The Jamaican Scotch bonnet pepper is rated as one of the hottest and best seasoning peppers in the world.

The name Scotch bonnet comes from the resemblance of this pepper to a Scottish beret.

First domesticated in Peru, Scotch Bonnet is now almost entirely a Caribbean island cultivar. It was first cultivated by the Arawak Indians over a thousand years ago on the Greater Antilles, and considering its abundance in Jamaica, perhaps the island was the origin of Scotch bonnet cultivation.

Scotch bonnet is the other famous chili pepper in the species Capsicum chinense.

Habanero seems to be somewhat better known, however, Scotch bonnet peppers are very similar to their slightly better known cousin. The major difference being the shape. The habanero has a pointed bottom while the Scotch bonnet is squat and gnarled. Both are around the same size at 1.5 inches in diameter. Like the habanero, Scotch bonnet peppers start off green and ripen to yellow, orange and red, with red the most prevalent.

In Jamaica Scotch bonnet is the pepper of choice and is one of the three principal ingredients in Jamaican jerk seasoning. It is also used in soups, rice and peas and other succulent local fare.
All hot peppers contain capsaicinoids, natural substances that produce a burning sensation in the mouth, causing the eyes to water and the nose to run, and even induce perspiration.

Capsaicinoids have no flavour or odour, but act directly on the pain receptors in the mouth and throat. The primary capsaicinoid, capsaicin, is so hot that a single drop diluted in 100,000 drops of water will produce a blistering of the tongue.

Capsaicinoids are found primarily in the pepper's placenta - the white "ribs" that run down the middle and along the sides of a pepper. Since the seeds are in such close contact with the ribs, they are also often hot. In the rest of the vegetable, capsaicinoids are unevenly distributed throughout the flesh, so it is likely that one part of the same pepper may be hotter or milder than another.
In recent years, many of the country's small farmers have benefited from producing the cash crop.

At maximum yield, a farmer can earn $150,830 per hectare of Scotch bonnet peppers.

The parishes of Manchester, St Elizabeth, St Annn, Hanover and St Mary are the main areas where the fruit is planted on a large scale.

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