Scotch Bonnet Peppers – Spice Up Your Life!
The Scotch bonnet pepper (Capsicum chinense) is a variety of chile pepper in the same species as the habañero. The Scotch bonnet grows mainly in the Caribbean islands, including Jamaica. The habañero, which in Spanish means “from Havana”, is grown mainly in Latin and North America and is the most intensely spicy chile pepper of the Capsicum genus. Both peppers have a thin waxy skin and a similar degree of heat.
The Scotch bonnet pepper is the primary hot pepper in Jamaica and is an essential ingredient of Jamaican cooking because of its distinctive flavor. It gets is name because its shape resembles a Scotsman’s tam-o-shanter (a “bonnet”). It looks almost identical to a habañero pepper but it has its own unique flavor. However, you can substitute the habañero for the Scotch bonnet if you cannot find the real thing. The peppers are sold whole, dried or ground, and are used for sauces such as “Jamaica Hell Fire”.
As the pepper matures, it turns from green to any number of colors – orange, red, yellow or mahogany. It’s not unusual to see peppers of different colors growing on the same plant.
The heat of the Scotch bonnet is in the seeds and membrane. To reduce the heat level, discard the seeds and membrane when you chop up the pepper. To get the flavor of the pepper without the heat, use it whole but remove it gently after cooking the food without breaking the skin. Be very careful; do not rub your eyes after handling the peppers and wash your hands well afterward.
Spice up your life…try a Scotch bonnet!
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Want to grow your own Scotch bonnets? By all means you can grow your own pimento (allspice) trees, Scotch bonnet peppers, sorrel (Roselle), and many other things. Check out the listings below on Amazon and eBay! If your climate isn't perfect (tropical), many of these can be grown, or at least started, indoors as houseplants.
Here are some on-line sources for plants and seeds:
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 Jamaican Hot Chocolate Habanero Pepper 4 Plants  US $9.99
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 Flowering Jamaican Raintree Bonsai full of fragrant yellow flowers US $39.99
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 Dwarf Jamaican HELICONIA VIVID RED FLOWER Heliconia stricta LIVE PLANT Rhizome US $2.99
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 25 Jamaican Hot Yellow Lantern Organic Pepper Seeds US $.99
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 JAMAICAN YELLOW SCOTCH BONNET LIVE PEPPER PLANT US $5.79
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 Jamaican Saril seeds US $1.85
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 STRAWBERRY TREE JAMAICAN CHERRY FRUIT MUNTINGIA CALABURA 1 YOUNG STARTER PLANT US $6.95
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 HELICONIA PLANT Dwarf Jamaican Vivid Red Beauty US $9.99
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 CycadZamia jamaican giant 4 US $8.00
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 CycadZamia jamaican giant 3 US $8.00
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 Allspice Plant Jamaica Pepper Pimenta dioica Potted US $29.99
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 JAMAICAN PUMPKIN SEEDS 12 SEEDS US $4.25
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 HIBISCUS sabdariffa Jamaican Red Sorrell 10 seeds US $2.00
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 Thai Roselle Seeds Hibiscus Sabdariffa Jamaican Sorel Rosella Fruit Herb Herbal US $2.50
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 JAMAICAN RED HOT PEPPER 25 SEEDS LOOKING FOR FIRE LOOK NO FARTHER THIS IS IT US $2.50
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 JAMAICAN HOT CHOCOLATE LIVE PEPPER PLANT US $6.79
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 Tolumnia pulchelle SPIKE Jamaican specie US $20.00
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 800 Seeds Jamaican cherry Muntigia calabura nigua rare fruit GRAINES RARE US $5.00
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 RARE Organic Heirloom JAMAICAN HOT CHOCOLATE HABANERO TRINIDAD 15 seeds US $2.69
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 24 Roselle Rosella Florida Cranberry Jamaican Sorrel Hibiscus Seeds Tea Jam US $5.00
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