attributed to Lady Judith Montefiore, though that attribution rests on circumstantial evidence and is not certain.

The name "pepper pot" is shared by several unrelated dishes — among them the tripe-based Philadelphia pepper pot soup and the cassava-based West Indian pepper pot. The Jewish Manual's dish is neither of these: it contains no tripe, cassava, or cassareep, and is a British-style highly-seasoned leftover-meat soup that shares only the name.

Beyond the recipe text itself, the sources located do not document who ate this particular dish, how often it was served, or that it carried any social meaning. The earlier claim that this recipe "descends from the West African tradition" of slow-simmered pepper stews, and had by the mid-19th century been "adapted for the tastes of the urban middle class," is not supported by any source found for this specific dish and is omitted.

Ingredients

• vegetables
• smoked or salt beef
• cold poultry, roast beef, or mutton
• 2 to 3 quarts water
• whole peppers
• allspice
• mace
• Jamaica pickles
• salt

Instructions

1. Cut vegetables into small pieces. Cut smoked or salt beef and any cold poultry, roast beef, or mutton into pieces. Place all the vegetables and meats together in two or three quarts of water, adjusting the water quantity according to how much meat you have. Season highly with whole peppers, allspice, mace, Jamaica pickles, and salt. Thoroughly stew everything together. Serve without straining in a tureen.