Scotch bonnet (also known as Bonney peppers, or Caribbean red peppers) is a variety of

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

named for its supposed resemblance to a Scottish tam o' shanter bonnet. It is native to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

—a cultivar of ''

Capsicum chinense ''Capsicum chinense'', commonly known as a "habanero-type pepper", is a species of chili pepper native to the Americas. ''C. chinense'' varieties are well known for their unique flavors and, in many cases, exceptional Pungency, heat. The Race to ...

'', which originated in the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

, Central and South America.

History

Indigenous Peoples like the

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

of the

Antilles The Antilles is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east. The Antillean islands are divided into two smaller groupings: the Greater An ...

, the Tainos and later the Caribs, transported scotch bonnet peppers and other staples like cassava and sweet potato on huge canoes. Both of these

Arawakan Arawakan (''Arahuacan, Maipuran Arawakan, "mainstream" Arawakan, Arawakan proper''), also known as Maipurean (also ''Maipuran, Maipureano, Maipúre''), is a language family that developed among ancient Indigenous peoples in South America. Branch ...

subgroups originated in the

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

River Valley (present-day Venezuela). The Tainos from the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

and

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

were pioneers in traveling to the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, together with Navassa Island and the Cayman Islands. Seven island states share the region of the Greater Antille ...

, and they took a variety of chilies with them. They have since become a staple of

Caribbean cuisine Caribbean cuisine is a fusion of West African cuisine, West African,"Cuisine."
(Caribbean.
Jamaican cuisine Jamaican cuisine includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavours and spices influenced by Amerindian cuisine, Amerindian, Cuisine of West Africa, West African, Irish cuisine, Irish, English cuisine, English, French cuisine, French, Portuguese ...

. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish and Portuguese colonizers introduced scotch bonnets to other regions. Through the

Columbian exchange The Columbian exchange, also known as the Columbian interchange, was the widespread transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the New World (the Americas) in the Western Hemisphere, and the Old World (Afro-Eurasia) in the Eastern Hemis ...

, the five domesticated species of ''Capsicum'' were introduced to Europe, Africa and Asia, where more varieties developed across the globe. They became so popular in Asia and Africa, that many consumers there are unaware of the chili peppers'

Mesoamerican Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

origins. Like the closely related

habanero The habanero (; ) is a pungent cultivar of ''Capsicum chinense'' chili pepper. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, ...

, scotch bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville units. For comparison, most

jalapeño The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper Fruit, pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and wide, and hangs down from the plant. The pungency of jalapeño peppers varies, but is usual ...

peppers have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000. A completely sweet variety of scotch bonnet, cachucha, is grown on some Caribbean islands.

Cuisine

Scotch bonnets are used in many cuisines worldwide for

hot sauce Hot sauce is a type of condiment, seasoning, or salsa (sauce), salsa made from chili peppers and other ingredients. Many commercial varieties of Mass production, mass-produced hot sauce exist. History Humans have used chili peppers and other ho ...

s and condiments. They are compared to ''habaneros'', since both are cultivars of the same species, with the same level of heat and pungency. However, scotch bonnets have a sweeter flavour profile and stouter shape. Scotch bonnets are mostly used in

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

West African West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

, Sri Lankan, and Maldivian cuisines and pepper sauces. In Jamaica, scotch bonnets are key ingredients in various Jamaican dishes, such as jerk, which is also of Taino origin and indigenous to the island. In

Latin American cuisine Latin American cuisine is the typical foods, beverages, and cooking styles common to many of the countries and cultures in Latin America. Latin America is a highly racially, ethnically, and geographically diverse with varying cuisines. Some i ...

, it may be used as a substitute for similar peppers, like ''habaneros''. Scotch bonnets are used in coastal

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and San Andrés for Caribbean-styled recipes adopted from Jamaica, such as

rice and peas Rice and peas or peas and rice is a traditional rice dish in some Caribbean and Latin American countries. Sometimes, the dish is made with pigeon peas, otherwise called 'gungo peas' by Jamaicans. Kidney beans ('red peas'/beans) and other simi ...

, rondón, and beef patties— as well as, other dishes like ''sous'' and

ceviche Ceviche, cebiche, sebiche, or seviche () is a cold dish consisting of fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings. Different versions of ceviche are part of the culinary cultures of various Latin American countries along the Pacific O ...

. File:Scotch bonnet peppers, Tabatinga (9290132230).jpg, Scotch bonnet peppers in a Brazilian market, in Tabatinga— a town along the Amazon River. File:A Scotch Bonnet.jpg, A single ripe scotch bonnet pepper.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scotch Bonnet (Naga Morris)(Pepper) Capsicum cultivars Caribbean cuisine Costa Rican cuisine Chili peppers Flora of Jamaica Guyanese cuisine Maldivian cuisine Nicaraguan cuisine Panamanian cuisine Surinamese cuisine

History

Cuisine

See also

References

External links