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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.
(Jamaica Observer, Sunday, March 30, 2008)
The healing value of hot pepper
Hot pepper, cayenne, and sweet peppers belong to the Solanaceae family. Apart from its usefulness in cooking, and in food preservation, the Capsicum genus is regarded as one of the most important healing agents in nature.
Hot peppers contain a plant alkaloid called capsaicin. Capsaicin temporarily depletes "substance P", a chemical in nerves that transmits pain sensations. Without substance P, pain signals can't be sent. The effect is temporary. The amount of capsaicin varies with species, the sweet peppers (C. annum) have as low as 0.001 to 0.005 per cent in 'mild' and 0.1 per cent in 'hot', in chillies or cayenne (C. frutescens) up to one per cent, the hottest peppers (C. chinense cultivars), which include our Scotch Bonnets, have around two per cent.
Hotness is measured, where 15 Scoville units equals one ppm of capsaicin and capsaicinoids; C. chinense ranges around 200,000 to 300,000 Scoville units. Capsaicin produces the pungent taste and most of pepper's healing properties which include: appetite stimulant, carminative activities, digestive antiseptic, general systemic tonic and stimulant, rubefacient properties, blood cleansing, anti-microbial effects, circulatory tonic, pain killer, to treat psoriasis and diaphoretic activities. Scientific data are available.
METHODS OF USE
Hot pepper is available in dried powder form, up to one-quarter to one teaspoon of the ground powder could be stirred into any herbal infusion or milk, or used in making a teacup of an infusion, to be taken up to three times daily.
The ground powdered pepper could be spread on to a dish of soup, beans, rice, and so on, and taken with each meal. Hot pepper could equally be taken in capsule or tablet forms or could be extracted in alcohol as tinctures.
Hot pepper is added in most herbal formulae to enhance their efficacy - it acts as a carrier for other herbal active ingredients down to the parts of the body where they are needed. In addition, it catalyses the action of other herbs.
For external uses, hot pepper could be applied directly, but most often, cayenne tinctures or liniment are preferred for topical applications. Commercially, capsaicin cream is available for external usage.
Helicobacter pylori is a micro-organism which has been implicated as a causative agent in some cases of peptic ulcers. Apart from having healing and protective functions along the entire digestive tract, cayenne with its active ingredient also possess very high anti-microbial effects against any potentially-harmful bacteria found along the tract. Stirring into a glass of diluted lemon juice, pawpaw juice or fresh potato juice, one-half to one teaspoon of ground dried cayenne pepper and drinking this up to three times daily, is one of the most effective remedies for peptic ulcers.
Hot peppers tonify the digestive system, it helps in dispelling flatulence (gas), indigestion, heartburn. It corrects constipation and constant belching. Most importantly, hot pepper intake stimulates good digestion and appetite for foods. It prevents diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea and abdominal colic when taken in moderation. Begin with stirring small to moderate (that is, up to one-quarter or one-half teaspoon) doses of the pepper into one-half glass of milk, gradually increasing the dosage day-by-day that is, increasing the pepper and the quantity of the milk progressively until the desired result is achieved.
When hot pepper is used in combination with garlic, it helps in regulating high blood pressure and, assists in preventing stroke.
Patients with kidney problems should avoid the oral use of hot pepper. Capsaicin may irritate the mucous membrane that covers the kidneys since the excess in the blood is eliminated through the kidneys.
Dr. Sylvia Mitchell, scientific officer, Biotechnology Centre, University of the West Indies (UWI)
Looking for some pep in your weight-loss routine? It may be as simple as tossing a few hot peppers onto your next salad or burrito. Capsaicin, a compound found in cayenne and jalapeno peppers, is suspected to stimulate metabolism by increasing the body's release of certain stress hormones, such as adrenaline. A recent study in the British Journal of Nutrition investigated peppers' effects on a group of Japanese women. Their findings showed a 30% increase in the women's metabolism after eating a meal with capsaicin-rich peppers.
(Jamaica Gleaner, July 31, 2002)
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