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Jamaica is almost as famous for its fiery Scotch bonnet peppers (which are rated as hotter than most habaneros) as it is for Reggae music and sports. Rarely will you find a Jamaican cooking without some of this pepper. Most often used on jerk chicken or pork, peppered shrimp, peppered steak and patties (a meat-filled pie), Scotch bonnet is the pepper of choice among Caribbean nationals. But for most visitors, especially those unfamiliar with this pungent chile, the strength of the Scotch bonnet is a shock.

The Scotch bonnet’s history has been traced to Central and South America; however, there is no concrete proof as to where the chile pepper was first cultivated. Although frequently confused with the habanero, the Scotch bonnet or Jamaican Hot is definitely not the same as its stout cousin. So how do you know a Scotch bonnet pepper? The mature pepper measures between 1 1/2 and 2 inches in diameter. The color of the immature pepper is green, but the mature Scotch bonnet has an attractive range of colors: bright yellow, orange or red. One of the defining features of this type of pepper is its sweet aroma and unique flavor. In fact, the Scotch bonnet was the first Caribbean hot pepper to be known by a specific name in the export market.

As you can see at left, as early as 1767 the chile was named “Bonnet or Goat Pepper,” the name “goat” resulting from its unique aroma, which was said to resemble “the odour of the he-goat.” The other peppers illustrated are fat pork pepper, bird pepper, cherry pepper, and Negro pepper.

The heat rating of the Scotch bonnet is said to be in the range of 150,000 to 325,000 Scoville Heat Units. Now that’s hot!

The Scotch bonnet pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) is one of Jamaica’s major agricultural exports. The pepper strives in almost any of the country’s fourteen parishes, because of the tropical climate in which the plant grows best. However, the country’s producers are rarely able to meet the high demand for the product locally or internationally. Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper is normally sold fresh, but there are also many by-products available such as jerk sauce, mash (both wet and dry) and escoveitch sauce.