This season, as part of the Seedkeeping Residency at Greensgrow Farms, I’m growing and saving seeds from Jamaican chocolate scotchbonnet peppers. My interest in seedkeeping is shaped by a love for story and the ways that narrative travels along with the plants that sustain us. As part of my residency, I will be collecting interviews and stories with folks of Caribbean heritage about the significance of the scotchbonnet pepper in their lives. My first interview is with Ruben Alexis, a brilliant chef, community gardener, and fellow seedkeeper based in Philadelphia. I hope you enjoy.
AO: When we first met a few weeks ago, you were super excited to hear that I was growing scotchbonnet. Can you talk about what scotchbonnet pepper means to you? What role does it play in your own cooking?
RA: When we [my family] moved from Haiti to the states, we used a lot of scotchbonnet, it was very available. There were two main peppers that my family used a lot, it was either scotchbonnet or habanero. More often than it would end up being scotchbonnet, that used to be the the main go-to pepper. Whenever I hear about it or it's in some dish, I'm like yes, this is gonna be good, this is what I'm used to [laughs].
AO: Do you have an early memory of something that your family would cook using scotchbonnet?
RA: There's a lot of sauces and stews that we’d add scotchbonnet to, it would be some kind of chicken stew or goat stew. A lot of them I remember being very spicy. When I first moved to the states my aunt used to be the one who had the highest tolerance to heat. So whenever we used to go to her house, I used to be like, oh no, I can't eat the food hot. Because not only is it hot, it's spicy, and I'm hungry, and I can only have a little bite at a time. I do remember her cooking especially this one ramen dish I used to love, and she used scotchbonnet in that. I have strong memories of, "if it tastes so great, and it's so spicy, and I can't eat it" [laughs]. Because you know, we were in America, so she just had ramen around. But that's another memory I have where the heat was so prominent [laughs].
AO: Where would your family get scotchbonnet peppers from?
RA: It was from certain small corner stores. It's very popular in New York, those corner stores, where the produce is just kind of spilling onto the sidewalk [laughs]. Those are the stores I remember where we would get hot peppers.
My family started in Brooklyn for a bit and then we moved to Philly. Those corner stores were in Brooklyn. In Philly, there are a couple spots in the northeast where they have those types of stores. I don't really see them a lot in West Philly.
AO: Yeah, I feel like that's also a very Caribbean thing. I grew up in Brooklyn and I remember the stores with all the vegetables just arranged on the sidewalk in the summer.
RA: Yeah, exactly. When I go to New York and I want to get something, I'll go to those those stores, instead of being like "Hmm, where is an Aldi?"
AO: Why do you think peppers are so important to Haitian food and to Caribbean food in general?
RA: They’re very much part of the history of the cuisine. Also, having something that can awaken your palate, that has such a unique impact on what you're eating. There's very few spices and plants that can add that impact. And considering the Caribbean also being a warm place, you want that heat because it helps you cool down.
AO: Could you talk about your current work? What’s your relationship to land and food like right now?
RA: Basically cooking and doing the pop ups, that's my main gig right now. I had that friend who had a [community] garden, who was in need of help. I was definitely able to and I had time. So there's this space where I can connect even more with the food I'm making and really think about how long it takes for something to grow. Is it something with a high turnover rate? Or is it just like once in a while, it's there? I have to think about the resources that we put into the earth before we can actually harvest and get a lot of the things that nourish us.
During the pandemic there was kind of a rethinking for me, about my relationship to cooking, to jobs, to income, and then also to the land. I've been in this journey of trying to learn more about the First Nations around the Philadelphia area, and learning about the Lenape Nation, and not shying away from that history. When I think about putting roots in this land, it's like, well, who were the first people before me? If I'm putting these roots here, what other roots were put down before me? Where are those fruits? Where are they sprouting from?
I am still new to food sovereignty. And in thinking about it for myself, it's still kind of a leap sometimes, but I think it's really important to not forget our connection to what sustains us. I had a warped view of where my food came from. Like, yeah, I'm going to Aldi to get everything [laughs], and I think that just gave me a warped idea of like, I can always get bananas, but do I know about banana plantations? So something as simple as bananas, or maybe beans, like, what kind of beans can I grow here, in this climate? So one thing led to another, and then I was buying books about agriculture and gardening. And also, thinking that my food isn't just for nourishing me, but for nourishing my family and the people that I am offering it to. So I want to make sure I know what I'm putting into the dishes.
What I'm doing has evolved from cooking as a good thing for myself, to really thinking about where I'm bringing these ingredients from. Are there any other people who have done it differently? And who can I bring in to help me? So it's a lot of moving parts, but I think all of them kind of fit into the bigger project of making sure you're fed physically, as well as spiritually.
AO: Who are your people? Who do you want to serve or connect with through your work?
RA: I think, initially, for me, that would be my friends and family. When I first think about who would like [a dish] I'm gonna make I think of that. And then I think of my neighborhood and the people that live on the block and in West Philly. And that kind of inspires the route I'll take.
AO: Do you have a favorite thing to cook with scotchbonnet right now?
RA: I really like soups. I would add a couple cloves to the scotchbonnet and then just drop the peppers in there. I feel like that's one of my favorite ways to see how one pepper just permeates the whole dish. And pikliz of course [laughs]. I'm trying to work on how to make a pepper sauce that can be mixed into the vinegar. It's been fun experimenting with that as well.
Follow Ruben’s culinary and community gardening work on Instagram at @thatpiklizjawn.
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