The Scotch bonnet (Capsicum chinense) is a cultivar of chilli pepper named for its resemblance to a tam o’shanter hat. It is one of the hottest commonly available peppers, typically rating 100,000–350,000 Scoville heat units — comparable to its close relative the habanero, though with a distinctly fruity, slightly sweet flavour underneath the heat.
Scotch bonnets are a defining ingredient in Caribbean cuisine, essential to jerk seasoning, hot pepper sauces, and rice and peas. They are also used in West African cooking. The peppers ripen from green to yellow, orange, or red, with all colours used in cooking.
In Australia, Scotch bonnets are available at specialty grocers, Caribbean and African food shops, and increasingly at farmers’ markets. They are also a popular home-garden chilli in warmer climates.
How it's produced
Scotch bonnet peppers are grown as a warm-season crop, requiring consistently warm temperatures (above 20°C) and a long growing season of 90–120 days from transplant to harvest. Plants are started from seed in trays and transplanted into well-drained, fertile soil in full sun.
In the Caribbean, they are grown at small farm and household scale as well as in larger commercial operations. In Australia, they can be grown outdoors in tropical and subtropical regions (Queensland, Northern Territory) or in greenhouses further south. Fruit is hand-picked as it ripens, and plants can produce over an extended season in suitable climates. The peppers are sold fresh, or processed into hot sauces and dried seasonings.
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