Chili, red scotch bonnet, pepper seeds

Red scotch bonnet pepper seeds

The Chili Scotch bonnet is part of the family of the Solanaceae, the nightshades. It is variety of the famous Capsicum chinense. The name comes from the Scotch bonnet, a Scottish hat that looks similar to the fruit of this Chili. Unlike its name the scotch bonnet is not from Scotland but from the Caribbean. There it is a part of many sauces.

The Scotch bonnet grows as a shrub and reaches a height of about 1,20 m. Its habit is bushy. The leaves are ovate and look a little wrinkle. The flowers are actinomorpic and white. The fruits are unlike other chili species more roundish. They get 5 cm long and as well 5 cm wide. They are clearly sulcate. Just like the leaves the fruits look a little bit wrinkled. During the ripening process the color changes from green over orange to red. The Scotch bonnet is one of the hottest chili in the world. It reaches a value of 350.000 Scoville. The taste of this chili is described as slightly sweetish. Some say that it tastes like a tomato with a little bit of apple and cherry. Others have the opinion that it tastes like an apricot. It is best to taste it to make an own opinion of this unique taste.

In the Caribbean kitchen the chili is served with tropical fruits because of it fruity note. The Scotch bonnet can have many fruits per year. If one wants to cultivate this chili species at home, it needs quite a high temperature. 28°C are best during the germination process. It is also good to put the seeds into warm water before one plants them into the substrate. This can accelerate the germination process. Treated like that the seeds will germinate in about 3 weeks. If one deals with the fruit and the seeds one should wear gloves to protect the skin from the high amount of capsaicin.