Product Code Database
Scotch bonnet (also known as Bonney peppers, Caribbean red peppers or Panamanian Pepper in Central America) is a variety of chili pepper named for its supposed resemblance to a Scottish tam o' shanter bonnet. It is native to the Americas—a cultivar of Capsicum chinense, which originated in the Amazon Basin, Central and South America.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish and Portuguese colonizers introduced scotch bonnets to other regions. Through the Columbian exchange, 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 origins.
Like the closely related habanero, scotch bonnets have a heat rating of 100,000–350,000 Scoville scale. For comparison, most jalapeño peppers have a heat rating of 2,500 to 8,000. A completely sweet variety of scotch bonnet, cachucha peppers, is grown on some Caribbean islands.
Scotch bonnets are mostly used in Caribbean, West African, Sri Lankan, and Maldivian cuisines and pepper sauces. In Jamaica, scotch bonnets are key ingredients in various Jamaican cuisine, such as jerk, which is also of Taino origin and indigenous to the island.
In Latin American cuisine, it may be used as a substitute for similar peppers, like habaneros. Scotch bonnets are used in coastal Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and San Andrés for Caribbean-styled recipes adopted from Jamaica, such as rice and peas, Run down, and beef Jamaican patty— as well as, other dishes like sous and ceviche.
|
|
