Scotch Bonnet
The soul of Caribbean heat: a lantern-shaped pepper whose perfume matters as much as its fire.
Piment antillais · Scotch bonnet pepper · Ají chombo
Quick facts
- Origin
- Amazon basin, carried through the Antilles by Arawak and Taíno peoples
- Family
- Solanaceae
- Flavour profile
- Fruity, apricot-like sweetness followed by a slow, blooming heat
- Heat
- 100 000 – 350 000 Scoville
- Seasonality
- Year-round, peak July to November
- Category
- Peppers & chillies
- Aliases
- Scotch bonnet pepper, Scotch bonnet chilli, Piment Scotch Bonnet, Bonney pepper
- Calories / 100g
- 40 kcal
The story behind this ingredient
Named for its resemblance to a Tam o' Shanter bonnet, the Scotch bonnet travelled from the Amazon basin through the Antilles long before Columbus. It became the signature of Jamaican jerk pits, Haitian pikliz jars and Trinidadian pepper sauces — a pepper used less for punishment than for perfume, always paired with allspice, thyme and citrus.
Culinary uses: Jerk marinades · Pepper sauces · Pikliz · Curries and stews · Infused oils
Recipes with Scotch Bonnet
Pimento-Smoked Jerk Chicken
105 min · Intermediate
Griot with Pikliz
130 min · Intermediate
Colombo de Poulet
80 min · Easy
Callaloo with Coconut and Crab
65 min · Easy
Ackee and Saltfish
50 min · Intermediate
Pikliz
20 min · Easy
Chefs who love this ingredient
André Clarke
Jamaica · Pimento-wood fire cooking
“My grandmother judged a pepper by its smell, never its heat.”
Madeleine de Proust: Scotch Bonnet, Allspice
Marie-Lourdes Jean
Haiti · Epis and Haitian slow cooking
“Pikliz taught me that heat is patience, not violence.”
Madeleine de Proust: Scotch Bonnet, Sour Orange
Devon Alleyne
Bahamas · Conch and coastal cooking
“You hear a good conch salad before you taste it.”
Madeleine de Proust: Conch, Scotch Bonnet
Learn it at the Academy
Scotch Bonnet Masterclass
Three hours inside the pepper: fresh, roasted, fermented and infused. Build a jerk marinade, a pepper sauce and a pikliz from scratch.
- Sat, 12 Sept 2026, 18:00 · 180 min
- Kingston, Jamaica · In person · JMD 9 500
Pikliz & Epis: the Haitian base
Build the two preparations every Haitian kitchen keeps ready, and learn how to store them.
- Sun, 27 Sept 2026, 17:30 · 120 min
- Online · Online · $35
Conch & Coastal Cooking
Cleaning, tenderising and serving conch, with a focus on sustainable sourcing.
- Sat, 14 Nov 2026, 15:00 · 180 min
- Nassau, Bahamas · In person · $80